This compact exhibition explores how architects have historically presented their work—how they have narrated, framed, and projected architecture through books, drawings, images, websites, and film. From the first architectural publications in the Renaissance to the media platforms of today, the works trace a lineage of self-representation in architecture, and invite visitors to reflect on how architects see themselves—or how they would like to be seen.

The works on display reveal that architecture is not only practiced through building, but also through storytelling. Dissemination becomes a strategic act: a way to shape public image, to participate in broader discourse, and to claim a place in history. Whether in the form of an idealized villa, a monumental portfolio, a carbon-conscious website, or a speculative film, these acts of publishing expose something of the architect’s vision—not just of buildings, but of their own role in society.

The exhibition juxtaposes early treatises by Sebastiano Serlio and Andrea Palladio with 17th-century publications by Philips Vingboons and Jacob van Campen; the self-fashioned mythology of Frank Lloyd Wright in the Wasmuth Portfolio; and the methodical compilations of Le Corbusier’s “Oeuvre Complète”. Alongside these, contemporary formats expand the field of architectural communication: Koolhaas and Bruce Mau’s “S,M,L,XL”; Zaha Hadid’s manifestos; Norman Foster’s Foundation; the algorithmic interface of Vylder Vink’s website; La-Di-Da’s low-carbon platform; the visual grammar of Sub’s sortable thumbnail system; and selected Instagram feeds that stage architecture as performance and persona.

Also featured are the fictional geographies of Design Earth, the dense cartographies of MVRDV’s “KM3”, and the curated urbanity of Atelier Bow-Wow’s “Made in Tokyo”. A monitor screening speculative films by Liam Young adds another dimension, while projects by Andrés Jaque, Teddy Cruz and Fonna Forman, Léopold Lambert, and Studio Folder further expand the figure of the architect—as editor, activist, researcher, and storyteller.

Drawn from the Trésor Collection of TU Delft and complemented by reproductions and digital interfaces, this exhibition highlights how dissemination has always been integral to architectural practice—not only to make architecture visible, but to help it evolve. To publish is to design one’s own reception. To share work is to propose a vision of the future.

For more than a century, we’ve been designing housing—and redesigning it. We’ve measured, regulated, and planned. We’ve debated typologies, written manifestos, passed laws, and protested when neither were enough. Beneath it all, there’s been something quieter and more persistent: the desire for a home.

Housing Acts starts from that desire and moves outward—tracing how wishes for housing have been imagined, legislated, and resisted. The exhibition brings together a selection of 20th-century books written by architects who believed that housing—and the city—could be otherwise. These books were manifestos: statements that shaped the discourse of their time and offered new directions for dwelling.

Each is placed within a larger timeline—alongside key moments of Dutch housing legislation and three waves of public protest. The rent strikes of the 1930s, the squatting and housing movements of the 1980s, and the national demonstrations of 2021 are rendered through archival collages, capturing a recurring tension between everyday realities and institutional response.
Together, these fragments tell a story of housing as a field of conflict and invention. They remind us that homes are not neutral spaces—they are the outcome of decisions, negotiations, and sometimes resistance.

Housing Acts is an invitation to reflect on what kind of housing, and what kind of city, we still wish for.