"Domesticating the office" at the 20th Venice Architecture Biennale

MULTIPLE + Gérald Ledent + Maïa Descamps to represent Belgium at the 20th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia with Domesticate the office

Their proposal was unanimously chosen by the jury from the four submissions shortlisted for the second phase of the selection process. Domesticate the office addresses the growing disconnect between the abundance of vacant office space and the increasing housing crisis, exploring the potential for converting office buildings into homes and the new forms of inhabitation they can foster.

The exhibition will transform the Belgian Pavilion into a full-scale case study of office-to-housing conversion, bringing together research and exemplary projects in the field alongside a trilogy of films. It will culminate in the publication of the Venice Pact, a manifesto dedicated to housing that continues Belgium's longstanding commitment to addressing major international challenges through the Biennale.

The team brings together the architecture practice MULTIPLE, founded by Abdel Majid Boulaioun and active across Wallonia and Brussels for the past 25 years; Gérald Ledent, PhD, civil engineer-architect and coordinator of the Uses&Spaces research team at UCLouvain; and Maïa Descamps, filmmaker whose short films Les huîtres—recipient of multiple awards and nominated for the 2023 Magritte Awards—and Les homards (2025) have received critical acclaim. They are joined by several partners, including La Mûrisserie and Inclusio in Brussels.

The project is conceived to extend beyond the Biennale, notably through the touring of the exhibition and its presentation in the territories explored. WBA will support its international circulation following the Biennale.

Find all the submitted proposals on the Cellule archi website.

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