Low-carbon retrofit of owner-occupied housing will make a significant contribution to reducing UK CO2 emissions. However, despite placing the home within its social context, there remain concerns that existing practice theory studies on this topic fail to adequately conceptualise ‘large’ phenomena such as retrofit. In response to this gap, this research adopts a novel nexus-of-practice approach to understanding home improvements. Drawing on thirty-one in-depth interviews and walk-through tours with owner-occupiers in Bristol, a rigorous line-by-line coding and analysis of the relationships between components of practice is undertaken. Particular attention is given to: connections between home improvement practices and the wider nexus of practices; how these connections can increase adoption of low-carbon retrofit measures; and the implications of these for the role of the architect. The findings reveal indirect relationships between low-carbon retrofit measures and other home improvement practices. They also illustrate that professional competences associated with low-carbon retrofit measures are poorly connected to the wider nexus. These connections have implications for policy seeking to encourage higher levels of low-carbon retrofit, and contribute to architects’ ability to recognise and seize opportunities to maximise the environmental benefits of owner-occupier home improvement projects.

中文翻译：

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在更广泛的实践联系中了解低碳住房改造

自有住房的低碳改造将为减少英国的二氧化碳排放做出重大贡献。然而，尽管将家庭置于其社会背景中，但仍然存在有关该主题的现有实践理论研究未能充分概念化诸如改造之类的“大型”现象的担忧。针对这一差距，本研究采用了一种新颖的实践联系方法来理解家居改善。借助对布里斯托尔自住业主的 31 次深度访谈和巡回参观，我们对实践组成部分之间的关​​系进行了严格的逐行编码和分析。特别关注： 家居装修实践与更广泛的实践联系之间的联系；这些联系如何增加低碳改造措施的采用；以及这些对建筑师角色的影响。调查结果揭示了低碳改造措施与其他家居装修实践之间的间接关系。他们还表明，与低碳改造措施相关的专业能力与更广泛的联系联系不紧密。这些联系对寻求鼓励更高水平的低碳改造的政策产生了影响，并有助于建筑师识别和抓住机会以最大限度地提高自住住宅改善项目的环境效益。他们还表明，与低碳改造措施相关的专业能力与更广泛的联系联系不紧密。这些联系对寻求鼓励更高水平的低碳改造的政策产生了影响，并有助于建筑师识别和抓住机会以最大限度地提高自住住宅改善项目的环境效益。他们还表明，与低碳改造措施相关的专业能力与更广泛的联系联系不紧密。这些联系对寻求鼓励更高水平的低碳改造的政策产生了影响，并有助于建筑师识别和抓住机会以最大限度地提高自住住宅改善项目的环境效益。