venice architecture biennale 2025: carlo ratti reveals details about the exhibition

curator carlo ratti unveils new highlights for the 2025 edition of venice architecture biennale, ahead of its run from may 10th to november 23rd.

myrto katsikopoulou February 11, 2025 6 min

what we know about the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025

During the press conference held on February 11th, 2025, at the headquarters of the Venice Biennale in San Marco, the president of La Biennale di Venezia, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, together with the curator Carlo Ratti unveiled details about the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale. Titled Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective., the 2025 edition is set to run from May 10th to November 23rd, spanning the Giardini, Arsenale, and Forte Marghera. This year’s Biennale marks a notable expansion, with 66 national participations—up from 64 in 2023—and welcomes four debut nations: the Republic of Azerbaijan, Togo, Qatar, and Oman, further broadening the event’s global scope.

Organized by La Biennale di Venezia, the exhibition delves into the evolving role of intelligence in architecture. Carlo Ratti opened his presentation by tracing the history of architecture’s response to climate challenges, from primitive shelters to modern structures. Highlighting escalating crises—such as wildfires in Los Angeles, floods in Valencia and Sherpur, and droughts in Sicily—Ratti stressed the urgent need to shift from climate mitigation to adaptation. The record-breaking temperatures of 2024, which exceeded the +1.5°C threshold set by the 2016 Paris Agreement, underscore this necessity. The exhibition calls for a fundamental rethinking of architecture, urging a shift from simply reducing environmental impact to actively redesigning for a world altered by climate change. It emphasizes the integration of natural, artificial, and collective intelligence to reshape the built environment, fostering collaboration across generations and disciplines. Ratti also highlights the importance of flexible, dynamic architectural practices that can adapt to our rapidly changing climate, challenging us to rethink how we build and live in an increasingly unpredictable world.

Intelligens: A Dynamic Laboratory of Ideas

Intelligens transforms the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale into a dynamic laboratory, bringing together over 750 participants from a vast array of disciplines. Architects, engineers, climate scientists, philosophers, artists, chefs, programmers, farmers, and more converge to explore the evolving role of intelligence in architecture. The selection process was intentionally open and grassroots, driven by an interdisciplinary curatorial team that prioritized inclusivity and diversity of thought. Participants span generations, from seasoned 90-year-old professionals to recent graduates, and include Pritzker Prize laureates, former Biennale curators, Nobel laureates, and emerging voices, creating a rich tapestry of perspectives. The exhibition challenges traditional notions of authorship in architecture, promoting a collaborative model inspired by scientific research where knowledge and creativity are shared across disciplines. According to Carlo Ratti, visitors to the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale can expect to stumble upon works, installations, and contributions from renowned names such as Patricia Urquiola, Kengo Kuma, Boonserm Premthada, and many more.

Hosted at Le Corderie, the exhibition unfolds across three thematic worlds—Natural Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence, and Collective Intelligence—each examining how these forms of knowledge can shape the future of the built environment. A final section, Out, poses a provocative question: Can space exploration solve Earth’s crises? Carlo Ratti’s answer is clear—space exploration should not be an escape but a means to enhance life on Earth.

The exhibition design, led by Sub Architecture and Bänziger Hug Kasper Florio, reflects the interconnectedness essential for survival in a rapidly changing world. Digital layers are woven into the physical spaces, expanding dialogues and fostering deeper engagement among participants and visitors alike.

With the Central Pavilion under renovation, Venice itself becomes an extension of the exhibition—a living laboratory for architectural experimentation. As one of the cities most vulnerable to climate change, Venice provides a poignant backdrop for installations, prototypes, and experiments, which will be dispersed across the Giardini, Arsenale, and into the city’s neighborhoods. This approach transforms Venice from a passive host into an active participant, embodying the exhibition’s call to rethink how architecture can respond to a world in flux.

Additional Highlights

The Biennale College Architettura 2024-2025 will spotlight eight projects selected from 200 applicants under 30, representing 49 countries. Each project will receive €20,000 for development and will be presented out of competition during the exhibition, fostering the next generation of architectural innovators. The Italian Pavilion, curated by Guendalina Salimei, will present TERRÆ AQUÆ. Italy and the Intelligence of the Sea, while the Holy See Pavilion, titled Opera Aperta, will be curated by Marina Otero Verzier and Giovanna Zabotti. The Venice Pavilion, Libraries. Building Venetian Intelligence, will extend its exhibits into other institutional spaces and the IUAV University.

Special projects include the Margherissima Project, curated by Nigel Coates and focused on the contaminated areas of Marghera, and the Pavilion of Applied Arts, titled On Storage, created in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum and Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Educational initiatives remain a cornerstone of the Biennale. The Biennale Sessions will support university visits with logistical assistance and free seminar spaces, while educational programs for schools, families, and enthusiasts—engaging over 130,000 participants in the past two years—will continue in 2025. The program will offer interactive tours, workshops, and guided experiences, ensuring broad public engagement and fostering a deeper understanding of the themes explored in Intelligens.