Aiming high: the power of vertical extensions

On 13 May 2025, Eurogypsum is hosting an event “Aiming high: the power of vertical extensions”.

In the context of the housing shortage in Europe and the European Commission’s announced European Affordable Housing Plan, there is a need for innovative and holistic solutions. The conference will explore the concept of vertical extension – adding new floors on top of an existing building.

Vertical extension allows to create new housing in densely populated urban areas in a time- and resource-efficient manner. It can also be combined with a renovation of the existing buildings, allowing for a longer and more efficient use of our building stock.

How does it work? How much new housing space can it provide? How can policy support wider use of vertical extension?

Discover the answers to these questions and more by joining us on 13 May 2025!

The event will bring together researchers, architects, policymakers, and local authorities’ representatives to look at existing best practices, enabling factors and policies to harness this potential. The conference will be followed by a networking reception and the opportunity to see a concrete example of vertical extension.

Confirmed speakers:

Dr. Armin Mohsen Daneshgar - Founder of "Daneshgar Architects", an award-winning architectural studio behind the Qube 22 vertical extension project in Vienna.

Marina D’Antimo – Vice-President, Metals for Buildings

Didier Mignery - the founder of the UpFactor agency, which industrialises and streamlines the addition of building height in heavily built-out areas. The company is primarily active in France and developed a software to detect vertical extension potential in the built environment.

Dr.-Ing. Zuzanna Napieralska - researcher from the Wroclaw University of Science and Technology (Poland), investigating the potential for using vertical extension to create housing space.

Inigo Urresti - Senior Expert at the European Commission, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Unit GROW.H1 – Construction

Ronald Weerwag – Alderman responsible for housing and spatial planning at the Municipality of Zoetermeer (the Netherlands), which committed to wideruse of vertical extension to create housing.