Summary
Overview
Architect Olaf Gravert delivers a powerful critique of Europe's demolition-driven real estate system, revealing that a building is demolished every minute across Europe not due to structural necessity, but purely for profit. He exposes how current legal and financial systems favor demolition over renovation, contributing to both the housing crisis and climate change, while French architects Lacaton and Vassal demonstrate a sustainable alternative through their transformative renovation work. Gravert calls for systemic change through a European Citizens Initiative to make renovation the norm.
The Hidden Crisis of Demolition
Gravert opens by drawing a parallel between Paris Hilton's viral post about losing her home in the LA fires and a shocking reality: every minute in Europe, a house is deliberately demolished by human hands. He emphasizes that demolition destroys not just physical structures but the memories, communities, and sense of belonging they contain. This sets up his central question about why we systematically tear down buildings that could be saved.
- Every minute somewhere in Europe, a house is demolished - not by natural disaster but by human decision
- Demolition destroys memories, communities, and sense of belonging, not just walls and roofs
- Buildings are demolished not because they're broken or can't be renovated
" Every minute, somewhere in Europe, a house is demolished. Every minute. And it's not by wind, floods or fire, but by human hands. "
" It's not only the walls and the roofs that we demolish, it's the memories, the communities and the sense of belonging that we demolish too. "
The Profit Motive Behind Demolition
Gravert reveals the core reason for widespread demolition: profit. He explains how real estate has become the world's most valuable asset, with money flowing into buying and selling property rather than maintaining it. The system treats buildings as commodities like old toasters - to be replaced rather than fixed. He breaks down the cold calculation that real estate speculators use, which measures value solely in economic terms like square meters, location, and market potential, completely ignoring social and environmental costs.
- Demolition happens for one word: profit. Real estate is the world's most valuable asset
- In the logic of real estate speculators, every building is up for demolition if it promises more profit
- Current system treats buildings as commodities where value and price are considered the same thing
- Speculators calculate profit by buying land, demolishing buildings, constructing new ones, and dividing by square meters
" In one word, profit. "
" Every house in which you live that promises more profit is up for demolition. Why? Because to speculators your house is a commodity. It's a good. And just like an old toaster, you don't fix it, you replace it. "
" It's a shockingly cold calculation that turns the profit of tomorrow into a wrecking ball today. "
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