France 2025

Title: Living With / Vivre Avec
Commissioner: Institut français, operator of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture
Curators: Dominique Jakob and Brendan MacFarlane, Éric Daniel-Lacombe, Martin Duplantier
Exhibitors:Jakob+MacFarlane Architects, Silvio d’Ascia, RMC; Éric Daniel- Lacombe, Martin Duplantier Architectes; AIR Architectures, mahl gebhard konzepte, Assemble, BC Architects & Studies & Materials, Ostrowski Demuyter Architectes, Atelier Pascal Gontier, l’AUC, Fagart&Fontana, Mosbach Paysagistes, Beirut Urban Lab, Boonserm Premthada (Bangkok Project Studio), La Cabina de la Curiosidad, Corinne Vezzoni et Associés, Khoury Arquitetura, Ehsan Baharlou, David Carr, Ji Ma (University of Virginia), Guinée*Potin Architectes, Hérault Arnod Architectures, INterland, Atelier Iris Chervet, Urban Water, Kashef Chowdhury/Urbana, Collectif Make It Rain, Les Marneurs, MCBAD architecture & urban design, Andrés Jaque/Office for Political Innovation + Miguel Mesa del Castillo, redhouse studio, Kamau Architects, Renewal Development, Philippe Rahm architectes, Ro3kvit urban coalition for Ukraine, Zotov&Co, Big City Lab & Pulpa, MRIIA, Greenpeace, StudioPaolaViganò, atelierphilippemadec / (apm) & associés, Richez_Associés, Franck Boutté Consultants, ruée, Salima Naji, Studio Gang, tectone architectes urbanistes, terrain: integral designs, archibrand, Thibaud Babled Architectures, THINK TANK architecture paysage urbanisme, TITAN, Jacques Rougerie, Sempervirens, Toyo Ito, Hideaki Katsura, Kaoru Suehiro, Masashi Sogabe, Toyo Ito & Associates, Office of Kumiko Inui, Sou Fujimoto Architects; Akihisa Hirata Architecture Office, SANAA, Riken Yamamoto & Field Shop, o+h, Klein Dytham architecture, Contemporaries, Tetsuo Kondo Architects, Fumio Uchida, Hideo Nishiyama, Michiko Okano Architects, EIKA studio, PERSIMMON HILLS architects, Kaori Shikichi, Ayaka Matsuda, Kohei Kudo & Associates, Kazuyo Sejima , Trung Mai / Ad hoc Practice , Triptyque, Duncan Lewis Architectes, WZMH Architects, École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Paris-La Villette, École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Marseille, Kharkiv School of Architecture, Ain Shams University, Université Française d’Égypte, Prince Sultan University, Southern California Institute of Architecture, École Africaine des Métiers de l’Architecture et de l’Urbanisme

While the French Pavilion undergoes renovation, the Vivre avec / Living with project takes over its immediate surroundings. Positioned between the pavilion and the canal, this temporary space is designed as an open and inclusive shelter.

The pavilion itself embodies the concept of Living with—integrating with its environment, landscape, and surroundings. The curatorial team draws inspiration from the construction site, garden, and canal, making the ongoing renovation an essential part of the architectural, scenographic, and sensory experience for visitors.

This unique off-site setting allows the pavilion, which typically faces away from the canal, to open towards the water for the first time—a vital element of the Venetian landscape and infrastructure—creating a shaded microclimate.

It serves as a living illustration of a world challenged to reconnect with nature, shift its relationship with its surroundings, and embrace acceptance, responsibility, mutualism, and local knowledge.