HSB Living Lab
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
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Project Description
In HSB Living Lab 40 people have their permanent homes at the same time as research are conducted simultaneously, 24-hours a day. The purpose to create sustainable housing of the future.
It is a unique arena that facilitate collaborative innovation between citizens, researchers, and companies. Here innovative solutions can be tested in real-life environment. The goal is to speed up the process of introducing accommodation innovations. So far over 130 differen
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Which funds
Other Funds
Climate-KIC, 2015
More than 130 projects have started in HSB Living Lab during five years. Many of them have benefited from differens EU programmes.
Description of the project
Summary
HSB Living Lab is a physical collaborative arena with the purpose to create sustainable housing of the future. It is a unique research arena that aims to facilitate collaborative innovation between citizens, researchers, companies and public organizations. Here innovative solutions can be tested in real-life environment. The goal is to speed up the process of introducing accommodation innovations.
HSB Living Lab started at 2016 and is a Third Generation Living Lab. This is an open arena where we can explore the interaction between technology, materials and behavior in a real scale. So far over 130 different projects have started here. Here about 40 people have their permanent homes at the same time as research are conducted simultaneously, 24-hours, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year.
HSB Living Lab is a flexible building, where everything easily can be replaced. Like the façade, technique inside, the architecture, the interior functions and so on. The arena are created created to be an environment as similar as possible to real homes. And at the same time make the building as accessible for research and innovators as possible. To try out ideas and innovations in a real, ongoing system.
There are also about 2,000 sensors in the building that collect data 24 hours a day. To offer the possibility to get the answers and insights they need.
The HSB Living Lab building is four storeys high and a portable construction. Three of the floors offer accommodation, and on the ground floor there are shared spaces consisting of offices, meeting rooms, a showroom f. There are 29 apartments in HSB Living Lab and the building is located on Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden.
HSB Living Lab is arranged as an open arena. Everyone with an idea about the sustainable housing of the future is welcome to apply for the opportunity to research, test and innovate in HSB Living Lab.
Key objectives for sustainability
The aim of the arena is to boldly go where no one has gone before. To progress sustainable housing development, to gain and spread knowledge on new sustainable solutions to both academia and industry, find ambassadors to acknowledge and share our projects’ findings, and to find new and more sustainable business models.
This building provides the ideal environment to develop and demonstrate low-carbon solutions for new buildings as well as renovation projects. This allows a much faster market uptake of sustainable building innovations.
So far over 130 research projects have started in HSB Living Lab, and we follow up on our key objectives every quarter.
- With the extensive climate challenges we face, all industries must gather strength and knowledge. The housing industry needs to look at how we build our houses, with what materials, how they are operated and how we live sustainably in our homes.
- HSB Living Lab offers unique opportunities for researchers and innovators to try out ideas and innovations in a real, ongoing system. This is a way to accelerate the pace at which new innovations are exported and benefit society.
- We offer an arena for multidisciplinary collaboration where we connects business, startups, academia and the city for a better transformation to a more sustainable housing sector.
- HSB Living Lab where developed through co-creative, open-innovation processes to ensure the social sustainability of the arena.
- HSB Living Lab is designed as a generic democratic research platform
- HSB Living Lab is also open to the society for study visits and meetings. So that knowledge and understanding of a sustainable housing is more easily spread.
- The application process and realistic setting ensures that the projects meet market needs, providing the real estate industry with valuable solutions.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
The HSB Living Lab arena hosts many projects, and in all projects that explore visible installations, e.g. facades, new storing furnitures, green indoor walls etc. we always evaluate the aesthetic expression. As aesthetics is highly interlaced with our wellbeing, this is a main examining point and a criteria for all such projects.
The goal was never to create an iconic building that takes the focus off the content, but rather a platform that can be changed and thus be living and inclusive. It is in many a contrast to aspectsthe traditional architectural values. It is a house that symbolizes change, innovation, portability and reconstruction to create conditions for innovations and developments. The residents should view the building first and foremost as a home, while all partners should have the opportunity to ‘dress the house’ with their specific knowledge and research. The basis for this is democratic design.
The structure is based on modules, which are part of the research and which will be evaluated for future housing solutions and assessed as, for example, infill projects on a street or as solitary structures in an open area. Parts of these units could also be placed on a roof to create a three-dimensional property.
The building can be seen as a blank canvas, something that can stand to be rearranged. This results in a generic design with standard dimensions to the greatest possible extent, including interchangeable panels and systems. The building’s aesthetics are consistent with these basic dimensions.
We see several projects in HSB Living Lab that combines sustainability with aesthetics. Examples of projects are flexible wallpads, a circular kitchen, green facades and the use and design of the common areas in the building.
Key objectives for inclusion
The HSB Living Lab is a habitation infrastructure in the form of student housing created in 2016, that aims to be a co-creative social space for experimenting with sustainable technology and lifestyle in order to develop innovative concepts and products. It has been developed through co-creative, open-innovation processes between HSB (Swedish Housing association), Chalmers University of Technology and Johanneberg Science Park along with other industry partners. The HSB Living Lab is designed as a generic democratic research platform that addresses the home environment and supports the interface between the tenants and innovation research (interface between behavior and technology).
- We are an arena open to everyone. We invite researchers and innovators from all parts of society, and the world, to use the arena for various research projects on sustainable materials, technology, digitalization, behaviors, etc.
- Our research fund of SEK 2 million per year gives everyone the opportunity to apply for funding for testing and developing their ideas.
- Our residents are selected on a strict queuing order. We do not give priority to anyone.
- There is a widespread in nationalities among project managers and researchers and also among residents.
- We have an even gender distribution in the board.
Results in relation to category
We believe our impact can be described through these figures:
- Research worth a total of more than SEK 50 million
- 130 projects over 5 years
- Media appearance corresponding to approximately SEK 33 million in advertising value
- Many decision-makers visits, e.g. politicians and other leaders
- The original 12 partners are continuously engaged
- Great interest in staying as a resident in HSB Living Lab.
All those figures above shows the great interest and the great need for an arena as HSB Living Lab.
Results in business:
- The realistic setting ensures that the solutions developed meet market needs, providing the real estate industry with innovative, financially attractive and viable building solutions.
- Many projects have given us useful insights for everyday life, for everybody.
- We have learned it takes time for new research to be implemented in the business models of the housing sector, which is a cautious industry due to the high cost of risk-taking.
- At least 10 HSB Living Lab projects were already exported to business, and many more are on their way.
How Citizens benefit
Co-creation is in HSB Living Lab’s foundation. The entire structure of HSB Living Lab is based on co-creation, and this is also one of the assessment criteria we have for new project.
Our residents are part of what the arena offers the researchers, and projects often involve the tenants to gain deeper knowledge about their research through questionnaires and interviews. Many projects also recruit several tenants to take a more active part in their research, where they e.g. are asked to use apps or new products.
There are also several examples of projects that started out in HSB Living Lab, that have expanded and continued testing on a larger scale with more people from other parts of society.
Most projects also include participants from several different organizations.
Innovative character
- HSB Living Lab is a world-unique living lab. 40 people live here permanently at the same time as research is conducted around the clock.
- The pace of innovation is exponential. To be able to keep up, we need multidisciplinary collaboration. Therefore, HSB Living Lab is a collaboration arena that connects business, startups, academia and the city (quadruple helix model).
- In HSB Living Lab, we can offer a "free zone" for innovation and development in a real environment. This means that ideas can be tested, validated and implemented in society more quickly.
- The building is flexible in a unique way. Everything can easily be replaced. Like the façade, the isolation, technique inside, the architecture, the interior functions and so on.
- With more than 130 different projects started we have a unique cluster of projects of different characters within one building. This creates possibilities for cocreating and knowledges cross borders.
- It is an open and democratic arena. Anyone with an idea for the sustainable housing of the future can apply to start a project at HSB Living Lab.
- We share results with each other to move forward faster.
- We have a unique mix of project in the portfolio. Both long research projects and short demo projects, exploratory projects that look far into the future and more validating projects where we see an export in the near future. We are open to all types of research, from hard-core technology and material issues to behavioral studies and studies of collaboration and interactivity between people.
- There are + 2,000 sensors in the building that collect data 24 hours a day. This is also a infrastructure that we offer all the research in the house – the possibility to easy get the answers and insights about your research project through data.
