The 19th edition of the Venice Architecture Biennale officially opens to the public on Saturday, May 10, 2025, transforming the city into a multi-sited platform for innovation in architecture and design. Curated by architect and MIT professor Carlo Ratti, this year’s exhibition is titled Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective. and will run through November 23, 2025.
The central theme invites participants to explore how architecture can evolve in the face of global challenges, particularly climate change, through the lens of different forms of intelligence. The exhibition spans major venues including the Arsenale, the Giardini, and Forte Marghera, featuring over 300 projects by more than 750 contributors from across disciplines, ranging from architects and urbanists to scientists, artists, and technologists.
Carlo Ratti’s curatorial approach emphasizes a shift from mitigation to adaptation, proposing that architecture should respond more dynamically to its social, ecological, and technological environments. The show is structured around three thematic pillars, Natural Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence, and Collective Intelligence, culminating in a speculative section titled Out, which looks to outer space as a conceptual framework for rethinking planetary futures.
This year’s Biennale introduces several new national participants, including Qatar, Togo, Oman, and Azerbaijan, reflecting an expanded geographic representation. Due to ongoing renovations at the Central Pavilion in the Giardini, several exhibitions and installations have been relocated to other sites around the city, broadening the spatial footprint of the event.
The opening ceremony on May 10 will also include the announcement of the Biennale’s official awards. The International Jury, chaired by Hans Ulrich Obrist and joined by Paola Antonelli and Mpho Matsipa, will present the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement to philosopher and scholar Donna Haraway. A Special Golden Lion in Memoriam will honor the legacy of the late Italian architect Italo Rota.
For more details, tickets, and the full program, visit labiennale.org.
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