Ce que habiter veut dire in Nantes

6From April to June 2025, the Institut Culturel d'Architecture Wallonie-Bruxelles (ICA) will be visiting the Pays de la Loire region. The exhibition Ce qu'habiter veut dire is a sensitive account of the ICA's three-year journey to discover French-speaking Belgium and its inhabitants. During this exploration, using culture as a lever, the Institut Culturel d'Architecture Wallonie-Bruxelles opened up this question to all its audiences: ‘For you, what does it mean to live?’ and in 2023 gave rise to an exhibition organised by the ICA at MAD Brussels, as well as a book.

Today, the exhibition is being revived at the Maison de l'architecture des Pays de la Loire (Nantes) in a new form, offering a re-reading of this survey and its issues.

"From the meetings between residents, architects, town planners and landscape architects, many responses have been patiently collected, collated and formatted.

Although the testimonies collected are specific to French-speaking Belgium, they transcend national borders and reflect the way we live. They reveal new horizons that are capable of giving architecture a voice a-nd inspiring every visitor. Because living is not just about finding a place to live, it's also about becoming aware of a landscape and a territory; it's about thinking about what to do with what's already there, what's already been built and developed; it's about taking part in shaping our living environment and the culture that thrives around it; and last but not least, it's about dreaming of a different way of life, one that enhances our well-being.

Ce qu'habiter veut dire bears witness to the poetry and diversity of the approaches of those who think about our living environment.

The exhibition brings together rich visions that are sometimes constructed, sometimes sketched out, sometimes rooted in reality, sometimes utopian. Architects, landscape architects, town planners, artists and designers all enter into a dialogue to bring the Maison régionale de l'architecture des Pays de la Loire to life.

The association is hosting this exhibition and, in partnership with local players, is offering a series of events in the field (literary encounters, visits, etc.) to ask the people of Pays de la Loire what it means to live here.