The potential of existing buildings to shape cities and communities in flux through reuse and adaptation is the key focus of HouseEurope! and their activism: addressing the pressing challenge across much of Europe, where it is often easier, cheaper, and faster to demolish buildings than to renovate. For decades, construction policies, industrial practices, and market systems have favored new development, often undervaluing the cultural, social, and environmental significance of existing structures. For their work advocating systemic change in architecture, HouseEurope! received the 2025 OBEL Award under the theme "Ready Made." In a conversation with ArchDaily, collective members of HouseEurope! Alina Kolar and Olaf Grawert discussed the organization's approach to architecture, policy, and collective action.
Operating as a non-profit policy lab, HouseEurope! connects architectural practice with legislation, research, and public participation. Their work begins by examining what already exists and translating these insights into actionable frameworks for policymakers and practitioners. Converted projects such as the renovation of 530 Dwellings by Lacaton & Vassal exemplify this "research by action," showing how adaptive reuse can be both feasible and a driver for systemic change with social and ecological benefits. As Grawert explains:
