The Basque Architecture Institute, coinciding with the announcement of the second edition of the European Collective Housing Award promoted by the Basque Architecture Institute together with arc en rêve and the support of the Basque Government’s Department of Housing and Urban Agenda, is organizing a lecture to discuss a key issue in the housing crisis facing the whole of Europe: the renovation of buildings.

The conference will begin with the screening of the documentary “POWER TO RENOVATION – A QUESTION OF VALUES” by the HouseEurope! collective, presented by Raquel Guerra Aragonés, part of the team promoting the collective House Europe!  in Spain.

About HouseEurope!

HouseEurope! is a European Citizens’ Initiative that seeks new laws in the European Union to prioritize the renovation and reuse of buildings over speculative demolition. Recognized with the OBEL 2025 Award, the campaign combines citizen activism, legal proposals, and cultural materials—such as the documentaries Demolition Drama and Power to Renovation—to drive structural change in the sector. Its goal is to place renovation at the center of the ecological and social transition, making housing a right and architecture a tool for a more just and sustainable Europe.

About Raquel Guerra Aragonés:

Architect, activist, and researcher. Founder of the non-profit association ACAN Spain (Architects Climate Action Network) and national organizing member of the European campaign HouseEurope! in Spain and Cyprus. She combines multidisciplinary research, consulting in sustainability and information architecture, as well as activism around climate justice and inclusivity.

Trained as an architect at UPM (Spain) and ODTÜ (Turkey), she has contributed to research projects, patents, and conferences on bioclimatic design, as well as developing digital tools for decarbonization in technology startups. She currently combines research work at SURFLab (University of Cyprus) with independent consulting at Now! Climate Design.