Christophe Hutin : Communities at Work

For the French Pavilion at the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale, Christophe Hutin’s optimistic answer to general curator Hashim Sarkis’ question—”How will we live together?” explores the face of social and environmental contemporary challenges and encourages communities to claim back their living spaces.

Communities at Work aims to reflect on the meeting between architectural know-how and the inhabitants’ own experiences of their living spaces. This reflection is guided by case studies of architectural spaces designed by communities in France, South Africa, Vietnam and the United States. In these case studies, residents narrate the evolution of their living spaces, their planning strategies for the future or improvisation of changes, and what is at stake behind the management of these spaces.

The exhibition itself immerses the visitor in the sites, with the projection of films on the walls. They invite the spectator to move from one world to another, from Mérignac to Detroit, from Hanoi to Johannesburg without a predetermined path. 

Communities at Work is also accessible through its catalogue, structured around the sites chosen by the curator and enriched by the close relationship between texts adopting the point of view of residents, and visual documentation of the spaces. The catalogue is available on the digital platform. It features complementary videos on the topic of conviviality, extracts from the film montages presented at the Pavilion, and finally, short videos on highlights from the Pavilion. 

About Christophe Hutin
Christophe Hutin is an architect, a researcher at the École d’architecture in Toulouse, and a senior lecturer at the École d’architecture in Bordeaux. He studied and documented the townships of Soweto near Johannesburg and developed renowned expertise about housing and habitats. As the founder and coordinator of the Eunic Studio in Johannesburg (2008–10), he co-founded the “Learning From” workshop, editions of which have taken place in Detroit, Soweto and Uzeste. Specialized in sustainable architecture based on the economy of construction, he has carried out a number of projects in the fields of housing and cultural facilities. Together with the architects Anne Lacaton, Jean-Philippe Vassal and Frédéric Druot, he won the Mies van der Rohe Award 2019, for the transformation of 530 social housing apartments in the Cité du Grand Parc in Bordeaux. Christophe Hutin is also a director of short films, a scenographer, and an exhibition curator.

The French Pavilion of the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale is commissioned by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the French Ministry of Culture, and the Institut français.

Communities at Work has received support from a number of partners who wanted to be involved in the development of the French Pavilion at the Biennale Architettura 2021: Saint Gobain; la Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine; Bordeaux Métropole; La Ville de Bordeaux; Aquitanis.

From September to November, the French Pavilion will develop a serie of talks and events. This cultural program is sponsored by “La Fondation des Petits Frères des Pauvres”:

The French Pavilion is one of 22 National Pavilions involved in the “Pavilions days” initiative which will be held September 23 and 24. 

Find the whole program here.

Among the cultural program:

Saturday, September 18
Asac Library, 4pm
Talk and debate with Anne Lacaton, Jean-Philippe Vassal, Frédéric Druot, Christophe Hutin, Winners of the Mies Van Der Rohe Award 2019 and Anna Ramos, Director of the Fondation Mies Van Der Rohe.

Wednesday, September 22
11am
“Habitats for aging together?” Cross-views of the Fondation Petits Frères des Pauvres and Christophe Hutin on the theme of alternative housing for the elderly. Through the presentation of projects led by the Fondation des Petits Frères des Pauvres in the fields of inclusive housing in Marseille, Beauvais and Paris, the speakers at this round table will discuss about aging together and housing as a source of social link. With Laure Pierrel, François-Xavier Turbet Delof, Eric Chauvier, Christophe Hutin. Debate in French.