Join the largest initiative in Europe fighting for renovation over demolition. Sign the HouseEurope! petition to change EU laws to make renovation cheaper, faster and easier.
By 2050, Europe is expected to lose over 1.5 billion square meters of existing space to demolition—more than Paris and Berlin—enough space to house 50 million people. The construction sector is responsible for 38% of all CO2 emissions, while construction waste accounts for over 35% of total waste volume, making it the biggest emitter and waste-producer in the EU. Demolition results in enormous losses of homes, jobs, energy and memories.
The European Citizens' Initiative HouseEurope! advocates for EU laws that prioritize renovating and transforming existing buildings over demolition. Since February 1, 2025, HouseEurope! campaigns to collect one million signatures from EU citizens to push for legislation ensuring ecological and social sustainability in the built environment.
HouseEurope! demands a ‘right to re-use’ for existing buildings, based on three key pillars: tax incentives such as ultra-low VAT rates for renovations and reused materials (applicable to all buildings, not just housing); fair evaluation standards that ensure the potential of existing buildings is properly assessed, beyond just risk factors; and new value metrics that account for the grey energy and CO2 content of existing buildings, which are currently overlooked.
Support HouseEurope! by signing the petition and help shape a sustainable, resource-conscious future for Europe.
You're one in a million!
List of supporters: &bogdan / 2050+ / 51N4E / ACE Architects’ Council of Europe / ACAN! Architects Climate Action Network / Academy of Architecture, Amsterdam University of the Arts / Aleksander Nowak / Alexine Sammut / Ann Pettifor / Anne Lacaton / Anti Abriss Allianz / Architects for Future / Architecture Matters / Association of Estonian Architects / aut. Architektur und Tirol / Bauhaus Earth / Bauwende Allianz / BDA Bund Deutscher Architektinnen und Architekten / Barbara Metz / bplus.xyz (b+) / build_shift / Bundeskammer der Ziviltechniker:innen Österreich / Bundesstiftung Bauakademie / CAFx Copenhagen Architecture Festival / CCA Canadian Center for Architecture / Center for Capitalism Studies UCL / CIVA Culture – Architecture / COA Cultures of Assembly / Cobe / Communitism / Countdown 2030 / DAZ Deutsches Architektur Zentrum / DEMO Working Group / Denkstatt sarl / Department of Architecture, ETH Zurich / Deutsche Umwelthilfe / DGNB German Sustainable Building Council / das abrisskollektiv / Demolition Take Down / Dipartimento Architettura e Design, Universitá di Genova / Domus Academy Milano / Enlai Hooi / Estelle Sabatier / European Triennial of Modernism / Experimental / Florian Hertweck / Fondas / FormaFantasma / Fosbury Architecture / Fundació Mies van der Rohe / German Zero / GRÜNE LIGA Netzwerk Ökologischer Bewegungen / Herzog & de Meuron / Ida Krizaj Leko / Igor Machata / Innovation Alliance / Initiative Umbau / International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR) / Ivan Blasi / Jacques Herzog / Jean-Philippe Vassal / Joanna Kusiak / KÉK. Contemporary Architecture Centre / KoozArch / KOSMOS / Lacaton & Vassal / Laboratorio Permanente / Less Yellow / LINA The European Architecture Platform / LUCA Luxembourg Center For Architecture / MAO Museum of Architecture and Design / MInDS. Politecnico di Milan / Maja Vardjan / Markus Lähteenmäki / Marion Waller / Master in Architecture, University of Luxembourg / Nexture+ / Oana Bogdan / Oana Iacob / Olga Trebuhina / Ordinul Arhitectilor din România / Pavillon de l’Arsenal / Pierre de Meuron / RRRArchitecture / Ruth Schagemann / Saskia van Stein / Schmidt Hammer Lassen / Studio for Immediate Spaces, Sandberg Instituut / Tamara Kalantajevska / The Futures Collaborative / Theory and History of Architecture, University of Innsbruck / Toni Piëch Foundation / VI PER Architecture Gallery / Vlaams Architectuur Instituut / Verena Konrad / vai Vorarlberger Architektur Institut / an.ders Urania and many more
