Carlo Ratti Associati to Lead Preliminary Study for Manifesta 14 in Pristina

Manifesta, the itinerant contemporary art biennial, has commissioned Italian architecture firm Carlo Ratti Associati, in collaboration with MIT's Senseable City Lab, to conduct the preliminary study for its 14th edition in Pristina, Kosovo, scheduled for 2022. This practice of engaging an architecture firm to analyze urban, social, and cultural fabrics began with Manifesta 12 in Palermo, where OMA prepared the study, and continued with Manifesta 13 in Marseille, entrusted to Winy Maas of MVRDV. Manifesta director Hedwig Fijen stated that the biennial is transforming its approach to focus on socially engaged and sustainable programming, working with urbanists, architects, ecologists, and designers alongside artists. Carlo Ratti described the pandemic as unlocking potential for urban rebirth through 'creative destruction,' citing innovations in pedestrianization, public space, affordable housing, and dynamic zoning. Manifesta will also conduct citizen consultation workshops in Pristina, led by Studio L A, co-founded by Arna Mačkić and Lorien Beijaert, following a bottom-up methodology similar to that used in Marseille.