Renewal Development at the Chicago Architecture Biennial: Advancing a Global Movement for Circular Housing Solutions
This fall, Renewal Development was honoured to join architects, designers, researchers, and global climate leaders at the 6th Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB6) as part of the North American presentation of Living With / Vivre Avec. This exhibition was originally commissioned for the French Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale.
Building on our spring participation in Venice, the CAB6 provided another powerful platform to showcase Canada’s leadership in circular housing innovation. Plus, demonstrate how Renewal’s home rescue, relocation, retrofit, and repurposing model can help reshape the future of sustainable development.
Extending a Global Conversation: Living With / Vivre Avec Comes to North America
Curated by Jakob+MacFarlane, Éric Daniel-Lacombe, and Martin Duplantier, Living With / Vivre Avec is an exploration of how architecture can respond to today’s “polycrisis”: climate change, displacement, resource scarcity, and rapidly transforming cities.
In partnership with Villa Albertine, the Chicago Architecture Biennial, and Saint-Gobain, the exhibition examines how we can live with what already exists. Plus, how reuse, regeneration, and adaptability must become foundational to the built environment.
The CAB6 introduced a renewed, modular, and reusable installation designed with Civic Projects Architecture. The installation represented the exhibition’s core message: architecture must learn to adapt, not replace.
Sharing a Canadian Model for Climate-Resilient, Community-Led Housing
At the Biennial, Renewal Development showcased the shíshálh Nation: Ten Home Rescue, our project completed in partnership with the shíshálh Nation and Wesgroup. This initiative transformed demolition-bound homes into modern, energy-efficient housing, delivering 17 units of below-market homes for Nation members on the Sunshine Coast.
Our CEO, Glyn Lewis, joined global experts from the United States, France, and Canada on the panel Living With / Vivre Avec, discussing how circular solutions can sustain community life amid instability, climate pressures, and material scarcity.
“Many thanks to Dominique Jakob, Brendan MacFarlane, Institut français, Saint-Gobain for inviting us to attend and share. It was inspiring to learn more about global ideas in architecture, building sciences, construction, and community planning to help address big complex challenges through innovation, adaptation and disruption.”
— Glyn Lewis, Founder & CEO, Renewal Development
Our model resonated with audiences as a practical, scalable pathway for reducing demolition waste, lowering embodied carbon, and delivering cost-effective, climate-resilient housing for communities in need.
Why Chicago Matters: A Shift in Global Thinking
The Chicago Architecture Biennial has long been an international forum for addressing the biggest questions facing cities. This year’s theme, Shift: Architecture in Times of Radical Change, encouraged participants to rethink long-held assumptions about construction, land use, and urban growth.
Renewal Development’s contribution reflects a growing recognition that the future of sustainable development means working with what we already have. Cities cannot meet climate goals through new construction.
Building a Global Network for Change
From Venice to Chicago, our model continues to capture the attention of architects, developers, and policymakers looking for real, implementable alternatives to demolition.
We are proud to represent Canada in this global movement, while demonstrating that climate leadership can be practical, cost-effective, and community-driven.
Explore the Exhibition
6th Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB6)
Theme: Vivre Avec / Living With
Event Dates: November 8, 2025 – January 31, 2026
Project Partners: @shishalhnation @wesgroup @renewaldevelopment @nickelbros
Fellow panelists: Alissa Anderson, Ehsan Baharlou, Lucas Hamilton, Christopher Maurer, Zenon Radewych