Panel Discussion: Living With / Vivre Avec
November 9, 2025 | Chicago Architecture Biennial
Living With / Vivre Avec — From Venice to Chicago
Biennial, Exhibition
Curators: Dominique Jakob and Brendan MacFarlane, with Eric Daniel-Lacombe and Martin Duplantier. Photo © Schnepp Renou
Chicago Architecture Biennial
840 North Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL, 60611
November 8, 2025 - January 31, 2026
Partnering with the 6th Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB6), Villa Albertine presents Living With / Vivre Avec, an exhibition originally commissioned for the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale that explores architecture’s capacity to respond to contemporary crises—climate change, social upheaval, and urban transformation.
Designed by architects Dominique Jakob and Brendan MacFarlane, in association with Éric Daniel-Lacombe and Martin Duplantier, the exhibition was first presented in Venice as the official French Pavilion of the Biennale. Presented in Chicago from November 8, 2025 to January 31, 2026, it extends that reflection and invites audiences to imagine how architecture can help sustain life amid conflict, displacement, and ecological instability.
Organized around six thematic clusters—Living with the Existing, the Immediate, the Broken, Vulnerabilities, Nature, and Combined Intelligences—Living With / Vivre Avec leads visitors through an immersive landscape of totems presenting projects and reflections from around the world. Each explores inventive ways to renew existing environments, adapt to fragility, and foster coexistence among humans, technology, and the natural world.
Developed with Chicago-based Civic Projects Architecture, the scenography reinterprets the sustainable design of the Venice Pavilion into a new, site-specific installation. Modular and reusable, the structure embodies adaptability and collective intelligence—the very principles at the heart of the exhibition’s vision.
Presented for the first time in North America, Living With / Vivre Avec resonates with CAB6’s theme, Shift: Architecture in Times of Radical Change, curated by Florencia Rodriguez. Together, these initiatives create a shared platform for architects, thinkers, and citizens to exchange ideas and imagine more resilient ways of living.
Through Living With / Vivre Avec, Villa Albertine reaffirms its mission to foster dialogue between France and the United States, connecting the worlds of architecture, culture, and public engagement across both sides of the Atlantic.
Commissioned by Villa Albertine, the French Institute for Culture and Education, in partnership with the Chicago Architecture Biennial, Living With / Vivre avec is made possible through the generous support of Saint-Gobain, a global leader in light and sustainable construction.
Public hours are Wednesday–Sunday, 12:00–6:00 p.m., with extended evening hours on Thursdays until 8:00 p.m.
In partnership with
Albertine Foundation
Albertine Foundation is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting French American relations through innovative cultural and educational programs.
In close partnership with Villa Albertine, the French Institute for Culture and Education, Albertine Foundation administers grant programs across diverse creative disciplines including visual and performing arts; cinema; and literature, while also supporting exploratory residencies for creative professionals and thinkers across the United States. Albertine Foundation also contributes to promoting French language learning in the United States and funds new opportunities for students, professors, and researchers in the spheres of secondary and higher education.
Albertine Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation by Internal Revenue Service determination. Contributions from corporate, foundation, and individuals are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Saint-Gobain
Saint-Gobain is the global leader in sustainable construction, operating in 79 countries with a workforce of over 160,000 employees. The company develops and manufactures innovative materials for the construction and industrial sectors, enhancing everyday life with solutions for buildings, transportation, and infrastructure. Committed to decarbonization and sustainability, Saint-Gobain addresses key challenges, such as resource conservation and urbanization. Founded in France in 1665, its innovation is guided by the purpose of “Making the world a better home.”
JAKOB + MACFARLANE
JAKOB+MACFARLANE, founded in 1998 in Paris by Dominique Jakob and Brendan MacFarlane, is an architecture, urban planning, and design firm. Driven by innovation and social responsibility, the practice addresses environmental and societal challenges of the 21st century. Its projects serve as distinctive urban landmarks, combining civic value with a unique architectural identity.
Chicago Architecture Biennial
The Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB) is dedicated to creating an international forum on architecture and urbanism. It produces year-round programs and a biennial exposition of city-wide activations for a diverse audience of designers, educators, advocates, and students. CAB’s mission is to engage and inspire professional and public audiences, highlight the transformative power of architecture and envision a future for the field that is equitable and sustainable.
Institut français
The Institut français is responsible for France’s international cultural program. Supervised by both the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and by the Ministry of Culture, it promotes French culture abroad through cultural exchange initiatives. Operating in a space where the arts, intellectual exchange, cultural and social innovation, and linguistic partnerships interact and intersect, it is also responsible for promoting the French language and the sharing of works, artists, and ideas all over the world. The Institut français is one of Villa Albertine’s main French partners.
