ByggaBoDialogen, a Swedish example how to educate carpenters, engineers and building owners

The building process and the building itself must provide a healthy indoor environment in an environmentally friendly and energy efficient way. But quite too often buildings are not as good as they are meant to be. Sometimes this has to do with misunderstandings. The actors do not understand each others. The dialogue project Building, Living and Property Management for the Future is a unique cooperation between companies, municipalities and the Government with the purpose to achieve a development of a sustainable building and property sector in Sweden. By the means of this dialogue, the parties have reached a voluntary agreement to take concrete measures for a sustainable development. The dialogue project Building/Living has three prioritised areas: • Healthy indoor environment • Efficient use of energy • Efficient resource management The education program in the dialogue project is directed against different actors in the building process to give an understanding how different activities affect each other. It is, for example, important, for a good result, that the carpenter understands not only how he shall build and combine different materials in a well insulated and air tight structure but also why these materials are chosen and which demands they shall fulfill. It is as important for the designer to know what happens at the building site, what is possible to do and how can it be done. Energy saving measures may cause moisture damages or a bad indoor climate if done in the wrong way. The education program is based on a dialogue between teacher and pupils and has so far been a success.