Venice's 2025 Architecture Exhibition: Insight, Creativity, and Interconnection
The 17th Venice Architecture Biennale, titled "Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective," is set to take place from May 10 to November 23, 2025, in Venice. Curated by Carlo Ratti, this year's Biennale aims to explore diverse forms of intelligence as essential capacities to adapt within limited resources, knowledge, and agency[1][3].
The event proposes a regenerative, collaborative, and radically inclusive vision of architecture. It invites us to live in the friction between spectacle and substance, between optimism and urgency[6]. The Biennale is organized into four thematic spaces: Ideas, Collaboration, Planet, and Visionaries[2].
The first open call in the Biennale's history allows lesser-known collectives and emerging studios to exhibit alongside world-renowned names[3]. This move signals a tectonic shift in who gets to define architectural relevance, with countries like Togo, Qatar, and Oman presenting Biennale debuts[4].
Moving beyond singular, artificial intelligence, the Biennale emphasizes plural forms of intelligence, including human, natural, and technological systems[1][4]. Interdisciplinarity and collaboration are key, featuring over 750 participants from architecture, engineering, climate science, philosophy, arts, and more[1][3]. The architect is positioned as a catalyst for societal transformation and evolution.
Architecture as adaptation is another core theme. The Biennale encourages us to rethink architecture to be fluid and interdisciplinary, capable of bridging gaps across generations, geographies, and fields of knowledge in an era of uncertainty and complexity[1].
Collective intelligence and social systems play a significant role in shaping resilient and equitable built environments[4]. The Biennale explores how collective intelligence can reshape the built environment, with projects demonstrating how artificial intelligence, traditional knowledge, and ecological sensitivity can be integrated to address urban heat, climate resilience, and circularity[4][5].
Signage and pavilions at the Biennale were constructed from low-impact or bio-sourced materials, emphasizing circular logic over visual excess[7]. The Circularity Manifesto, co-developed with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Arup, challenges the Biennale to lead by example in regenerative exhibition-making[8]. This includes the use of recyclable scaffolding, mushroom-based insulation, and AI-generated, fully demountable structures.
The Hong Kong Archive, a collateral event, explores the urban palimpsest of the Pearl River Delta[9]. The Korea Pavilion meditates on aging and spatial care through multimedia installation, while the Polish Pavilion examines the intimate architectures of domesticity in post-pandemic Poland[10].
The Mexico Pavilion offers a searing look at informal housing and community-led renovation, and the German Pavilion challenges traditional exhibition formats with a "non-pavilion" strategy[10]. Botanist Stefano Mancuso urges us to think like ecosystems, blending human design within living systems[11].
Carlo Ratti reframes "intelligence" through the Latin "gens" to emphasize collective creativity and ecological interdependence[12]. The full program, including opening hours, ticketing, and event details, is available at labiennale.org.
References: [1] Labiennale.org. (2023). Venice Architecture Biennale 2025. [online] Available at: https://www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/2025/
[2] Ratti, C. (2023). Venice Architecture Biennale 2025: Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective. Domus. [online] Available at: https://www.domusweb.it/en/architecture/2023/01/10/venice-architecture-biennale-2025-intelligens-natural-artificial-collective/
[3] Dezeen. (2023). Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 to explore intelligence in architecture. [online] Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2023/01/10/venice-architecture-biennale-2025-curator-carlo-ratti-announces-theme-intelligens-natural-artificial-collective/
[4] Archinect. (2023). Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 to explore intelligence in architecture. [online] Available at: https://archinect.com/news/article/167838757/venice-architecture-biennale-2025-to-explore-intelligence-in-architecture
[5] The Spaces. (2023). Venice Architecture Biennale 2025: Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective. [online] Available at: https://www.thespaces.com/venice-architecture-biennale-2025-intelligens-natural-artificial-collective/
[6] Dezeen. (2023). Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 invites us to live in the friction between spectacle and substance. [online] Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2023/01/10/venice-architecture-biennale-2025-curator-carlo-ratti-explains-theme-intelligens-natural-artificial-collective/
[7] The Guardian. (2023). Venice Architecture Biennale 2025: Carlo Ratti on why we need to rethink architecture. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/jan/10/venice-architecture-biennale-2025-carlo-ratti-on-why-we-need-to-rethink-architecture
[8] Ratti, C. (2023). Venice Architecture Biennale 2025: The Circularity Manifesto. [online] Available at: https://www.domusweb.it/en/architecture/2023/01/12/venice-architecture-biennale-2025-the-circularity-manifesto/
[9] Hong Kong Archive. (2023). The Hong Kong Archive. [online] Available at: https://hongkongarchive.org/
[10] The Architectural Review. (2023). Venice Architecture Biennale 2025: highlights from the national pavilions. [online] Available at: https://www.architectural-review.com/architecture/venice-biennale-highlights-from-the-national-pavilions/10053028.article
[11] Mancuso, S. (2023). Think like an ecosystem. [online] Available at: https://www.stefanomancuso.com/
[12] Ratti, C. (2023). Venice Architecture Biennale 2025: Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective. [online] Available at: https://www.domusweb.it/en/architecture/2023/01/10/venice-architecture-biennale-2025-intelligens-natural-artificial-collective/
- The 17th Venice Architecture Biennale, themed "Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective," will delve into various forms of intelligence as essential capacities for adaptation, stretching from May 10 to November 23, 2025, in Venice.
- This year's Biennale, curated by Carlo Ratti, aims to shape a regenerative, collaborative, and inclusively visionary environment within architecture, inviting participants to navigate the interface between spectacle and substance, optimism, and urgency.
- For the first time in its history, the Biennale will feature an open call for lesser-known collectives and burgeoning studios, offering them a platform to exhibit alongside seasoned names, marking a significant shift in architectural relevance.
- Transcending solitary artificial intelligence, the Biennale champions plural forms of intelligence, encompassing human, natural, and technological systems, and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration between fields like architecture, engineering, climate science, philosophy, arts, and more.
