HouseEurope! has won this year's Obel Award
17/06/2025
Not just a building — a movement and a call for collective action!
HouseEurope!, the registered non-profit organization, established as a pioneering political laboratory and a citizen-driven initiative advocating for the social and ecological transformation of the European built environment, has won this year's prestigious OBEL Award. The prize, awarded annually by the OBEL Foundation, recognizes the potential of architecture to effect tangible change. The OBEL jury acknowledged HouseEurope!'s pioneering role in the theme of "Ready Made" this year, in raising awareness of the paradigm shift in European building and living culture, and mobilizing the public.
"HouseEurope! demonstrates the impact, responsibility, and room for manoeuvre that architecture possesses. As architects, we are not merely practitioners who receive and execute orders – we can and must also take action as civic actors within political and social frameworks for the common good."
– Nathalie de Vries, MVRDV, Chair of the OBEL jury
In an industry driven by the polluting practices of demolition and profit-oriented development, HouseEurope! foregrounds architecture as a tool for politics and the common good. The goal is the adoption of new EU laws that ease, make affordable, and socially equitable the renovation and transformation of buildings. For this purpose, the HouseEurope! initiative requires one million signatures from all EU member states by January 31, 2026, to bring the topic to the forefront of political discourse, aiding in the shift of values.
Sign the petition here.
"Every minute, a building is demolished in Europe – not due to natural disasters, but financial speculation. And while some profit from it, we all pay the price: with rising rents and increasing temperatures. We're running out of time! HouseEurope! is a call for action: sign and support now to stop the demolition drama and focus on renovation, not speculation!"
- Olaf Grawert and Alina Kolar, HouseEurope! co-initiators and campaign managers
The awarding of the prize to HouseEurope! sends a clear message from the OBEL jury to the architectural profession and future generations of architects: the collective power of the profession challenges and transforms the systems shaping our coexistence. The official presentation of the OBEL Award 2025 will take place on October 21 in Brussels, the seat of the European Union, where the ECI will stand for change, and also plans events and public actions across Europe.
"We are proud to present this year's OBEL Award to HouseEurope!, which not only reflects the possibilities inherent in architecture but also demonstrates the spirit of OBEL. In a complex and constrained field like construction, no single project can fully represent the systemic change we urgently need. This year's winner is both an inspiring source and a call for action, and we will support the broader embedding of HouseEurope!'s work in a global context." - Jesper Eis Eriksen, Executive Director, OBEL
About OBEL
The foundation recognizes and rewards the potential in architecture to be tangible agents of change and thereby positively contribute to social and ecological development worldwide. Founded in 2019, OBEL values the plurality of architecture as a practice by expanding who and what defines our built environments. Through various activities, OBEL supports those influential ideas and approaches that could lead and form the seeds of future developments while stimulating architectural discourse and education. More information at www.obelaward.org.
OBEL Jury 2025
Nathalie de Vries, Jury Chair (Founding Partner of MVRDV, Rotterdam, NL)
Tiantian Xu (Founding Director of DnA, Beijing (CHN))
Sumayya Vally (Founder and Principal of Counterspace, Johannesburg (SA + London (UK)).
Aric Chen (General and Artistic Director of Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam (NL))
Anne Marie Galmstrup (Founder of Galmstrup Architects, London, (UK))
Previous Winners
2024 | Architectures With | ||
|---|---|---|---|
2023 | Adaptation | ||
2022 | Emissions | ||
2021 | Cities | ||
2020 | Mending | ||
2019 | Well-being |
About HouseEurope!
HouseEurope! is a non-profit initiative and policy laboratory that fights for the social and ecological transformation of the construction industry. It calls for changes in EU policy through legal tools, cultural campaigns, and a European Citizens' Initiative.
HouseEurope! advocates for a right to reuse existing buildings based on three main pillars: (I) tax incentives for renovation works and reused materials, (II) fair rules for assessing the potential and risks of existing buildings, and (III) new values for CO2 embedded in existing buildings.
HouseEurope! is driven by a network of local partners and supporters active in most EU member states. Initiated jointly by b+ (bplus.xyz) and s+ (D-ARCH, ETH Zurich), the network coordinates local mobilization and campaign efforts. Their work is reinforced by a growing group of public ambassadors, including cultural figures and supporting institutions, who lend visibility to the cause.
Copenhagen / Europe, 2025.06.17.
