Cité de l’Architecture & du Patrimoine, Paris, 17 Jun 2009 – 01 Jul 2010

At the heart of the museum, the modern and contemporary gallery is developing a display on the subject of architecture and the city from 1850 to 2001, in a specially designated 1200m2 area. This includes a 300m2 space reserved for temporary displays on the most pertinent contemporary questions. The space is an in-depth exploration of the way we live, its contemporary development, and a reflection on the modern world. The theme of the show is updated every year. The “Vers de nouveaux logements sociaux” (towards new social housing) exhibition will follow the current display entitled “La Peau: entre texture et ossature” (skin: from texture to structure).

In the face of the high demand for social housing, what can architecture offer? What qualitative and innovative response can meet this quantitative need? What part does experimentation play in this area seen in recent years as an architectural laboratory?

The exhibition will explore new types of lifestyles and the evolution of society, set against the key issues for contemporary towns; and if we add the question of sustainable development in terms of quality of life and social justice, housing is, now more than ever, an extremely topical subject.

A selection of 16 recent* works in France (less than 5 years old) will be exhibited through different types of media: visual, texts, models and films. Around a hundred other projects will also run in parallel, selected in France and elsewhere, which represent a revival of social housing.