"Architecture is at the centre, but not alone,” curator Carlo Ratti stated during the first press conference of the 19^th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice. Focusing on the materiality of urban space in relation to sustainability, the exhibition will be entitled Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective. and will be open from May 10 to November 25, 2025. In a historical time marked by rapid changes—both from a climatic and technological point of view— this Biennale promises to explore some of the most urgent issues humanity is currently facing from a trans-disciplinary perspective. In this regard, an important new facet to the biennial architectural exhibition has been introduced: practitioners, scientists, scholars, activists, and others are invited to submit their proposals, which will be evaluated by the curator for possible inclusion in the main exhibition or the broader curatorial programme. Furthermore, the second edition of Biennale College Architettura—which is open to emerging talents under 30—has also been announced.

Coming from a background in architecture and engineering, Carlo Ratti is regarded to be among the most acknowledged scholars in urban planning and the co-author of over 750 publications. He graduated from the Politecnico di Torino and the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in Paris, and later carried out his MPhil and PhD work at the University of Cambridge, UK—completing his PhD thesis as a Fulbright Scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He currently teaches between the Politecnico di Milano and MIT, where he is the director of the Senseable City Lab. He is also a founding partner of CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati, a renowned architecture and innovation office based in Torino, New York City, and London. Among other important assignments, he has been a curator of the Future Food District pavilion at Expo 2015 Milan, the chief curator of the eighth Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture in Shenzhen (UABB) in 2019, a co-curator of the second Porto Design Biennale in 2021 and, more recently, the Creative Mediator responsible for the award-winning Urban Vision at the European Nomadic Biennale Manifesta 14 Prishtina in 2022.

The title for the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale at Venice combines key elements and challenges that face architecture along both thematic and linguistic lines. Upon first encounter, “Intelligens” could be interpreted parallelly to the adjective “intelligent” in Latin, where the assonance with English and Italian is clear. As soon revealed by Ratti, it might also be considered a fusion between these three languages, lending to the argument of the thematic being a “blend word”. “Gens” is also Latin for “people”, and can be simultaneously intended as unity and collectivity, ultimately originating from the Indo-European root word, meaning “to generate”. According to the curator, “Intelligens” suggests “a future of intelligence that is inclusive, multiple, and imaginative beyond today’s limiting focus on AI.” Conceiving intelligence as a form of resilience as well as a singular, uniting force that integrates diverse experiences and fields, will be another core aspect explored in this Biennale.

The dialogue between the natural and the artificial seems to have always been a fundamental, spinal concept in Ratti’s research, and the 1930s stucco garlands framing the Sala delle Colonne (Columns Hall) at Ca’ Giustinian—where the press conferences of Venice Biennale traditionally take place—recall and amplify this constantly topical subject. As asserted by the new President of La Biennale di Venezia Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, the “Hydropolis” (water city) of Venice itself embodies this duality, while being a symbol of resilience for historical and environmental reasons. Water is an urgent matter in the age of climate crises and has been covered in a multifaceted way over Ratti’s career, from his renowned Digital Water Pavilion at Zaragoza Expo 2008 to his interventions in historical contexts, to the search for solutions to deal with tsunamis in the Global South. Since his first participation in Venice Architecture Biennale 2004, Ratti has geared towards establishing himself as a pioneer in the use of data for urban planning and, more generally, as a relentless explorer of new technologies and their interactions with architecture and design: a topic that is touted to be placed at the forefront of his curation in the upcoming Venice Biennale.

At the end of the press conference, STIR spoke to Ratti about his research and curatorial framework. Starting from reminiscing upon a principle the curator has reaffirmed on many occasions concerning how technology could also be a tool to rediscover the city as a space of relationships. "First of all, today we have been talking a lot about technologies and natural and collective intelligence. I believe that putting together these diverse forms of intelligence is the main axis to achieve that goal,” Ratti responded, tying the urban principle to the theme of “Intelligens”. Furthermore, when asked to expand on his recurring focus on interdisciplinarity and the importance of crossing boundaries that still often separate multiple “silos” of knowledge, encouraging a synergetic dialogue, Ratti said, "It is fundamental to find shared topics. I think what we are talking about today can be intended as a topic that puts us together and goes beyond the divisions between those who are working with these diverse forms of intelligence.”

Concluding the press conference, Ratti dedicated the postscript of his speech and curatorial statement to the Italian architect Italo Rota (1953-2024). Ratti and Rota collaborated on several occasions over the years, exploring together the challenges of sustainability: a joint effort that led to projects such as The Greenary, nearby Parma, and the Urban Solar Farm for Expo 2030 Roma. Rota shared a marked affinity and kinship with the intensive research-oriented processes Ratti is known to employ in his practice and in gauging urban behaviours and interrelations, citing a “boundless” disciplinary approach to shared challenges of the future which places architecture at the forefront—a notable alignment with the themes of the upcoming Venice Architecture Biennale 2025.

Calls for proposals and submissions to both the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 and Biennale College Architettura are open until June 21, 2024.