Since 2019, the non-profit ‘Beienhaus’ (Bee house) has championed community-oriented housing for seniors, though its pilot project in Lorentzweiler encountered unexpected challenges.
The organisation’s president Astrid Lauterbach acknowledged the development ultimately exceeded their original vision in both luxury and pricing.
The Beienhaus model proposes rental-based communal living for residents aged 50+, combining private flats with shared social spaces. However, the Lorentzweiler project required investor involvement due to insufficient participant numbers, leading to market-rate sales and the planned conversion of communal kitchen space into an additional flat.
While not their initial vision, the non-profit is adapting their approach based on these lessons. Current residents confirm the model’s social benefits despite these modifications.
Resident Jeanny Groebig provided a compelling testament to the concept’s value when she suffered a pelvic fracture. The other inhabitants rearranged her furniture, handled shopping, prepared meals, and periodically came over for a cup of coffee, she recounted. She stressed that this would have played out very differently had she been living on her own and that she would likely have faced at least a week’s hospitalisation.
The non-profit organisation has intensified its call for municipal and government investment in community-based senior living projects. This push comes amid ongoing government commitments to support ageing in place – a policy that faces practical limitations according to advocates.
While officials frequently emphasise enabling seniors to remain in their homes, Beienhaus points to systemic gaps in current support structures. Notably, Luxembourg’s dependency insurance programme provides only eight annual nighttime check-ins for qualifying individuals, a level of care many argue proves insufficient for independent living.
In October, Beienhaus will host a conference showcasing alternative housing models, featuring experts and proven case studies from Germany.
