When architecture gets involved

Bays, windows, doors… what if these openings told the story of architects' commitment to current climate and societal challenges? These everyday elements, often looked at without being seen, condense the essentials of an architectural project: the relationship to the landscape, the management of light, the shifting boundary between the intimate and the collective. Whether a technical object or a minimal gesture, these elements become a true field of expression for architects. Through a selection of fourteen striking projects, designed in Francophone Belgium between 2023 and 2026 and drawn from Inventaires #5, the exhibition proposed by the Institut Culturel of Architecture Wallonie-Brussels (ICA) presents an architecture that is not limited to producing forms. It takes a stand in the face of the emergencies of our time: material circularity, sobriety, well-being of the inhabitants, and the place of everyone in the common space.