TED Talks Daily – "Why are we demolishing homes during a housing crisis?"

Speaker: Olaf Grawert | Date: December 4, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, architect Olaf Grawert challenges the prevailing logic behind demolishing habitable buildings during an ongoing housing crisis, focusing particularly on Europe. Drawing attention to the economic, social, and environmental costs of continual demolition and new construction, Grawert proposes a bold shift: renovation and transformation of existing buildings as a sustainable, community-centered alternative. He illustrates his argument with compelling data, personal stories, and a model project by French architects Lacaton & Vassal, ultimately calling for systemic change at both legal and societal levels.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Emotional and Human Cost of Demolition

• Paris Hilton’s Story as a Touchstone
  Grawert opens with Paris Hilton's public reflection on losing her home to wildfire, using it as an entryway to highlight the emotional trauma of involuntary loss.

  “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. And all of it at the cost of the people and the planet.”
  — Olaf Grawert [03:47]

Demolition for Profit: The Real Logic Behind the Trend

• Profit, Not Necessity:
  The primary reason for demolition isn’t damage or inefficiency, but financial gain:

  “As an architect who works on renovation, I can tell you it's not because these buildings are broken... It's not only the walls and roofs that we demolish. It's the memories, the communities, and the sense of belonging that we demolish too.”
  — Olaf Grawert [04:54]

• Commodification of Housing:
  Grawert describes how real estate speculation treats homes as replaceable commodities, where value is calculated solely by potential profit, not human or ecological factors:

  “To speculators, your house is a commodity... just like an old toaster, you don't fix it, you replace it.”
  — Olaf Grawert [05:17]

The Environmental Impact: A Largely Ignored Crisis

• Massive Waste and CO2 Emissions:
  • Construction is Europe’s largest waste producer (36% of all waste).
  • The building sector is the top emitter of CO2 globally (38%), dwarfing activities like flying.

  “All the energy it takes to demolish a building and all the energy it takes to rebuild a building is only unleashed because the real values, the social and the ecological values, are not accounted in our system.”
  — Olaf Grawert [06:23]

The Housing Crisis: Social and Economic Impacts

• Worsening Affordability and Homelessness:
  • Millions struggle to find affordable homes.
  • Even middle-class Europeans are increasingly outpriced; homelessness is rising.
  • Yet, demolitions continue, compounding the crisis.

How Policy and Incentives Favor Demolition Over Renovation

• Post-War Policy Legacy:
  • Construction booms after WWII were enabled by policies strongly favoring new builds (tax incentives, subsidies, building codes, risk insurance, and credit systems).
  • These systems still shape today’s renovation-unfriendly legal and financial environment:

  “It still trains us to assume that the new is always better than the old. And it's at the core of our legal system, which makes it not only less profitable... but also much, much harder to renovate and transform.”
  — Olaf Grawert [06:23 - 09:30]

Shifting Paradigms: The Potential of Renovation and Transformation

The Lacaton & Vassal Model (Bordeaux Grand Parc)

• A Real-World Alternative:

  • Lacaton & Vassal (with Durand and Hutin) renovated 530 social housing units in Bordeaux without displacing residents.
  • Prefabricated elements were installed on the facade to create new winter gardens and larger windows, increasing space, light, and quality of life.
  • The process was quick (about two weeks/unit), cost-effective (one third the price of new construction), and far more generous in design.

  “The most sustainable house is the one already built.”
  — Olaf Grawert [14:20]
  “It takes two weeks to improve everybody's life, to cut down the heating bills and to boost local businesses working on renovation. And all of it at a third of the costs of a standard new apartment: €55,000 for the renovation of one apartment compared to €165,000 for new construction.”
  — Olaf Grawert [14:00]

• Adaptability of Approach:
  Grawert assures that almost any building can be renovated if legal barriers are relaxed, making this alternative scalable and versatile.

Systemic Change: Legal and Cultural Transformation

• Advocacy for New Laws and a Cultural Shift:
  • Grawert and colleagues have launched a pan-European citizens’ initiative:

    "Renovate. Don’t speculate."
    — Olaf Grawert [15:22]

  • The goal is to mobilize 1 million citizens in support—mirroring the online attention a single celebrity home loss can generate—and push for legal reforms prioritizing renovation, not demolition.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Value vs. Price:

  “Value and price are actually not the same. The question shouldn't only be what is the value of a house? But what is the price to your home?... These are the hidden costs of demolition that no one speaks about.”
  — Olaf Grawert [06:23]

• On Systemic Obsolescence:

  “The demolition of buildings is just as outdated as food waste, animal testing, or single-use plastics.”— Olaf Grawert [15:40]

• On Collective Action:

  “If that many people can show support for one home lost in fire, imagine the impact that we can make together for the millions of homes that are up for demolition right now.”
  — Olaf Grawert [15:52]

Notable Timestamps

• 03:47 — Opening example of Paris Hilton’s destroyed home and the emotional resonance of demolition.
• 04:54 — Grawert’s core assertion: demolition is about profit, not necessity.
• 06:23 — The environmental and social costs of demolition.
• 09:30 — Post-war construction policies and their lasting effect on housing policy.
• 12:50 — Case study: Lacaton & Vassal’s Bordeaux Grand Parc project (background, figures, outcomes).
• 14:50 — The call for a new European legal and value system around renovation.
• 15:22 — Introduction of the "Renovate. Don’t speculate." European citizens’ initiative.
• 15:52 — Final rallying call for collective action.

Summary Takeaways

• Demolishing homes during a housing crisis is driven by speculative profit, not genuine need.
• This approach exacts a steep social and environmental price, rarely factored into policy or practice.
• Sustainable, humane alternatives exist—chief among them, renovation and transformation of existing buildings, as exemplified by successful European models.
• Shifting this paradigm requires broad legal reform and citizen engagement, catalyzed by movements like "Renovate. Don’t speculate."
• The most sustainable home is the one we already have—and preserving it is both a moral and pragmatic imperative.

For more information on the “Renovate. Don’t speculate.” initiative and ways to support, Olaf Grawert encourages listeners to join the movement and advocate for policy change across Europe.