When we speak of intelligence at the 2025 Venice Biennale, the main exhibition broadly categorizes it into three domains: natural, artificial, and collective. While much attention has been drawn to robotic performances, future-forward material experiments—such as Boonserm Premthada's elephant dung bricks, or Canada's display of mesmerizing picoplankton, one often overlooked yet critical form of collective intelligence lies in the act of archiving.
Several national pavilions showcase this collective intelligence through beautifully curated exhibitions—the Spanish Pavilion's witty play on scale, for instance, features meticulously crafted models that invite close reading and delight. These curated collections offer a snapshot of the present, and in some cases, gestures toward the future. But without critically engaging with the past, without documenting and making sense of our shared spatial and architectural knowledge, the potential of collective intelligence remains incomplete. Archiving is not simply an act of preservation; it is a generative tool for projecting new futures.
The Global Award for Sustainable Architecture, created in 2006 by architect and scholar Jana Revedin, annually recognizes five architects—or offices—from around the world whose practices are grounded in the principles of sustainable development, participatory design, and a community-oriented approach. This recognition aligns with the global urgency surrounding today's pressing issues—the ecological and climate crises, as well as social, cultural, and economic challenges. Acknowledging architecture's critical role in shaping the built environment, the award seeks to highlight the work of creators who address these challenges with innovative and creative solutions.
The Biennale promises to be a dynamic platform uniting over 750 participants from diverse backgrounds, including architects, engineers, mathematicians, climate scientists, and artists. Such a broad coalition of over 280 projects underlines the Exhibition's focus on inclusivity and interdisciplinary collaboration, an essential aspect for adaptation. The selection process proposed a bottom-up, open call approach through the Space for Ideas initiative, which ran between May and June 2024. It encouraged participation from global teams, from Pritzker Prize winners and Nobel laureates to emerging architects and scientists.
This year's Milan Design Week brought together designers, architects, producers, and key figures from the design world. The events were divided between the Salone del Mobile at Rho Fiera, a trade fair with over 1950 exhibitors, and Fourisalone, featuring various events across Milan. With numerous installations throughout the city and a wide range of events, conferences, and debates, Milan Design Week stands as one of the most significant design-focused events worldwide. For architects, this represents an opportunity to not only exchange ideas but also to actively contribute through collaborations and explorations across disciplines.
This year, many internationally recognized architects have entered collaborations with furniture and light design companies, exploring the intersection of design and architecture. Despite the change in scale, many of these products reflect the recognizable architectural language of their designers, offering an insight into the principles that guide their practice. In addition to aesthetic explorations, many of the products selected are tackling important themes of interest, from the need to develop more sustainable materials with a reduced carbon footprint, to the potential impact of new technologies such as artificial intelligence.
The fourth edition of the Bruges Triennial: Spaces of Possibility, curated by Shendy Gardin and Sevie Tsampalla, will be held from Saturday 13 April to Sunday 1 September 2024. This event promises to transform the streets and historic center of Bruges, Belgium, into a showcase of contemporary art and architectural interventions. With a focus on exploring the latent potential of this UNESCO World Heritage Site, the festival raises questions about how concepts like change and sustainability can interact with preservation.
The 12 selected artists and architects have been prompted to challenge the existing spaces within Bruges. Among the invited names are Boonserm Premthada’s Bangkok Project Studio, Mona Hatoum, Studio Ossidiana, and Sumayya Vally, founder of Counterspace and curator of the first Islamic Arts Biennale, among others. Until September 1st, they are presenting temporary interventions and large-scale installations that seek to reveal the hidden potential of the city, echoing the festival's theme. Against the backdrop of Bruges' rich history, this edition of the Bruges Triennial underscores the importance of adaptable urban spaces in today's ever-evolving world.
The Bruges Triennial 2024 has announced its theme, “Space of Possibility,” along with a list of participating artists and architects and the locations of the 12 installations. Running from Saturday 13 April to Sunday 1 September 2024, the event will take over the streets and historic center of Bruges. Belgium, showcasing contemporary art and architectural interventions. The curators of this edition, Shendy Gardin and Sevie Tsampalla, have selected a list of 12 artists and architects who will challenge the existing locations within the city’s quarters in response to the theme which asks them to seek to reveal the hidden potential of the city.
"The taste of the apple lies in the contact of the fruit with the palate, not in the fruit itself," Jorge Luis Borges once said. The taste is not something inherent in itself; its experience is the result of an encounter. Similarly, emotions are not contained within architecture, but are only felt through the encounter of the body with the space, when it becomes a place. How does the environment affect how we feel? This is the question that drives the duo of artists and filmmakers Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine in their latest endeavor, the book "The Emotional Power of Space," which will be released on May 17th in an event preceding the opening of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2023.
"It's all about attitude and adjusting to the existing circumstances", explains Boonserm Premthada, when asked about his conceptual process. Founder of Bangkok Project Studio, and one of today's most influential Thai figures in architecture, Premthada has been the subject of Bêka & Lemoine's latest documentary, ‘Big Ears Listen With Feet’. The film highlights the personal story of the architect, unveiling all the events and happenings that shaped his unique identity and sensibility. "Deaf from birth", the short movie looks at how the architect's disability led him to listen in a different way, learning from elephants. who "despite their large ears [...] perceive sound mostly through their feet."
ArchDaily had the chance to talk with Boonserm Premthada, during Milan Design Week 2022 at the DAAily bar. Recipient of the Design Prize 2021|22 for social impact curated by designboom, the architect shared insights about his beginnings, his office as well as his creative approach, and his projects.
The Royal Academy has revealed the shortlist for their annual prize recognizing young talent in architecture, the Dorfman Award. The award is given to those "...reimagining the future of architecture and whose work demonstrates a high degree of sensitivity to local and global context." The 2019 shortlist comprises four emerging architects practicing across the globe.
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The 2014 Wienerberger Brick Award Winners exemplify brick's potential in contemporary architecture, transforming the common brick into something spectacular. This year's jury featured 2012 Pritzer winner Wang Shu, who commented on the "spatial and secret" feeling of the Grand Prize Winning Kantana Film and Animation Institute. See all seven winners after the break.
