Computational design concept analysis: A Nordic comparison of four apartment buildings

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic procedure to analyse the cost-effectiveness of design concepts in residential construction, at the same time profiling differences in design concepts between four Nordic countries. Design/methodology/approach - The research methodology is computational. The study involved a comparison of design concepts and computational construction costs in a Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, and a Finnish apartment house built by Nordic subsidiaries of a larger international construction corporation. A reference value (type-of-space cost calculation) and a cost estimate relating to the design concept (conceptual cost estimate) were calculated for each project using the Finnish method of calculation. The results of the calculated construction costs were compared. Findings - The construction costs of the Swedish and Danish design concepts were high in comparison with the Finnish reference values. In both cases, the high construction costs were the result of low space efficiency and large window surface-areas. The design concepts of the Norwegian and Finnish projects were cost-efficient. Originality/value - The paper offers a systematic way to analyse design concepts in residential construction and profiles the differences in design concepts between four Nordic countries from the point-of-view of cost-effectiveness.