"Ça dépend" by Jeremy Till, Éditions de la Villette
© Éditions de la Villette
Finally available in French, this classic of contemporary architectural theory opens a definitive breach in architects’ belief in the autonomy of their discipline.
It depends
Essay on the contingencies of architecture
Jeremy Till
With an original epilogue by the author
Collection : Theory & criticism
Publication date: September 2025
French and expanded version of : Architecture Depends (Cambridge (Mass.), MIT Press, 2009)
What does architecture depend on? On people, times, politics, economics, ethics, disorder… in short, on reality in all its unpredictable complexity and irreducible uncertainty. Jeremy Till invites architects to take greater account of these contingencies, which exceed their sphere of control but always end up imposing themselves on their works. With rigor and irony, the author deconstructs step by step the autonomy that architects confer on their discipline, and which maintains them in a pure and ideal vision of the objects they design. Circumstances, however, thwart the best-laid plans at every stage of the process, from conception to construction and use of a building. Mies’ “Less is more” invariably gives way to Till’s “Mess is the law”. What if this threat of destabilization turns out to be a tremendous opportunity? Wouldn’t architects have everything to gain from coming down from their ivory towers, and “starchitects” from their pedestals, to engage in an open and constructive dialogue with their multiple interlocutors – experts, decision-makers, craftsmen, users, inhabitants – but also with the things that surround them – materials, regulations, waste, climatic phenomena? This is the key to producing more useful, more humane architecture, and above all, to hoping to transform the world.
For more information, visit Jeremy Till’s website.
- On Tuesday September 30, at 6:30 pm, Jeremy Till will give a conference atENSA Paris-la Villette, amphitheater 302, 144 avenue de Flandre, Paris 19th. Admission free, subject to availability.
- On Wednesday October 1, at 7.30pm, Jeremy Till presents his book at the Volume bookshop, 47 rue Notre-Dame de Nazareth, Paris, 4th arrondissement. Signing followed by a drink.
- On Thursday October 2, at 7:00 pm, CIVA in Brussels hosts a conversation between Jeremy Till, Pauline Lefebvre and Pierre Chabard about the book. CIVA, 55 rue de l’Ermitage, 1050 Brussels. Book here
News
Japan in the spotlight from March 2 to 16, 2026
ENSA Paris-la Villette is delighted to welcome a delegation from its Japanese partner universities: The University of Tokyo, Meiji University, Chiba University, Tokyo City University, Insitute of Science Tokyo, Kyoto University, Kyushu University.
Their visit, made possible thanks to funding from the European Union’s Erasmus+ program, is accompanied by a number of events that will benefit the school’s students, alumni and teaching staff, most of which will also be open to the general public. Course presentations, round tables and conferences, as well as an exhibition, will provide ample opportunity for meetings and exchanges.
This event is intended both as a retrospective celebrating the educational, scientific and human relations that have linked ENSAPLV and its Japanese academic partners for several decades, and as an opportunity to initiate new research and educational projects co-constructed on promising themes for the future.
3007 visitors to Open Day 2026
On Saturday February 7, ENSA Paris-la Villette welcomed a large number of visitors who came to find out more about studying architecture and the specific features of ENSA Paris-la Villette: the range of initial and specialized courses on offer, admissions procedures, the course of studies, international mobility, careers in architecture and professional integration, student life…
Alone, with friends or family, visitors wandered around the school premises to discover the student work on display (architectural projects, performing arts and techniques, plastic arts, etc.) and to meet students, teachers and administrative staff, who were on hand to answer any questions.
Couldn’t make it?
On this page, you’ll find all the information you need to make your choice.
Ré]inventer l'existant 2025" competition
Congratulations to Eve Bergeron, Emma Coppens and Lilia Hocine, students at ENSA Paris-la Villette, winners and finalists in the third edition of the competition [Ré]inventer l’existant 2025: les architectes de demain imaginent notre avenir post-carbone, organized by DRAC and DRIEAT Île-de-France!
The “Le Ventre de la Baleine” project, under the direction of Guillaume Baron and Mesnil Sineus, won the “Architect Mediator” special mention.
Christian Barani meets L1 students to discuss the film "Penser l'incertitude" ("Thinking about uncertainty")
As part of the inaugural week, an afternoon was dedicated to discovering different cultural practices (shows, films, scenography workshops, etc.).
Around sixty first-year students attended the screening of the documentary “Penser l’incertitude”, which portrays a new generation of architects and landscape architects, winners of the AJAP 2023 awards. Travelling through landscapes, traversing worksites and visiting buildings, these young professionals bear witness to their work, the meaning of a delicate commitment and an attention to caring for territories and the people who live in them.
The screening was followed by a discussion with filmmaker Christian Barani and Hervé Bougon, co-founder and general manager of the Close-Up festival, whose 5th edition will be held from November 17 to 25, 2025.
Bookstore release: "La Critique à l'œuvre", Éditions de la Villette
A lively, scholarly analysis of key episodes in the recent history of architectural criticism. With contributions by Georges Adamczyk, Paolo Amaldi, Jean-Pierre Chupin, Carmella Cucuzzella, Bechara Helal, Rainier Hoddé, Hélène Jannière, Jonathan Lachance, Réjean Legault, David Theodore and Estelle Thibault.
Bookstore release: "La Critique à l'œuvre", Éditions de la Villette
A lively, scholarly analysis of key episodes in the recent history of architectural criticism. With contributions by Georges Adamczyk, Paolo Amaldi, Jean-Pierre Chupin, Carmella Cucuzzella, Bechara Helal, Rainier Hoddé, Hélène Jannière, Jonathan Lachance, Réjean Legault, David Theodore and Estelle Thibault.