Réappropriations

Towards a regenerative approach to architecture # Réappropriations

The Réappropriations exhibition, organized from October 12 to November 26, 2023 at the Halles Universitaires de Louvain-la-Neuve, invites the public to discover spatial strategies that repair the damaged world in which we live. These projects, on an architectural and territorial scale, propose to densify existing buildings rather than using up virgin space, to regenerate existing constructions rather than demolishing in order to rebuild, and finally, to integrate the reuse of construction materials. Models, photographs, films, drawings, collages and interviews create a dialogue between completed architectural projects, expert spatial studies and citizen participation. 

In addition to drawing attention to the exceptional renovation of the Halles Universitaires (architect Yves Lepère) through the installation Harvest column by Flore Fockedey, Petar Petricevic and Johanna Bendlin at the building's entrance, Réappropriations establishes a dialogue between recently completed architectural projects, citizen participatory work and expert spatial studies. 

Seven architectural projects located in Wallonia and Brussels, developed by the architecture firms AgwA, Artau Architectures, Atelier Chora, Label Architecture, Notan Office, Olivier Fourneau Architectes, and Ouest Architecture x Rotor DC interact with "Désirs et formes d'habiter", which relates the spatial approaches of adolescents and seniors from Brabant Wallon, which were developed and collected during workshops organized by ICA and MUBW. These projects then interact with two prospective visions: one regarding the regeneration potential of Louvain-la-Neuve by the research laboratory Super-positions (UCLouvain), and the other concerning the future of four-sided villas in Brabant Wallon by vvv architecture urbanisme + Guillaume Vanneste (UCLouvain). Each of these strategies offers its response to the initial question: "What do buildings, their sites, and their territories need to remain or become relevant in the face of tomorrow's challenges?". These reflections are complemented by the serie of New Way of Life, featuring the singularly humorous embroidered libels of visual artist Aurélie William Levaux on our current living environment.

"Réappropriations" also celebrates the national release of "Architectures Wallonie-Bruxelles Inventaires #4 Inventories 2020-2023 - Towards a Regenerative Approach to Architecture." This publication, overseen by the ICA (Institut Culturel d’Architecture Wallonie-Bruxelles) and published by the Architecture Unit of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, is committed to promoting spatial approaches which includes both projects and actions that can trigger the necessary spatial, environmental, and societal transition.