With We The Bacteria, the VAi brings the fascinating world of microorganisms to DE SINGEL. Following a sensational run at Triennale Milano, the exhibition comes to Antwerp, expanded to include local examples from Flanders. Architecture, contemporary art and science are interwoven throughout the arts centre. Curators Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley say: ‘Bacteria determine how we live, how we think, and how we stay healthy.’
Opening lecture and vernissage| on 29.09.2026 at 20:00
Exhibition | from 30.09.2026 to 31.01.2027
VAi in De Singel, Antwerp
‘Architecture has contributed both to the destruction and preservation of bacteria. Many contemporary diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, autoimmune disorders, allergies, Alzheimer’s and depression, are linked to a loss of microbial diversity.’ This is the striking premise of the exhibition We The Bacteria. Curators Beatriz Colomina (architectural historian and professor at Princeton University) and Mark Wigley (professor of architecture at Columbia University) explore the ‘diseases of the built environment’, which are inextricably bound up with planetary health and the state of the biosphere. The exhibition advocates a different view of humanity: as a mobile ecosystem inseparable from the world of bacteria.
‘The Vitruvian Man depicts the human body from the outside; this exhibition reveals what lies within.’
We The Bacteria invites us to look at ourselves differently. It introduces visitors to their own bacteria and then traces the journey these microorganisms have taken, from deep within the earth to outer space, and from 4.2 billion years ago to the present day. But the exhibition also looks to the future. Installations by international design teams and microbiologists showcase new ways of living in harmony with bacteria.
‘As designers, we need to start viewing buildings more as immune systems.’
Alongside recent research, the exhibition looks at the history of Flemish architecture in relation to the wider world, told from the perspective of bacteria – from antiquity to twentieth-century Modernism. What influence did bacteria have on the design of healthcare and sanitary facilities, as well as urban development? To explore this question, the VAi delves into its own collection, while also drawing on those of, amongst others, the Gallo-Roman Museum, the Plantin-Moretus Museum and Musea Brugge. Discover historical drawings of Atuatuca Tungrorum (now Tongeren) and admire ancient perfume bottles dating from 150 CE, discovered by archaeologists in a Roman bath complex in the city. These artefacts highlight the importance of hygiene and bear witness to a cultural shift in our relationship with bacteria.
We The Bacteria takes visitors on a trail through the DE SINGEL arts centre, where architecture, art and science converge. Along the way, you’ll encounter 25 objects in the corridors and exhibition hall. In the visitor’s guide, Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley explain the ideas behind We The Bacteria, telling its story in detail through the objects on display. An audio tour guides you through the exhibition, with nine stops offering additional explanations and the opportunity to hear from the curators themselves.
‘Bacteria love architecture. Ever since humans have built architecture, it has attracted bacteria.’
The installations offer a tangible new way of engaging with bacteria. You’ll find them not only in the exhibition hall, but throughout the DE SINGEL arts centre. A few highlights:
Due to global warming, the climate is shifting away from the equator at a rate of 1 metre per hour, bringing about radical changes in ecosystems. Plant and animal species are moving ever further north, along with bacteria and viruses. In 30 years’ time, Antwerp’s climate may well be comparable to that of some southern European countries. With this slide, Philippe Rahm poses the question: what if we filled Antwerp’s playgrounds with soil from the south of France? Today’s children could then absorb the bacteria, viruses, moulds and yeasts that will enable them to respond to the infections of tomorrow.
The Transspecies Palace provides the mechanical and hydrothermal conditions to multiply the diversity and density of a collaborative microbial community of bacteria and fungi. The porous cavities of its thick cork crust, first tested in the facade of Reggio School in Madrid, provide the genetic and physical framework where processes of carbon sequestration and oxygen production intensify.
The battle against microbes begins at home, with a dizzying array of antimicrobial products, chemicals, technologies and routines. A large shelf displays a seemingly endless range of cleaning products bearing labels such as ‘fresh’, ‘spotless’, ‘shiny’ and ‘odourless’ – euphemisms for the death of microbes. Nowadays, the home cleans itself. Antimicrobial chemicals and nanoparticles are incorporated into the materials used in buildings, furniture, toys, worktops, carpets, chopping boards and door handles
If you were to unfold a human intestine, it would cover 32 square metres. That is larger than the average living space per person worldwide, which is 20 square metres. This circular installation symbolizes the constant exchange of countless microbes between the surfaces of buildings and the human body, gut and brain. Body and building form a single, interwoven microbial landscape
This installation reinterprets the concept of ‘cosiness’ through microbial architecture. Various organisms form living walls and floors, capturing carbon dioxide from the exhibition space and converting it into nutritious biomass. Meanwhile, fungal networks take root in 3D-printed layers of bark made from algae-derived biopolymers. The result is a forest seemingly composed of recycled birch trunks.
We The Bacteria
30 September 2026 to 31 January 2027 inclusive
Exhibition hall and around the DE SINGEL art centre
Desguinlei 25, 2018 Antwerp (BE)
Open from Wed to Sun, from 2 pm to 7 pm; for evening performances, until 10 pm
Entrance: pay what you can: € 6 / € 9 / € 14 / € 20. (tickets online and at the venue). As a visitor, you are free to choose a lower price if that makes your visit easier. Can you afford to pay a higher ticket price? If so, you’ll be helping others to pay less. €0 (students, under 19s, reduced rate/Omnio status and ICOM members; tickets available only at the venue)
> tickets
We The Bacteria
With a lecture by Beatriz Colomina (architectural historian and lecturer, Princeton University) and Mark Wigley (lecturer in architecture, Columbia University)
29.09.2026 at 20:00
Rode Zaal (Red Hall) DE SINGEL
Desguinlei 25, 2018 Antwerp (BE)
€0 (registration essential)
> tickets
EcoLogicStudio in conversation with Bento
15.10.2025 at 20:00
Music studio DE SINGEL
Desguinlei 25, 2018 Antwerp (BE)
€0 (registration essential)
> tickets available soon
A Triennale Milano exhibition, presented by the Flanders Architecture Institute (VAi) and DE SINGEL
Curators: Beatriz Colomina en Mark Wigley
Scenography: GRACE, Lorenzo Bondavalli, Giacomo Cantoni, Ekaterina Golovatyuk
With work of: ADCO Technik GmbH, Raed Alkowni, An-Najah National University, Arizona State University, ARUP, Australian Antarctic Division, Francesca Bini, BioMason, Matteo Bisi, Ingo Burgert, Hans Busstra, Cabrillo College, Giuseppina Campisciano, Elisabetta Caselli, Carolina Cason, Scott Chimileski , Columbia University, Manola Comar, Maria D’Accolti, Danino Synthetic Biological Systems Lab, Nele De Belie, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Mary E. Lidstrom, Alissa Eckert, ecoLogicStudio, Kerstin Elert, ETH Zurich., Getty Institute, Ghent University, Elke Gruyaert, Davide Gulotta, Caitlyn Hall, Rinad Hamed, Kazumi Hiraga, Øyvind Holmstad, Hubertus Design, Institute for Maternal and Child Health – IRCCS., Andrés Jaque, Yoshiharu Kimura, Robert Kindler, Roberto Kolter, Laura Kurgan, Luca Lanzoni, Jean Larson, Steven Lawrence, Yasuhito Maeda, Magnel-Vandepitte Laboratory for Structural Engineering and Building Materials, Nariman Mahabadi, Sante Mazzacane, Eleonora Mazziga, Dan Miller, Kenji Miyamoto, Modern Synthesis, Edoardo Mollica, MycoHAB, Kohei Oda, Martin Oeggerli, Office for Political Innovation (OFFPOLINN), Pazdera AG, Philippe Rahm architectes, Davide Rapp, Carlos Rodriguez Navarro, Sarah Schenck, Rudi Scheuermann, Shehdeh Jodeh, Irene Soffritti, Alan Sonfist, SSC Strategic Science Consult GmbH, Roman Stocker, André Studart, Tasha Sturm, Synthetic Lab , Toshihiko Takehana, Ikuo Taniguchi, Technische Universität Dresden, Paola Toscani, Kiyotsuna Toyohara, University of Ferrara, University of Granada, University of Innsbruk, University of Washington, Leon van Paassen, VIPEQ, Antonella Volta, Adam Vosburgh, Frank Willens, Hironao Yamaji, Shosuke Yoshida
Historical research: Beatriz Colomina, Johan Lagae, Simon De Nys-Ketels, Alek Vanderheyden, Mark Wigley
Project coordinator VAi: Nino Goyvaerts
Production lead De Singel: Jessie Bervoets
Production audio tour: Ann Van Loon
Technical production coordinator: Guy Anthoni
Public outreach: Rosan Meijer
Press and communications: Egon Verleye
Director VAi: Dennis Pohl
Partners of We The Bacteria
Yakult | Yokuu | Yun
The Flanders Architecture Institute is funded by
The Flemish Government
The ’26 – ’27 programme is made possible by VAi’s strucutural partners
Reynaers Aluminium | Forster | Febelcem | Wienerberger | Stone | Vande Moortel | Cosentino | Vola
communication kit
Egon Verleye
Press & Communication Officer
Flanders Architecture Institute
T +32 (0)3 242 89 73
E egon.verleye@vai.be
