The story
In May 1920, the first housing cooperative in Luxembourg was founded. It was called "Le Progrès" and bought a building plot in Val-St.-Croix in the city of Luxembourg with government support just a few weeks after its creation. To recruit members, it regularly placed advertisements in various newspapers.
A century later, the model of housing cooperatives is experiencing a renaissance in many European cities. And in Luxembourg, too, the conditions for the emergence of housing cooperatives are finally in place: with the "Aides à la pierre", non-profit cooperatives have access to a generous subsidy. Thanks to AGORA, they can apply for two plots of land in the new "Belval Sud" district. With financial support from the Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning and in collaboration with curator Céline Zimmer, LUCA is presenting the exhibition "Our New Housing - An Invitation to Cooperate", which will provide information about housing cooperatives. In workshops accompanying the exhibition, participants will learn more about the founding and planning of cooperatives. This is a historic moment for cooperatives in Luxembourg, because (almost) everything they need is available - building land, financial support, advice. But since cooperatives don't set up on their own, one last thing is still missing: you, the "Future Members".
This project was launched to enable different people who want to get involved in a cooperative to come together without knowing each other beforehand. Unlike “Le Progrès” more than a century ago, it does not rely on newspaper advertisements, but on a contemporary method: a digital platform where “Future Members” can network to build the first cooperative housing projects in Luxembourg.
© Publicité 2 Page 4. in: arme Teufel, 17. Jg., nº 719 (05.06.1920), p. 4 [Digitized by the National Library of Luxembourg, https://persist.lu/ark:70795/b6wr9p/pages/4/articles/DTL137]
The exhibition
Our New Housing - An Invitation to Cooperate
March 14-June 7, 2025
@LUCA (Luxembourg Center for Architecture)
With the support of the Ministry of Housing and Spatial Development and in collaboration with curator Céline Zimmer, LUCA is presenting the exhibition "Our New Housing - An Invitation to Cooperate". It provides information about the model of housing cooperatives, which is hardly widespread and tested in Luxembourg and encourages visitors to actively participate in the creation of cooperatives. Registration is required for guided tours. Private guided tours can be requested for groups of at least 5 people.
The "For Future Members Only" workshops are also part of this exhibition. Here, participants will learn more about the opportunities, but also the challenges that cooperatives bring with them. The groups will work together to come up with a concept for their cooperative and then plan their housing project together.
The realization
Funding: Œuvre Nationale, Fonds stART-up
Programming:HMT Engineering SARL
Visual identity and design:Exutoire
Idea, concept, texts: Céline Zimmer
This platform was financed by the stART-up fund of the Œuvre Nationale. As a public institution, the Œuvre supports projects that serve the common good in Luxembourg. The stART-up fund is aimed at young artists, creatives and cultural professionals under the age of 36 who have a connection to Luxembourg. With funding of up to 25,000 euros per project, it enables them to realize a project that is of particular importance for their professional development. Céline Zimmer was granted 24,890 euros for the "For Future Members Only" platform. This is how these funds were used:
More information on the stART-up fundThe author
Céline Zimmer is an architect and researcher. She grew up in Bettembourg where she attended the primary school "Schoul am Duerf" and then the secondary school "Lycée Aline Mayrisch" in Luxembourg City. She studied architecture in Trier and Hamburg. After her studies in Germany, she returned to Luxembourg and started her doctoral studies at the University of Luxembourg. In her thesis, she investigated how a third housing sector could influence the housing supply in Luxembourg and which alternatives are particularly suitable as prototypes for this additional sector in Luxembourg. The housing models of the third housing sector are privately initiated and co-managed by the residents, but differ from the existing private sector in that they are intended to benefit the general public and are removed from speculation, i.e. they are non-profit and decommodified. This means that there is no profit motive and the apartments are not part of the free market. The focus is on the original function of the apartment as a home. It is not only about providing good and affordable housing for oneself, but also about increasing this housing so that it can be made available to future home seekers. In the course of this research, the housing cooperative emerged as a housing model that is particularly suited to the legal, housing policy and cultural context of Luxembourg. This model has a long tradition in some countries (such as Switzerland) and is currently the subject of intense debate in many European cities. After completing her doctorate, Céline Zimmer worked to raise awareness of cooperatives and their impact on the prevailing housing shortage, and on communicating the model in Luxemburg.
In February 2024, she founded the architecture firm Less Yellow together with Florian Hertweck.
Publications (selection):
2023, University of Luxembourg
2025, Housing, Micropolitics, and Pedagogies: Designing and Practicing Collectivity
2024, d'Lëtzebuerger Land
2024, Architecture + Real Estate
2022, Forum for politics, society and culture in Luxembourg
This text has been freely translated from German. In case of discrepancies, the German version shall prevail.
1.General
This platform was developed to connect people who are interested in founding or becoming members of a housing cooperative. To use the platform, you must agree to the following terms of use. To register, you must to the data protection guidelines.
2.Data protection
We take the protection of your personal data seriously. The following points explain what data we collect and how we use it:
Data collected:
During registration, personal data (name, e-mail address and optionally telephone number) as well as information about you and your interests and wishes in relation to housing cooperatives will be collected. You will also indicate whether you meet the legal income criteria for affordable housing.
Purpose of data use:
The data collected is used exclusively to connect users on the platform and will not be passed on to third parties. The information you provide in the form will be anonymized before it is published in the register. Your name, email address and telephone number will be redacted.
Storage and security:
Your data will be stored securely and processed in accordance with the applicable data protection regulations. You can request the deletion of your account at any time. Once your user account has been deleted, your personal data will no longer be processed. If you want to delete your form and your account, you will be asked for the reason for deletion. We store this information so that we can later check whether the project was successful. If we publish this data, we will only do so in aggregated and anonymized form. By anonymizing your form, all visitors to the platform can read your form, but cannot assign it to you as a person. If other users of this platform request your contact details, you will receive an email and can either accept or reject the request. Your contact details can only be requested by people who have an account on the platform and have filled out a form. Their form will be attached to the email that you receive with the request. Only if you accept the request will your contact details be shared with the person making the request. You will also receive their contact details in return.
Consent:
By registering on this platform, you expressly agree to the data protection guidelines.
3.Terms of Use
Registration and use:
The platform is open to anyone interested in housing cooperatives. Use is at your own risk. By using the website, you agree to the terms of use.
Responsibility of the users:
All users undertake to treat each other with respect. Discriminatory, offensive or misleading content is prohibited.
Disclaimer of liability:
The operator of the platform accepts no liability for the content posted by users or for the resulting contacts or agreements.
Data without guarantee:
All information provided on this platform is provided without guarantee. No guarantee is given for the accuracy, completeness or topicality of the content. Any liability for damages arising from the use of the information provided is excluded.
External links:
This platform may contain links to external websites. We have no influence on their content and accept no responsibility for their availability or accuracy. The inclusion of a link does not imply that we endorse the content of the linked pages.
Availability of the platform:
We make every effort to provide the platform as trouble-free as possible. However, technical failures may occur, for which we accept no liability.
4.Changes to the guidelines
This privacy policy and terms of use may be updated at any time. You will be informed of any significant changes in good time.
5.Contact
If you have any questions or concerns about data protection or the use of the platform, you can contact us by e-mail.
cz@lessyello.eu