Opening: 11 December 2025, 6–10 PM 

The theme of dwelling has become one of the most urgent socio-political issues of our time. Powerful mechanisms of displacement—driven by major capital flows and broad societal transformations—are placing increasing pressure on housing availability at a global scale.

Inhabiting the ruins of the present—conceived specifically for the spaces of MACRO—stems from the project Agency for Better Living, presented at the Austrian Pavilion of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale and curated by Lorenzo Romito, Sabine Pollak and Michael Obrist.

The exhibition invites visitors to reflect on pressing questions emerging from Rome’s housing experiences: What defines a quality living space and ensures good living conditions? Which political conditions are necessary to make this possible? How can we design fair and accessible housing? And which strategies lead to the most effective outcomes?

Rome—unique for its ability to regenerate itself over time—becomes the starting point for exploring practices of reuse and renewal. Its ruins, both material and symbolic, are interpreted as territories of possibility, where spontaneous forms of renaturalisation and civic coexistence generate new urban and social ecologies.

The exhibition focuses on grassroots processes of spatial regeneration that have contributed over the years to reshaping the city’s urban fabric. Spin Time, Corviale, Lago Bullicante are among the experiences examined in the project: examples of how the “ruins of modernity” have been inhabited to meet needs and desires left unanswered by society, allowing unexpected ecological and social relationships to emerge.

Through installations, archival materials and visual narratives, Inhabiting the ruins of the present offers an unprecedented portrait of the city as a laboratory of coexistence and coevolution, where everyday life intersects with institutional planning. This fertile dialogue opens up a new perspective on urban regeneration—one in which Rome becomes both model and spokesperson.

Completing the exhibition is a “Negotiation Space”, an element already central in the Venice pavilion: an assembly-based environment conceived as an open platform where people sit together in a circular, non-hierarchical form, discussing and negotiating strategies for more conscious and equitable ways of inhabiting the city. 

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The exhibition features many contributions from artists and was created in dialogue with the social realities represented. Works by Jessi Birtwistle, Armin Linke, Stalker with IUR Map and Scomodo, and Vega were produced for the exhibition.