At a time when many cities face rising housing shortages and affordability challenges, while construction and renovation remain highly resource- and carbon-intensive, greater attention is being placed on strategies that prioritise better use of existing buildings, by renovating, adapting and repurposing vacant and under-used buildings into affordable housing.
The webinar gave insights into how practical experiences and mobilising investment can help enable a more resource-efficient and inclusive use of Europe’s building stock.
The first part of the webinar sat the scene with the EU policy context, including the New European Bauhaus, the Affordable Housing Plan and EU frameworks, whose indicators on design for adaptability and renovation and design for deconstruction, reuse and recycling, can play a helpful role in guiding such practices. It also highlighted practical measures to improve the use of existing buildings, drawing on preliminary insights from a catalogue on affordable, low environmental impact housing and experiences from Nordic countries.
The second part explored how to unlock investment for sustainable and socially responsive building transformations, providing insights to improve investment readiness and support projects that make a more efficient use of our built space.
Watch or rewatch the webinar here