THE FUTURE IS ALREADY BUILT

Across Europe, cities face a growing paradox: 11 millions of empty units stand unused, while millions more are needed. By 2030, an estimated over 6.8 million additional homes will be required across the EU, even as housing becomes increasingly commodified, pushing affordability further out of reach. At the same time, the demolition of older structures accelerates, wasting embodied carbon and reinforcing patterns of gentrification and land speculation. These pressures highlight a systemic failure—not just of supply, but of reuse, adaptation and imagination.

In response, this project investigates strategies that facilitate adaptive reuse and transformation projects. For this the former town hall of Høje Taastrup, a 1980s administrative building now vacant, is adapted as a case study. The building exemplifies a broader typology of underused, structurally sound public buildings across Europe—often overlooked due to outdated aesthetics or complex ownership structures.

To address both feasibility and replicability we tested our strategies on the case study. Rather than seeing the building as a liability, we treat it as an opportunity to test our toolbox for transformation: a set of five strategic tools— value mapping (to reveal and work with existing spatial qualities), anchor tenants (to reduce risk and enable early activation), densification (to improve ROI through targeted spatial additions), cross-subsidisation (to support affordability and spatial efficiency), and shared amenities (to increase livability and programmatic flexibility). The goal is not to produce a one-off design, but to create a replicable model that can help more actors choose transformation over demolition, and ultimately, make adaptive reuse the norm—not the exception.