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Reuse atlas

Where in Europe empty buildings could become homes — and, in 16 cities across 11 countries, exactly which buildings, who owns the ground and what a cooperative can do next.
An empty 1970s office building with balconies, plants, neighbours and a roof garden drawn onto it in ink
Empty office space18 million m²across the 26 cities we have measured
Homes it could become≈ 65,478if 30% converts (32,739–98,217 across the range)
Mapped building by building49,096buildings and sites in 16 city reuse radars

How a reuse radar works

  1. 1

    Every lawful source on one map

    Buildings the official cadastre flags unused, public land, forced auctions, brownfields and offices shallow enough for daylit flats — only data we may reuse, each point with its source and date.

  2. 2

    A score you can read

    Size, plan depth, a station nearby, a zone that allows homes and affordable land — cheap land counts in a building's favour, because that is what a cooperative can afford.

  3. 3

    Checked by people

    The data cannot tell whether a building is really empty. Visitors report what they see, and we check every report before it reaches the map.

16 cities, building by building

Each dot is a city radar — the bigger the dot, the more buildings and sites on it. Open a city to see its map, where to look first, the districts worth a closer look and who to talk to.

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Germany

Berlin1,195buildings flagged unused in the official cadastreStart with: Mitte — GDR-era administrative blocksOpen the radar Hamburg654office buildings and sites in public handsStart with: City NordOpen the radar Munich97office and commercial spaces the city lists as on offerStart with: NeuperlachOpen the radar Frankfurt am Main1,022offices shallow enough to become flatsStart with: MertonviertelOpen the radar Mannheim344offices shallow enough to become flatsStart with: Oststadt and Schwetzingerstadt (Augustaanlage)Open the radar

Across Europe

Amsterdam890office buildings and sites in public handsStart with: Overamstel — Weespertrekvaart and WenckebachwegOpen the radar Barcelona353office buildings and sites in public handsStart with: 22@ and Poblenou (Sant Martí)Open the radar Brussels479large office and work buildingsStart with: North Quarter (Saint-Josse, Schaerbeek, City of Brussels)Open the radar Copenhagen897office buildings and sites in public handsStart with: Valby industrial district (Valby Industrikvarter, Torveporten, Ny Ellebjerg)Open the radar Dublin945office buildings and sites in public handsStart with: The Liberties and Dublin 8Open the radar Lisbon84brownfields and planned quartersStart with: Colina de Santana and ArroiosOpen the radar Madrid801office buildings and sites in public handsStart with: Carabanchel and Latina (south-west)Open the radar Milan4,046office buildings and sites in public handsStart with: Bovisa, Dergano and Villapizzone (north-west)Open the radar Paris517office buildings and sites in public handsStart with: Paris Nord-Est (18th, 19th, 20th)Open the radar Vienna744large office and work buildingsStart with: Donaustadt (Eibengasse, Seestadt, Am Heidjöchl)Open the radar Zurich337office buildings and sites in public handsStart with: Kreis 11 — Oerlikon, Seebach and LeutschenbachOpen the radar

One building in every city

The strongest candidate on each radar — a building checked and found empty where we have one, otherwise the top of its list. Scores compare buildings within a city, not across cities: every radar is built from different open data.

Aerial photo around Etkar-André-Straße 8, BerlinBerlinEtkar-André-Straße 8Flagged unused in the cadastre · score 95 · checked: emptyOpen its card Aerial photo around Notkestraße 5, HamburgHamburgNotkestraße 5On public land · score 76Open its card Aerial photo around Seeriederstraße 18a, MunichMunichSeeriederstraße 18aSeeriederstraße 18a, 81675 MünchenPublic building named vacant · score 68Open its card Aerial photo around Altes Polizeipräsidium, Frankfurt am MainFrankfurt am MainAltes PolizeipräsidiumDistressed or stranded (named) · score 48 · checked: emptyOpen its card Aerial photo around Former Siemens Mannheim branch, Dynamostraße, MannheimMannheimFormer Siemens Mannheim branch, DynamostraßeDynamostraße 4 / 7-11, 68165 Mannheim (Fahrlach)Distressed or stranded (named) · score 61 · checked: emptyOpen its card Aerial photo around Willem Fenengastraat, AmsterdamAmsterdamWillem FenengastraatPublic building named vacant · score 81 · checked: emptyOpen its card Aerial photo around Avenida Litoral, 34, BarcelonaBarcelonaAvenida Litoral, 34Public building named vacant · score 73Open its card Aerial photo around 'Palais' building of the regional social-housing company, BrusselsBrussels'Palais' building of the regional social-housing companyRue des Palais 48–62, 1030 SchaerbeekPublic building named vacant · score 58 · checked: emptyOpen its card Aerial photo around Ørnevej 53, 2400 København NV, CopenhagenCopenhagenØrnevej 53, 2400 København NVOn public land · score 56Open its card Dublin6 Terrace Place Dublin 1Public building named vacant · score 58 · checked: emptyOpen its card Aerial photo around Former Inspeção-Geral do Ministério do Trabalho e da Solidariedade building, LisbonLisbonFormer Inspeção-Geral do Ministério do Trabalho e da Solidariedade buildingAvenida Elias Garcia 12, LisboaPublic building named vacant · score 58Open its card Aerial photo around office building, cadastral ref. 2511149VK4821A, MadridMadridoffice building, cadastral ref. 2511149VK4821ADistressed or stranded (named) · score 73Open its card MilanCaserma Annibaldi (military hospital)Via Simone Saint Bon 25Public building named vacant · score 73 · checked: emptyOpen its card ViennaObere DonaustraßeOffice or work building · score 58 · checked: emptyOpen its card Aerial photo around Former Kinderspital Hottingen (old children's hospital), ZurichZurichFormer Kinderspital Hottingen (old children's hospital)Steinwiesstrasse 75, 8032 ZürichPublic building named vacant · score 58Open its card

Across Europe

How many homes empty offices could become, city by city and country by country. Move the convertible share to see the range.

Conversion potential explorer

If 30% of each city's vacant office stock were converted to homes (80% net residential, 66 m² per home), how many dwellings would that unlock?

Unlockable homes65,47832,739–98,217 at 15–45% convertible · 26 cities with data
People housed144,052at 2.2 people per home
Conversion capital€8.2Bto convert the gross floor area
Saved vs new-build€3.5Bvs building the same homes new
CO₂e avoided1,620,586 tupfront embodied carbon vs new-build
  1. 1
    Berlin7,280 homes
    from 2,002,000 m² vacant office · office 9.1% vs homes 2% vacant
  2. 2
    London6,047 homes
    from 1,662,912 m² vacant office · office 7.2% vs homes 0.6% vacant
  3. 3
    Paris5,607 homes
    from 1,542,000 m² vacant office · office 8.9% vs homes 9.8% vacant
  4. 4
    Madrid5,021 homes
    from 1,380,648 m² vacant office · office 7% vs homes 6.3% vacant
  5. 5
    Frankfurt am Main4,400 homes
    from 1,210,000 m² vacant office · office 12.1% vs homes 3.2% vacant
  6. 6
    Munich4,252 homes
    from 1,169,200 m² vacant office · office 7.9% vs homes 2.7% vacant
  7. 7
    Helsinki4,001 homes
    from 1,100,245 m² vacant office · office 18.2% vs homes 9.4% vacant
  8. 8
    Brussels3,930 homes
    from 1,080,875 m² vacant office · office 8.7% vs homes 6.5% vacant
  9. 9
    Hamburg3,536 homes
    from 972,400 m² vacant office · office 6.8% vs homes 2% vacant
  10. 10
    Rome2,764 homes
    from 760,000 m² vacant office · office 7.4% vs homes 14.8% vacant

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Indicative only — raw conversion capacity, not a feasibility or viability assessment. Capital uses each country's new-build cost × its curated conversion factor on the gross area converted; the homes count uses the net residential area after circulation and cores. Places without an office-vacancy figure are omitted. Same engine as the economic model.

Where the conditions line up

Three separate tests, not a blended score: an office glut, a housing market with no slack, and a country that will say yes to a change of use.

Where the three conditions overlap

2 of 12 shown clear all three. The near misses are worth as much as the winners.

CityOffices empty≥ 8%Homes empty≤ 4%Change of usenot case-by-case
Frankfurt am MainGermanypasses: office glut 12.1%passes: tight housing market 3.2%passes: permission regime Improvingmedium confidence
BerlinGermanypasses: office glut 9.1%passes: tight housing market 2%passes: permission regime Improvingmedium confidence
StockholmSwedenpasses: office glut 11.1%passes: tight housing market 1%does not pass: permission regime Case by casemedium confidence
DublinIrelandpasses: office glut 15.2%does not pass: tight housing market 6.4%passes: permission regime Improvinghigh confidence
LondonUKdoes not pass: office glut 7.2%passes: tight housing market 0.6%passes: permission regime Permissivehigh confidence
RotterdamNetherlandsdoes not pass: office glut 7.6%passes: tight housing market 2.1%passes: permission regime Permissivehigh confidence
MunichGermanydoes not pass: office glut 7.9%passes: tight housing market 2.7%passes: permission regime Improvingmedium confidence
HamburgGermanydoes not pass: office glut 6.8%passes: tight housing market 2%passes: permission regime Improvingmedium confidence

Office and dwelling vacancy are the curated city figures behind the chart at the top of this page, so the two stay in step. The permission grade comes from the regulatory map below, with its own named source per country. Ordered by tests passed, then by the gap between the two vacancy rates — the thing a conversion actually trades on.

How this is put together

The Europe-wide figures come from our curated office-vacancy research and the conversion engine behind the economic model: vacant floor area, a convertible share, 80% net residential area and 66 m² per home — an order of magnitude, not a forecast. The city radars are built from public records and open data we are allowed to reuse; where a publisher blocks automated access we do not work around it, we ask. The full reasoning is in Turning empty offices into homes.