How about building with old-fashioned charm?

A few nights ago, my husband and I attended a lecture at the Abbaye the Neumunster. When we walked around the area afterwards, we took in the beautiful view of the lovely old city from the bridge, pont du Grund. The old city wall nicely lit; the buildings surrounding us. The pretty Cercle Münster, to name just one. Just lovely.

On the way back home, we passed the route d’Arlon and we were saddened to see yet another modern square of tasteless and charmless living units that had arisen, seemingly overnight.

It is such a shame that everything being built nowadays is made out of the same hard, straight lines. A super modern style with an almost sterile feel to it. Plus, the speed in which these new apartments are being built is incredible. It makes you wonder about the quality, but my concern in this article is more about the style.

I know that I am not the only one that prefers older styles; I hear plenty people who are sorrowful to see all these beautiful old buildings being torn down and replaced by ugly and boring building blocks. There is even a Facebook group that shares photos of nice structures, about to be taken down.

So, I wonder. If there are many people like me who would love to preserve the beautiful old buildings of Luxembourg, why is everything newly built, so super modern? Why not build modern buildings in an old charming style? Combine the latest technology with charming details?

Just to kill the comments about money, housing, etc., I get that there is a shortage of affordable houses in Luxembourg, and I also understand that many people prefer living close to the city centre. The only way to do that is build upwards, so apartments are a logical option. And when it comes to apartments, stacking living units doesn’t often go hand in hand with creating lovely decorative facades with little putti or lion heads above the front door. But never? They could try, right?

Thankfully, there are a lot of buildings that are protected by UNESCO or local monument rules. I applaud that and am happy that this happens.

However, friends living in one of those monuments have a different take on that. They love their home, but as it is very old-fashioned and they wanted to do some reconstruction work, they have come to discover the downside of living in a monument.

It costs a lot of money, patience and frustratedly pulling out hair.

First of all, they waited nine months to get their plans approved. You’d think that having a Luxembourgish architect might speed up the process, as they would know their way within the system. But no. Three people at the commune had to approve their plans, the mayor included. Plus, this is not free…

Secondly, from what I’ve understood, the rules concerning remodelling a monument are random at best. By the way, if any reader knows full details, please let me know. But from what I have heard, the rules are in a thick book that is hardly readable, and it is far from clear what the rules are based on. A window, for instance, can only be enlarged 70 cm max. The rules don’t seem to consider that every house is different and many window sizes are different. An extension based on a certain percentage might be comprehensible, but 70 centimetres…?

Most shockingly though is that apparently the rules are semi-fixed. The rules changed a couple of years ago, so you’d think that current rules apply to current reconstructions plans, right? Well, not exactly. If you, for instance, like a remodelling that your neighbour did six years ago, you officially can’t do that yourself due to the changed rules. However, if you hire a lawyer and fight it, from what I have heard, you’ll most likely win. If this is true, it means that if you have the money and you’re willing to spend it on a lawyer, current architectural enhancement rules do not apply to you. By the way, if you are a person of influence, the rules do not apply to you either. How’s that for equality?

So however much I love the old fashioned, more classical buildings and town houses, actually living there might not be so enchanting if it happens to be a monument and you want to change a few things.

But the alternative of modern, rectangular buildings, void of any sort of decoration, isn’t appealing either. At least for some.

That’s why I think it is a great business opportunity for a construction company, to design buildings that combine old-fashioned and decorative charm with state-of-the-art modern technology. Any takers?