ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Carlo Ratti's Biennale Architettura 2025 Exhibition Challenges Traditional Architecture

exhibition · 2026-03-29

Carlo Ratti's exhibition 'Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.' at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 presents a radical vision of architecture that draws on natural, artificial, and collective intelligence. The show, curated by Ratti, proposes flexible, dynamic, and inclusive architectural solutions that break from traditional anthropocentric approaches. Ratti argues that architecture must become interdisciplinary, learning from exact sciences and arts, and rethink authorship. The exhibition is in continuity with the 2021 Biennale theme 'How will we live together?' but faces resistance from the Italian architectural establishment, which upholds autonomy and classical tectonics. Critics like Mario Botta define architecture as a struggle between man and nature, a view Ratti's work challenges. The show features young researchers and designers from around the world, but its ideas are often ignored or ghettoized by mainstream architectural culture. The article, written by Mario Coppola, questions whether architecture can remain immune to societal mutations and ecological imperatives.

Key facts

  • Carlo Ratti curated the exhibition 'Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.' at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025.
  • The exhibition advocates for architecture that integrates natural, artificial, and collective intelligence.
  • Ratti calls for architecture to be flexible, dynamic, and inclusive, learning from multiple disciplines.
  • The show is seen as a continuation of the 2021 Biennale theme 'How will we live together?'.
  • Mario Botta defines architecture as a perennial struggle between man and nature.
  • The Italian architectural tradition emphasizes autonomy and classical tectonics (right angles, pillars, beams).
  • Ratti's approach is often ignored or ghettoized by mainstream architectural culture.
  • The article is written by Mario Coppola, an architect and writer teaching at Federico II University of Naples.

Entities

Artists

  • Carlo Ratti
  • Mario Botta
  • Mario Coppola
  • Mies van der Rohe
  • Rosi Braidotti
  • Stefano Boeri
  • Edgar Morin
  • Fidia
  • Donald Trump
  • Massimiliano Fuksas
  • Italo Rota
  • Aldo Rossi
  • Michele Bonino
  • Umberto Eco
  • Filippo de Vivo
  • Marco Santambrogio
  • Pietrangelo Buttafuoco
  • Valentina Silvestrini
  • Rem Koolhaas
  • Christopher Hawthorne
  • Johnston Marklee
  • Florencia Rodriguez
  • Fondazione Pistoletto Cittadelarte
  • Transsolar
  • Bilge Kobas
  • Daniel A. Barber
  • Sonia Seneviratne
  • Beatriz Colomina
  • Roberto Kolter
  • Patricia Urquiola
  • Geoffrey West
  • Mark Wigley
  • Ensamble Studio
  • Benedetta Tagliabue
  • Jampel Dell'Angelo
  • PNAT
  • Mariana Popescu
  • TheGreenEyl
  • Riley Watts
  • Studio Gang
  • OLA Office for Living Architecture
  • Boonserm Premthada
  • Juliana Mariz de Oliveira Simantob
  • Claudia Gowgiel
  • Pienelopi Filothei Karali
  • Maria Paz Gutierrez
  • Donald Gensler
  • Angie Dub
  • Heidi Jalkh
  • Diana Scherer
  • Lola Ben-Alon
  • Karen Antorveza Paez
  • Benjamin Dillenburger
  • Robert Kindler
  • Dimitrios Terzis
  • Philip F. Yuan
  • Bin He
  • Kate Crawford
  • Vladan Joler
  • Refik Anadol Studio
  • Takashi Ikegami
  • Luc Steels
  • Pininfarina
  • newcleo
  • Fincantieri
  • Lluis Ortega
  • Enrique Romero
  • Julia Capomaggi
  • Nil Brullet
  • Bjarke Ingels Group
  • Laurian Ghinitoiu
  • Arata Mori
  • Pere Joan Ravetllat Mira
  • Sara Vima Grau
  • Jesús Quintana Gómez
  • Aleix Salazar Aloy
  • Còssima Cornadó Bardón
  • Marta Domènech Rodríguez
  • Isaac Colin Ramió
  • a|911
  • Cadena Concepts
  • Esrawe
  • Carlo Ratti Associati
  • Martina Mazzarello
  • Fabio Duarte
  • Washington Fajardo
  • Umberto Fugiglando
  • Diego Morra
  • Gareth Doherty
  • Caterina Miralles
  • Space Caviar
  • Robert Gerard Pietrusko
  • Ersilia Vaudo
  • Aurelia Institute
  • Heatherwick Studio
  • Brent Sherwood

Institutions

  • Venice Architecture Biennale
  • Federico II University of Naples
  • Treccani
  • Artribune
  • Amazon
  • La Biennale di Venezia
  • Carlo Ratti Associati
  • Collegio di Milano
  • Expo 2015 Milano
  • Expo 2020 Dubai
  • AGO Modena Fabbriche Culturali
  • Francesco Mutti
  • CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati
  • Arsenale
  • Fondazione Pistoletto Cittadelarte
  • EMBT Architects
  • Natural Materials Lab, Columbia University GSAPP
  • Digital Building Technologies, ETH Zurich
  • Wood Materials Science Group, ETH Zurich
  • BIO-Geos, EPFL
  • Refik Anadol Studio
  • Pininfarina
  • newcleo
  • Fincantieri
  • Bjarke Ingels Group
  • Senseable City Lab, MIT
  • Harvard University
  • Space Caviar
  • Aurelia Institute
  • Heatherwick Studio

Locations

  • Venice
  • Italy
  • Naples
  • Shenzhen
  • China
  • Pristina
  • Kosovo
  • Modena
  • Milan
  • Punta della Dogana
  • Giardini
  • Arsenale
  • Barcelona
  • Shanghai
  • Bhutan
  • Acapulco
  • Rio de Janeiro
  • Venetian lagoon
  • Veneto

Sources