3Q monitoring of buildings

Historic Buildings in Agricultural Landscapes
Old buildings are an important part of our cultural heritage, and the Agricultural sector plays a key role in preserving much of this legacy. More recent building environments also have their rightful place in agricultural history, such as the resettlement/pioneer farms (bureisingsbruk) from the inter-war period, the coastal fisher-farmer holdings, the versatile farms of the 1950s, grain dryers and slurry pits from the 1970s expansion, and modern-day large-scale cattle barns.

A typical trend in agriculture over recent decades is that some farms have expanded and become more efficient, while many others have been shut down or abandoned. Changes in land use are reflected in the built environment, although such changes take time. The 3Q Programme has not shown dramatic differences, however the number of ruined buildings recorded in the 3Q mapping from aerial photos has increased significantly.

Buildings are clearly visible in aerial photographs and easy to survey in the field, making them a key indicator of cultural heritage development. Aerial images also allow us to monitor changes in the surrounding land. These areas are photographed approximately every five years, while field visits occur roughly every ten years.

Field Surveys
Between 2004 and 2008, we carried out the first round of field surveys of cultural heritage and presented a snapshot of the situation. Just over 3,000 buildings were recorded across 127 3Q monitoring squares. Of these, 85% were in good condition, 12% were deteriorating, and 3% were classified as ruins, meaning fully or partially collapsed. Ten years later, in 2014–2018, the same squares were surveyed again. The overall condition had declined slightly: 80% of buildings were in good condition, 17% were deteriorating, and 3% were ruins. Buildings on active farms were generally in better condition than those on inactive farms. On active farms, 83% of buildings were in good condition, 14% were deteriorating, and 3% were ruins. On inactive farms, 77% were in good condition, 20% were deteriorating, and 3% were ruins. It is important to note that our condition assessments are based solely on external visual inspection. Outdated interiors, internal water damage or lack of modern amenities are not captured.

Residential houses maintained a high standard; around 90% were in good condition, even though only 75% were permanently inhabited. This level remained stable across both survey rounds. Barns, including combined barns with hayloft and tractor bridge, remained the dominant type of large farm building, compared to machine sheds and specialised livestock buildings. However, many barns are no longer in use or only partially used, and their condition declined from 83% in good condition in the first round to 74% in the second. Among large livestock buildings, 82% were in good condition in both rounds, while machine sheds saw a slight drop from 98% to 96% in good condition over the ten-year period.

Few buildings from the pre-industrial agricultural era were found in the field surveys, with the exception of traditional storehouses (stabbur), which still exist in large numbers and in reasonable condition. Storehouses made up about 5% of the total building stock, while brew houses, earth cellars, smithies and summer barns together accounted for another 5%. Sør-Trøndelag and Telemark counties had the highest proportion of pre-industrial building types. Over the ten-year period, all these building types showed a decline in condition. Summer barns and smithies were in the poorest state and are at risk of disappearing.

Colour use was highly traditional. Around 60% of residential houses were white, and about 80% of farm buildings were red, with little change over the decade. However, there were regional differences. For example, brown was common in the building environments of inland and mountain areas in Southern Norway, especially in Oppland and Buskerud counties. Coastal areas from Southern Norway to Nordland, and the fjord regions of Western Norway and Trøndelag, had a notable amount of white buildings. This was particularly evident in Rogaland county, where 20% of farm buildings were white.