February 2025
Stop demolition — Boost renovation!

The citizen initiative HouseEurope! is calling for a right to re-use for the built environment. Join the kick-off event with architect Arno Brandlhuber on February 12th at 18:30 at Tramsschapp in Luxembourg-City.
49, Rue Ermesinde, L-1469 Luxembourg

The University of Luxembourg's Master's programme in architecture and Cultures of Assembly supports the citizens' initiative HouseEurope to avoid the demolition of buildings and instead boost their renovation. According to estimates, Europe will lose one billion square metres of built-up area to demolition by 2050, an amount equivalent to the surface area of Paris and Berlin combined. In Luxembourg, construction waste, the re-use of which is still negligible, now accounts for more than 80% of the total volume of waste. The grey energy and resources lost in demolition are enormous, not to mention their cultural value.
But we can make a difference. Following the example of Swiss referendums, citizens of European Union countries can propose either new laws or changes to existing laws through the European Citizens' Initiative. If one million European citizens from at least seven countries support the request, the European Commission must examine the proposal and set up a working group. In Luxembourg, an initiative must gather more than 4,500 votes, which is our objective.


The main demand of the HouseEurope! initiative is a ‘right to re-use ’ for existing buildings, based on three pillars: tax breaks for renovations and re-used materials, for example an ultra-low VAT rate (on all buildings, not just housing). Fair and transparent rules for assessing the potential of existing buildings, so that risk is not the only consideration. And new values for the grey energy and CO2 content of existing buildings, which are otherwise not taken into account.
To promote and disseminate this citizens' initiative as widely as possible, the Luxembourg institutional and para-institutional partners are organising a series of conferences that will take place in turn at their various headquarters. Each conference/debate will focus on one of the negative aspects of demolition and the positive aspects of renovation, whether ecological, legislative, economic or cultural.
See the full programme here.
For more information visit HouseEurope! or watch these trailers: Trailer 1 & Trailer 2