At the Agency for Better Living, the installation in Austria’s pavilion at the 2025 Biennial of Architecture, one sentiment came up repeatedly among its visitors, who had come from across the globe: we can’t afford the cities we live in. Having seen this sentiment grow in urgency in recent decades, architects and curators Lorenzo Romito, Sabine Pollak, and Michael Obrist came together to compare and contrast Rome and Vienna: two European cities that have managed to provide affordable housing solutions through very different means. In doing so, they transformed the space into an ‘agency,’ where folks could come together to learn, imagine, and discuss alternative futures for the global housing crisis. One year later, the three get together to reflect on the successes and yet-to-be-answered questions that came from their laboratory in Venice.
the Agency for Better Living at the 2025 Biennial of Architecture in Venice was curated by Lorenzo Romito, Sabine Pollak, and Michael Obrist | all images © Hertha Hurnaus
In conversation with Romito, Pollak, and Obrist
When chatting with Pollak and Romito, both based in Vienna, they begin by recounting the early discussions around the Agency for Better Living as they waited for Romito to join the call from Rome. Pollak brought up that he’s been very involved in advocacy work for Spin Time Labs, an occupied space in Rome that housed over 400 people and was recently disbanded, causing its inhabitants to sleep in the street during Europe’s extreme heat waves. When Romito popped into the chat, the other two smiled to see him again before launching into a discussion on the future of our cities.
Romito’s been very involved in advocacy work for Spin Time Labs, an occupied space in Rome that housed over 400 people and was recently disbanded
Researching cities of interest for sustainable housing
‘We were starting from the housing crisis,’ Obrist remarks on how it’s increasingly difficult for not just Europeans and Americans, but city-dwellers all over the world to secure housing, both in terms of finding affordable leases and being able to own property. ‘It has to do with an incredible financialization of the housing market and a long-delayed response from a lot of governments to this kind of crisis.’
They presented their research in the Pavilion through a combination of timelines, films, and other visual media that allowed visitors to walk through the histories and contemporary discussions happening in both Rome and Vienna. ‘We involved a lot of researchers to write the texts together with us. At the same time, we did interviews with experts. We took a trip to look at both very early and current protagonists of co-housing living models and the basis of how they financed all that and how they organized it.’ She also talks about visiting Romito in Rome to learn about his work on the ground. She points out that she believes, ‘one of the biggest taboos in this work is really money,’ elaborating that, in the past, wealthier people with inheritances had a kind of unfettered access to the city. Yet since the financial crisis of 2008, ‘not having access to the city is becoming a problem for everybody.’
Obrist remarks on how it’s increasingly difficult for not just Europeans and Americans, but city-dwellers all over the world to secure housing, both in terms of finding affordable leases and being able to own property
Vienna as the ‘top-down’ model
‘But its not just low rents, it’s really a vision for society,’ Obrist says when explaining why Vienna became the ‘top-down’ model for their first case study in the Agency. The curators saw the decades of success Vienna has had in providing incredibly affordable living solutions in the form of social housing and government-subsidized homes to about 60% of its residents. This ‘vision’ isn’t just cost effectiveness, but it also comes in the form of providing services embedded in the building like, ‘swimming, active pools, public spaces, and community spaces in the house itself.’
the curators saw the decades of success Vienna has had in providing incredibly affordable living solutions in the form of social housing and government-subsidized homes to about 60% of its residents
Rome as the ‘bottom-up’ model
In contrast, the group was also looking for a city in which housing solutions weren’t implemented directly by the government, but by the people themselves. ‘We were looking at the biggest housing rights movements and occupation movements in Europe, which was in Rome.’ Obrist points to Romito’s involvement and how his familiarity with the Italian capital was invaluable for the development of the project, saying that they looked to ‘two different kinds of phenomena, which gave justice and care and gave an answer to cities.’
They point out that the use of the terms ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ are not perfect categories. There were grassroots groups in Vienna that made social housing possible, while advocates within the city government championed occupied spaces in Rome. What Pollak points out is that the comparison, or ‘overlaying of the systems and looking for possible models,’ is what made the two different approaches fruitful for discussion. Romito describes it as a tension, or ‘a corridor, or open space in the middle, that gives us a chance to reflect on the fact that there is not just one solution.’
the terms ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ are not perfect categories as efforts in both cities involved grass roots and government action alike
Conversations from the pavilion and the future of the agency
Pollak, Romito, and Obrist look back fondly on the several-month run of the Agency for Better Living, highlighting how the juxtaposition between the two cities gave rise to a rich series of conversations around the housing crisis. In the year since the installation’s run, they’ve seen the effect of the discussions they started in Venice.
During the conversation, Romito speaks about how the active protests and negotiations between Spin Time, the ownership of occupied land, and the city of Rome are, in a way, an ongoing dialogue that emerged from the Agency. ‘I’m ready to go back into the field. It’s 40 degrees,’ he points out about the extenuating circumstances underwriting the crisis. ‘There’s thousands of people in the street people sleeping here, supporting, and helping.’ Within this moment of political action, he points out that many are referencing the Agency’s principles, even citing when Vienna’s mayor Michael Ludwig visited Spin Time Labs in late May of 2026, continuing to implement the values and vision presented in the Pavilion.
Pollak points that the comparison, or ‘overlaying of the systems and looking for possible models,’ is what made the two different approaches in Vienna and Rome fruitful for discussion
in the year since the installation’s run, Pollak, Romito, and Obrist have seen the effect of the discussions they started in Venice
Pollack points out that since the financial crisis of 2008, ‘not having access to the city is becoming a problem for everybody.’
Romito speaks about how the active protests and negotiations between Spin Time, the ownership of occupied land, and the city of Rome are, in a way, an ongoing dialogue that emerged from the Agency
project info:
name: Agency for Better Living
location: The Austrian Pavilion at The 19th International Architecture Exhibition, Venice
dates: May 10-November 23, 2025
curators: Lorenzo Romito, Sabine Pollak, and Michael Obrist
This interview is part of designboom’s MODES OF HABITATION chapter, exploring how the spaces we inhabit can reshape the ways we live together. Discover more stories rethinking domesticity, shared living, and the many forms a home can take here.
The post what rome and vienna can teach about the future of affordable housing appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.