Umeå universitets logga

The pursuit of a better life has motivated people to move and settle in different parts of Västerbotten. Traditionally, some building typologies have moved together with the people but due to various reasons some homes have been left behind. Goals have been set up to decrease the amount of construction demolishment waste in Eu and Sweden is following quickly with new regulations upon waste management and sorting. But what happens with the houses that no-one intend to deconstruct, the ones that is left to its own destiny and already is considered useless? This thesis springs from a curiosity of deserted homes, the narratives they witness, the value they hold and the lessons that they can teach.

The thesis Challenged by the wall deals with the architects role in bridging past and present.Research question: How can the tracing of empty houses inform the contemporary architect?

The investigation is done through a visual research method making drawings and illustrations through different medias the heart of the project. It follows two parallel paths in its search for value: emotional and physical, two different angles of research that find strength in and complement each other.

Several factors have caused the houses to be abandoned, such as forestry, economical advantages and standard of living. The empty houses represent an other time and a way of living that man distanced himself from when industrialisation opened up for new levels of comfort to every day life. The illustrated observations pays attention to the obscure and aims to enlighten value in the rejected. By that it hopes to challenge the way value is put into systems.

Throughout the research reflections have been made as to whether the architect can treat the romanticism of the past in a nostalgic way that is helpful for the present architecture. With the illustrated samples as evidence, it argues that the broader spectra of value has to be discussed and thus the final resolution of the thesis hope to urge that dialogue.