In February 2025, the European Citizens’ Initiative HouseEurope! began its voting period to propose legislation prioritizing renovation and adaptive reuse. To help make the case against demolition and vacancy, the Berlin-based magazine on architecture and urbanism, ARCH+, staged a “witness hearing” in the form of a conference at CIVA. Oana Bogdan, as an ambassador of HouseEurope!, joined practitioners and theorists from all over Europe to exchange insights into successful approaches, as well as the economic, legislative, and architectural hurdles to a spatial practice of repair and care. In addition to spatial experts, members of the European Parliament were invited to directly address legislators. Speakers included MEP Rasmus Andresen (Greens/EFA), Laurens Bekemans (BC architects & studies & materials / RWTH Aachen), Oana Bogdan (&bogdan / HouseEurope!), Iva Čukić (Ministarstvo prostora), An Fonteyne (noAarchitecten / ETH Zurich), Gabu Heindl (GABU Heindl Architektur / Uni Kassel), Petra Hlaváčková (4AM Forum for Architecture and Media / Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien), and Josiane Schmidt (ETH Zurich, HouseEurope!).
Tuesday 28 January 2025
19:00
CIVA, Rue de l’Ermitage 55, 1050 Brussels
More information about this event can be found here.