The exhibitionCe qu'habiter veut dire, organised by the Institut Culturel d'Architecture Wallonie-Bruxelles (ICA), brings together architectural stories around the question : What does "living" mean to you?

Living is not just living, it is also being aware of a landscape and an area. It is thinking about what to do with what already exists, what has already been built and developed. It is participating in the elaboration of one's living environment and the culture that flourishes around it. Finally, it is above all dreaming of a different living environment, one conducive to better well-being.

Installations, models, frescoes, testimonies, videos, photographs, sketches and collages illustrate in this exhibition the diverse approaches of those who reflect on our living environment. The result of encounters between residents, architects, photographers, urban planners, landscape designers and artists, this production gives rise to new perspectives. It offers rich visions, sometimes conceived, sometimes sketched, sometimes anchored in reality, sometimes utopian. Each subject in this anthology is delicately composed, to let the architecture inspire each visitor.

In addition, some 20 contemporary architectural projects from the last 30 years in Wallonia and Brussels are shown in the form of models, cross-sections and graphic documents. Combined with a series of photographs, the ensemble forms a sensitive interpretation of the current built and unbuilt environment of French-speaking Belgium. The exhibition Ce qu'habiter veut dire also inspired ICA to publish a book of the same name that completes the content of the exhibition. A way to broaden the experience of the exhibition and take home a souvenir of the works on display.

Participating offices 

• Brussels from March 10 to April 15, 2023 at MAD