Between September 2023 and February 2024, Paris-based architect and artist Louise Morin carried out a residency focused on the issue of thermal comfort and the ideal temperature.

Global warming, geopolitical tensions and the recent oil crisis are raising crucial questions about energy resources, highlighting the importance of architecture in public and political debate. At the same time, within the discipline itself, standards relating to the energy performance and insulation of buildings are becoming increasingly stringent. And while alternatives to materials derived from the petroleum industry and the perpetual renewal of ever more efficient techniques do exist, they are still not widely used.

Against this backdrop, Louise set out to explore the idea of heating bodies rather than spaces. Rooted in the Belgian territory, she turned her attention to the history of the textile industry, which has played a major role in Belgium for centuries. Inspired by the paintings of the old Flemish masters and the cloth halls built in many large urban centers, she gradually turned her research towards contemporary issues.

Louise Morin is the first resident in the program launched by Architecture Curating Practice in May 2023. Through this program, the primary ambition is to offer a purposeful long-term support to architects to develop a meaningful research and production of their interest related to the architecture discipline. Because we believe in the ability of architects to address fundamental social issues, question current paradigms, and create links to other disciplines to come up with innovative proposals.