The 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, titled Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective. and curated by Carlo Ratti, has just opened for previews. Following the public opening on Saturday, May 10, the exhibition will run through November 23, 2025. While on site in Venice, ArchDaily had the chance to meet with the curator Carlo Ratti to discuss the first impressions and the main themes of this edition of the Biennale. Featuring 65 national pavilions, 11 collateral events, and over 300 contributions from more than 700 participants, the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale is set to be the largest in the Biennale's history.
Ratti discusses how the Biennale has been conceived not just as a passive viewing experience, but as a space for active engagement, where the audience can interact with the content on multiple levels. Drawing inspiration from Jean-Luc Godard's Bande à part, which depicts a whirlwind tour of the Louvre in just eight minutes, the Biennale has been designed to allow visitors to traverse the entire exhibition in five minutes. For those wishing to dive deeper, the space invites longer engagements, with the potential to explore it for hours or even days. Ratti describes the exhibition's structure as a "fractal organism," creating a dynamic and flexible environment where different resolutions of engagement are possible.
At the heart of this year's Biennale lies the theme of bridging natural, artificial, and collective intelligens through architecture. Ratti explains that the exhibition aims to explore how architecture can respond to a rapidly changing world by synthesizing these diverse forms of intelligence. By splitting the exhibition into three sections, natural, artificial, and collective, the curatorial team provides visitors with a clearer framework to understand how these realms interact, all while highlighting their inherent interconnections. With over 700 participants from fields as varied as architecture, design, sociology, and fashion, the Biennale becomes a platform for cross-disciplinary dialogue and collaboration. Ratti likens the exhibition to a "super organism," where diverse voices and approaches converge and intertwine, creating a cohesive yet multifaceted narrative.
Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective. is really about how architecture can bring together all different forms of intelligence, and bridge them, actually help adapt to a changing climate into a changing planet. - Carlo Ratti
Another key theme explored at the Biennale is the urgent need for architecture to respond to global crises, whether environmental, social, or political. Ratti encapsulates this idea with a simple yet profound statement: "Architecture is about survival." The exhibition examines how architecture can harness various forms of intelligence to address these pressing challenges and offers a platform for ideas that seek to create solutions for a changing planet. By fostering a forward-thinking dialogue on the intersection of architecture and global crises, the Biennale encourages both visitors and practitioners to think critically about the role of architecture in shaping the future.
Carlo Ratti also reflects on the evolving concept of authorship in contemporary architecture. Moving away from the traditional model, where one individual is credited as the sole creator, this year's Biennale emphasizes collaboration and collective authorship. Ratti draws parallels to academic publishing, where every contributor is acknowledged for their unique input, and advocates for a more democratic approach to recognizing contributions in the field. The collaboration seen in this year's Biennale, from students to Pritzker Prize winners, underscores the importance of inclusivity and the recognition of diverse voices in the creation of architectural knowledge.
Reflecting on the chain reaction sparked by the Biennale, the curator emphasizes how this process began with intimate discussions and collaborations among architects, designers, and thinkers from around the world. This chain reaction is not confined to the Biennale itself but is expected to continue beyond the event, shaping both the architecture discipline and the broader conversation on how to tackle the critical challenges of our time.
The 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, titled Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective. will officially open to the public on May 10 and will be accessible until November 23, 2025. In addition to the 65 National Pavilions, 11 Collateral Events will be hosted at various locations across Venice. The inauguration ceremony on May 10 will also include the announcement of the official awards by the International Jury, chaired by Hans Ulrich Obrist and featuring members Paola Antonelli and Mpho Matsipa. During the event, the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement will be awarded to Donna Haraway, and the Special Golden Lion in Memoriam will be presented to Italo Rota.
