Urban cottages - rural homes? Challenges towards a more sustainable residental culture and the role of architecture

The growth in the number, size and standard ofsecond homes in Norway as well as in otherEuropean countries has negative environmentalimpacts and has thus become an issue withinthe sustainability debate. The article argues thatthe growth in second homes must be seen aspart of changes within residential cultures inour time and that understandings of thesechanges are essential in order to reach a moresustainable development within the residentialsector. It aims to provide a better basis for furtherexplorations into the field of connectionsbetween understandings of home, architectureand environmental issues.The article draws on an outline of theoreticalapproaches to residential cultures and ofsecond homes research, as well as on architecturalanalysis of two contemporary projects, onesecond home and one urban housing project.The discussions show that the relationship betweendiverse home arenas is complex and thatthere probably is a need to reconsider the theorythat second homes represent an escape fromurban everyday life. Concepts like rural andurban are blurred, privacy and withdrawal maybe just as essential in urban residential settingsas in second homes and community life seemsjust as relevant in vacation home settings as inurban neighborhoods. The role of architecturewithin the overall discussion of how to reach amore sustainable residential culture is thus amatter characterized by several contradictionsthat need to be further explored