A common Nordic basis for assessing what we already have
Most of the buildings and infrastructure the Nordic countries will use in 2050 already exist. Assessing whether existing structures are safe to keep, adapt or extend – rather than demolishing and rebuilding – is one of the most effective ways to cut the climate and environmental impact from construction and use our limited resources efficiently.
The new second-generation Eurocode EN 1990-2 sets the principles for assessing existing structures, but turning those principles into operational national rules is a large task that each Nordic country would otherwise face on its own.
The project addresses this directly. Instead of five parallel national efforts, the Nordic countries will develop one common scientific framework for assessment and calibration that each country can build on when preparing its National Annexes – regardless of its starting point. The work focuses primarily on buildings, including their long service lives, changing uses and changing surroundings, while remaining consistent with the wider Eurocode system.
What the project will deliver
The work is organised in three streams:
- Synthesise: Review and bring together the current scientific and regulatory state of the art on the assessment of existing structures across the Nordic countries.
- Develop: Build a common Nordic framework for reliability-based assessment and calibration that national authorities can apply when implementing EN 1990-2.
- Translate and coordinate: Turn the framework into guidance that supports National Annex development and feeds a stronger, coordinated Nordic voice into the European standardisation work in CEN/TC 250.
The outcomes will be shared through the Nordic Sustainable Construction programme.
Who is involved
The project is delivered by a nine-partner Nordic consortium led by NTNU, with Professor Jochen Köhler (NTNU) as project manager. The partners are NTNU, Aalborg University (AAU BUILD), Lund University, SINTEF, the University of Stavanger, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens vegvesen), Ramboll Denmark, Heikki Lilja Consulting (Finland) and Standards Norway. Work-package leadership is shared between NTNU (Jochen Köhler), Aalborg University (John Dalsgaard Sørensen) and Ramboll Denmark (Joan Hee Roldsgaard).
The team is closely connected to the European standardisation work, with consortium members sitting on the CEN/TC 250 committees drafting the second-generation Eurocodes, and with authors of recent Nordic precedents such as the Danish standard DS 11990:2024 on the assessment of existing structures.
A Nordic reference group of national authorities and code-writing bodies will follow and steer the work, with confirmed members from Boverket (Sweden), the Norwegian Building Authority (DiBK), Multiconsult, Trafikverket (Sweden) and Rakennusteollisuus RT (Finland). Representation from Danish and Icelandic authorities will be added during project start-up in agreement with the contracting authority.
Project facts
- What: A common Nordic framework for the assessment of existing structures, supporting implementation of the second-generation Eurocode EN 1990-2.
- Who: A nine-partner consortium led by NTNU (project manager Professor Jochen Köhler), with a Nordic reference group of national code-writing authorities.
- When: June 2026 to autumn 2027, with a kick-off held on 19 June 2026.
- Budget: DKK 1.9 million, funded through Nordic Sustainable Construction.