Renewal Development Showcased at Venice Biennale: A Global Platform for Circular Housing Innovation
This spring, Renewal Development was honoured to participate in the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 as part of the French Pavilion exhibition, Vivre Avec (Living With). The international exhibition invites leading designers and visionaries to explore how we can live in harmony with what already exists - embracing a circular approach to the built environment in the face of the global climate crisis.
Our featured project, the shíshálh Nation: Ten Home Rescue, exemplifies this ethos. It demonstrates how the relocation and repurposing of high-quality homes from urban centres can address housing shortages while drastically reducing environmental impact.
A Model of Circularity and Reconciliation
In collaboration with the shíshálh Nation and Wesgroup, Renewal Development rescued ten viable homes slated for demolition in Metro Vancouver and relocated them to the Sunshine Coast. These modernized and upgraded homes now provide cost-effective, efficient housing on Nation lands, where local residents are in dire need of housing alternatives.
First Nations have long sought community-led solutions that foster resource management and circular initiatives that reduce waste. Renewal Development had the foresight to recognize our traditional values and help us provide good homes for the first time in 10 years.
- Yalxwemult, Lenora Joe, shíshálh Nation's elected lhe hiwus (Chief)
This project is more than a housing solution. It’s a model for reconciliation through meaningful collaboration, resource sharing, and long-term sustainability. By redirecting demolition-bound homes to where they’re most needed, the project diverted hundreds of tonnes of waste from landfill and preserved thousands of hours of embodied carbon and craftsmanship.
An Invitation to Rethink Waste
Vivre Avec explores the urgent question: How can architecture respond to the climate crisis by working with what already exists? Through the French Pavilion, curated by Jakob+MacFarlane and Martin Duplantier Architectes, the exhibition urges architects and developers to resist wasteful practices and prioritize reuse, modularity, and regenerative design.
Renewal Development’s work exemplifies this vision by transforming demolition into opportunity. Our process avoids unnecessary new construction, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and creates a more sustainable development model for cities and communities alike.
Two years ago when we started this journey I did not envision being in Venice, Italy with our shíshalh Nation and Wesgroup partners being recognized on the global stage for innovation and circularity in the built environment. Being trail-blazers is not easy.
This remarkable project has captured the attention and mobilized the imagination of architects, developers and urban planners from around the world. We’re proud to help provide 17 units of good, cost effective, sustainable housing for shíshalh Nation members.
We’re proud to demonstrate the possibilities of sustainable development. Finally, we’re proud of this partnership. It takes a village to realize a project this ambitious and groundbreaking.
- Glyn Lewis, Founder and CEO Renewal Development
A Global Stage for Local Leadership
As climate change accelerates, cities around the world are facing pressure to build faster, denser, and more affordably, often at the expense of environmental integrity. At Renewal Development, we believe the answer lies not in building more, but in building smarter.
At Wesgroup, we believe that building successful communities requires both innovation and collaboration. Renewal Development’s model exemplifies what’s possible when sustainability, circularity, and community needs come together.
We were proud to support this partnership with the shíshálh Nation, and we’re very happy to see it recognized on the global stage.
- Dean Johnson, VP Development Wesgroup
Our presence at the Venice Biennale is not just a celebration: it’s a call to action. We’re proud to share a Canadian-led model that integrates economic, environmental, and social sustainability, and we invite municipalities, developers, and Nations to join us in redefining what progress looks like.
Explore the Exhibition
The French Pavilion, Venice Biennale 2025
Theme: Vivre Avec / Living With
Featured in Canadian Architect Magazine
Curators: Jakob + Macfarlane and Martin Duplantier Architects
Organizers: Ministère de la Culture Ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires étrangères and Institut Français
Event Dates: May 10 – November 23, 2025
Project Partners: @shishalhnation @wesgroup @renewaldevelopment @nickelbros
Interested in learning more about our process or bringing this model to your community?
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