Activités organisées dans le cadre de l'exposition Materia
From October 2 to November 2, 2025, Brussels will host the MATERIA exhibition, co-produced by the Pavillon de l’Arsenal, Les Grands Ateliers, amàco, and Les Compagnons du Devoir, and organized by the SAU at the Usquare site.
The exhibition will showcase 40 eco-construction projects, highlighting the aesthetic qualities, technical performance, and environmental benefits of bio- and geo-based materials—stone, earth, and fibers—to imagine a more sustainable future.
In collaboration with ULB, VUB, and the non-profit Wonder Mei, the SAU is offering a rich and diverse program to accompany the exhibition. The opening event, talks, screenings, debates, and workshops for both children and adults will provide opportunities to discover, experiment, and discuss sustainable materials and reuse practices.
The program is expanding every day! Talks, workshops for adults and children… Please note that some activities require registration. All information is available here:
- 2/10 - Opening Event
Inaugural lecture by D. Gauzin Müller, followed by the opening reception (starting at 6:00 p.m.)
🕒 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
📍Usquare (227 avenue de la couronne, 1050 Ixelles)
- 03/10 - Thematic session
Thematic session: Building with earth by Natura Mater
🕒 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
📍Usquare (227 avenue de la couronne, 1050 Ixelles)
- 04/10 - Workshop
Workshop for children and adults: “From Clay to Brick” by the ULB Faculty of Architecture
This hands-on workshop invites participants to collectively explore the journey of the brick—its extraction, shaping, and decoration—as a key element of Brussels’ built environment.
Where does the clay come from? How can consistent dimensions be ensured from one brick to another? What stories do the marks on handcrafted bricks tell us?
Participants will be invited to get their hands dirty and experience the material firsthand by shaping their own clay brick.
Suitable for children. Maximum 20 participants.
🕒 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
📍Usquare (227 avenue de la couronne, 1050 Ixelles)
- 9/10 – SAU Conference
SAU Conference: “Circularity Put to the Test on the Ground”
The construction sector is at a turning point. Reducing resource consumption, improving carbon footprint, and controlling costs are now widely accepted goals. But how can these objectives be translated into concrete action on the ground?
Building on ten years of commitment to sustainable construction in its urban development projects, the SAU brings together public and private project owners, architects, contractors, engineers, experts, academics, and key players in the circular economy to share experiences, compare perspectives, and collectively identify practical avenues for action.
🕒 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
📍Usquare (227 avenue de la couronne, 1050 Ixelles)
- 10/10 - Thematic Session
Thematic session: Building with mycelium by Natura Mater
🕒 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
📍Usquare (227 avenue de la couronne, 1050 Ixelles)
- Presentation of the 𝙂𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙎𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝘼𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨 by Construction21
🕒 4:00 pm.
📍Usquare (227 avenue de la couronne, 1050 Ixelles)
- 11/10 – Children’s Workshops (ages 6–12) – FULL!!!
The ULB Children’s University is hosting a special Curios’Lab focused on materials in contemporary and sustainable architecture.
The program includes a range of educational and playful workshops, offered in collaboration with the La Cambre-Horta ULB Faculty of Architecture, the Brussels Polytechnic ULB (BATir – Building, Architecture and Town Planning Service), Archisanat, and Acruma.
Free access, registration required.
🕒 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
📍Usquare (Général Jacques, 210 A – 1050 Ixelles)
- 11/10 - Children’s Workshop (ages 6–12): “Hands in the Clay! Let’s Build the World of Tomorrow!”
Workshop for our young and future builders: This workshop introduces materials, colors, and architecture through hands-on experiences with clay, sand, earth, and straw. Participants will learn how to build a sustainable future using healthy, natural materials.
Discover through handling clay and natural materials.
Have fun while becoming environmentally aware.
Understand the benefits of building with earth.
🕒 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
📍Usquare (Général Jacques, 210 A – 1050 Ixelles)
- 15/10 – 19h00 - Screening
Screening of the documentary Architecton by Victor Kossakovsky
An extraordinary journey through the materials that make up our habitat: concrete and its ancestor, stone. From the war ruins in Ukraine to the aftermath of the 2023 earthquake in Turkey, and the archaeological site of Baalbek in Lebanon, Victor Kossakovsky raises a fundamental question: how will we inhabit the world of tomorrow?
Architecture is not just about designing buildings; it is an art of space that shapes our actions, our politics, and our being. This documentary explores the dream of sustainable architecture and the quest for a new understanding of beauty.
- 23/10 : Bento x Ohme Residency Showcase – Allied Bacteria (Performance)
Allied Bacteria is a residency where architecture meets the living: Bento Architecture experiments with the biomineralization of construction waste using the bacterium Sporosarcina pasteurii, opening new pathways for regeneration and decarbonization.
OHME, an artistic and scientific laboratory, and Bento, an architecture firm exploring living materials, join forces to invent new constructive narratives.
- 24/10 - Thematic Session
Thematic session: Building with fiber by Natura Mater
🕒 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
📍Usquare (227 avenue de la couronne, 1050 Ixelles)
25/10 : Workshop (Adults) x Earthstone (max 6 participants) – FULL!!!
The 2-hour workshop is divided into two parts:
✅ Theoretical part: Focused on Belgian clays and how to differentiate them.
✅ Practical part: Each participant will create their own candle holder.
🕒 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
📍Usquare (227 avenue de la couronne, 1050 Ixelles)
- 31/10 - Thematic Session
Thematic session: Building with stone by Natura Mater
🕒 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
📍Usquare (227 avenue de la couronne, 1050 Ixelles)
