Eight noteworthy undertakings to explore during the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025
The 19th Venice Architecture Biennale, held in 2025, is a unique showcase of architectural innovation, curated by Carlo Ratti, an architect and professor at MIT. This edition, themed "Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.", explores the intersections of natural, artificial, and collective intelligences, with a focus on architecture as adaptive intelligence.
The biennale, which runs until November 23, is not limited to digital wizardry and geoengineering inventions, despite initial criticism. Instead, it is a platform for diverse and transdisciplinary participants, including architects, designers, researchers, engineers, thinkers, scientists, and artists, to reflect on how architecture can improve our lives.
The central exhibition at the Arsenale, one of the biennale's busiest venues, feels like being in a science/AI lab or a giant Google search engine. Here, exhibitions and projects are designed to make visitors rethink the fundamental role of architecture.
One of the unmissable exhibitions at the biennale is the main exhibition, hosted exclusively at the Arsenale and across Venice due to renovation works at the Giardini Central Pavilion. It is organized around ten thematic pathways that challenge traditional architectural hierarchies. These include Tree Tech, Alliances for the Chthulucene, Radical Shelters, Architecture Beyond Architects, Robotic Constructs, Networked Cities, Staying Cool, Circular Matters, Taking on Water, and Out of this World.
Another highlight is the "GENS Public Program," a series of workshops, conferences, and collective actions aimed at fostering cross-disciplinary dialogue and collaboration among architects, academics, and global organizations to address contemporary and future challenges in design and urbanism.
The biennale also features innovative projects such as a 3D-printing technique using an industrial robotic arm to produce biodegradable wood for architectural needs. Elephant dung waste is being repurposed as usable bricks, and a bot is assisting human artisans in creating future-ready cities. Dynamic biospheres and artificial microclimates are being showcased to maintain cool temperatures.
Space suits are displayed that form a symbiotic relationship between advanced digital technologies, the natural world, and the built environment. These exhibitions and projects underscore the biennale's commitment to making architecture more beneficial for society.
Despite the sci-fi feel due to futuristic ideas and experiments, the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale is not just about digital wizardry and geoengineering inventions. It is a platform for reevaluating architecture's role in human society, particularly in light of climate change, and for exploring how architecture can adapt and evolve to meet the challenges of the future.
References: [1] Venice Architecture Biennale 2025: The Main Exhibition [2] Venice Architecture Biennale 2025: GENS Public Program
- The Venice Architecture Biennale, held in 2025, is a platform for diverse participants to reflect on how architecture can improve our lives, covering various disciplines such as environmental science, sustainable living, and technology.
- At the central exhibition at the Arsenale, visitors are encouraged to rethink the fundamental role of architecture, with a focus on adapting architecture to meet the challenges of climate change.
- The main exhibition at the Arsenale and across Venice addresses contemporary and future challenges in design and urbanism, including tree technology, robotic constructs, networked cities, and staying cool in face of climate change.
- Innovative projects at the biennale showcase the integration of artificial intelligence and technology into the home and garden environment, such as 3D-printing biodegradable wood for architectural needs and creating future-ready cities with the help of a bot.
