Housing Talks/Wohngespräche: Olaf Grawert

Michael Obrist [feld72] in conversation with Olaf Grawert about "House Europe! A Question of Values"

Today, buildings are treated as investments rather than spaces for people to live in. Due to financial speculation, millions of square meters sit empty and ruined or are demolished and replaced: from functioning family homes to abandoned industrial and office spaces. For real estate speculators, every building is up for demolition!
HouseEurope! wants to create incentives that make renovation the new norm. This will boost the renovation market and give new value to what is already there. The goal is to preserve homes and communities, ensure a fairer and more local building industry, save energy and resources, and preserve our memories and stories.

Olaf Grawert plans, writes, and talks about architecture. His work focuses on the Poetics and Politics of Space: the political and economic conditions, as well as the imaginaries and narratives that shape the built environment. Collaborating with a network of individuals and institutions across Europe, he develops projects that bridge theory and practice, including building design, campaigns, exhibitions, films, publications, and teaching. He is a founding partner at the collaborative design practice b+ (bplus.xyz), which focuses on the adaptive reuse of existing buildings. He is the co-initiator and campaign manager at HouseEurope! (houseeurope.eu), a non-profit policy lab and European Citizens' Initiative for the renovation and against the demolition of existing buildings.