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When the Venice Biennale’s 19th International Architecture Exhibition kicks off on May 10, its central theme will focus on utilizing agile, adaptable intelligence for a challenging world — a continuous theme for its curator, MIT faculty member Carlo Ratti.
The Biennale stands as the globe’s most prestigious exhibition of its nature, an international occasion whose topics evolve, with a new curator introducing fresh emphasis every two years. This year, the official theme is “Intelligens,” the Latin term that inspired “intelligence” in English and “intelligenza” in Italian — a term that reflects both the exhibition’s global perspective and the various ways humans comprehend, adapt, and innovate.
“Our title is ‘Intelligens. Natural, artificial, collective,’” observes Ratti, a professor of urban technologies and planning at the MIT School of Architecture and Planning. “A pivotal aspect is how we can transcend typical perceptions of intelligence, whether in humans or AI. In the constructed environment, we confront various feedback types and must utilize all forms of intelligence to gather and apply them effectively.”
This principle relates to climate change, as adaptation remains a continual priority for the design community, whether it involves modifying existing structures or crafting new, resilient designs for urban and regional areas.
“I would highlight the readiness of architects today to contribute significantly to tackling the major crises confronting our planet,” Ratti explains. “Architecture is the only field that can unite everyone, as it entails reimagining the built environment, the spaces we all inhabit.”
He continues: “If you consider the wildfires in Los Angeles, the floods in Valencia or Bangladesh, or the drought in Sicily, these instances illustrate where architecture and design must incorporate feedback and apply intelligence.”
Not merely sharing design, but crafting it
The Venice Biennale is the premier event of its kind worldwide and one of the earliest: It began with art exhibitions in 1895 and gradually included biannual presentations dedicated to other cultural aspects. Since 1980, the Biennale of Architecture has been conducted every two years, except for the 2020 exhibition — curated by MIT’s Hashim Sarkis — which was postponed to 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It has since shifted to odd-numbered years.
Following its opening on May 10, this year’s showcase will continue until Nov. 23.
Ratti is a versatile academic, designer, and author, as well as the long-serving director of MIT’s Senseable City Lab, which has been at the forefront of utilizing data to understand cities as dynamic systems.
Moreover, Ratti is a founding partner of the global design firm Carlo Ratti Associati. He graduated from Politecnico di Torino and the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in Paris, and then obtained his MPhil and PhD from Cambridge University. He has penned and co-penned hundreds of publications, including the books “Atlas of the Senseable City” (2023) and “The City of Tomorrow” (2016). Ratti’s creations have been showcased at the Venice Biennale, the Design Museum in Barcelona, the Science Museum in London, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, among other venues.
In his capacity as curator for this year’s Biennale, Ratti modified the conventional format to tackle some of the pressing inquiries in design. He and the organizers established multiple forums to gather insights about the exhibition’s potential, analyzing responses throughout the planning phase.
Ratti has also publicly referred to this year’s Biennale as a “living lab,” not merely an exhibition, in line with the concept of learning from feedback and evolving designs accordingly.
Reflecting on 1895, Ratti mentions that the Biennale was primarily “a venue for sharing existing knowledge, with artists and architects converging every two years. Nowadays, and for several decades, almost everything related to architecture and art is accessible online instantly. I believe Biennales can serve not just as venues for sharing existing knowledge, but as avenues for generating new knowledge.”
At this juncture, he stresses that it often involves listening to nature while we confront climate solutions. It also suggests acknowledging that nature itself inevitably reacts to stimuli as well.
In this respect, Ratti states, “Recall what the esteemed architect Carlo Scarpa once remarked: ‘Between a tree and a house, choose the tree.’ I perceive that as a compelling invitation to learn from nature — an extensive laboratory of trial and error, steered by feedback loops. Too frequently in the 20th century, architects assumed they had the answers and just needed to amplify them. The outcomes? Often catastrophic. Particularly now, when adaptability is paramount, I advocate for a different methodology: experimentation, feedback, iteration. That’s the spirit I aspire to characterize this year’s Biennale.”
An MIT influence
This year, MIT will again showcase a substantial presence at the Biennale, extending beyond Ratti’s role as curator. First and foremost, he highlights a formidable team overseeing the Biennale. This includes MIT graduate student Claire Gorman, who has devoted a year from her studies to act as the principal assistant to the Biennale curator.
Many of the Biennale’s initiatives, Gorman notes, “integrate ecology, technology, and culture in breathtaking demonstrations of how intelligence emerges from the intricate behaviors of various parts collaborating together. Exhibition attendees will encounter robots and artisans working alongside algae, 3D printers, ancient construction techniques, and innovative materials. … A significant strength of the exhibition lies in its inclusion of participants approaching similar themes from diverse perspectives.”
Overall, Gorman adds, “Our hope is that visitors leave the exhibition feeling optimistic about the potential of design fields to bring together various forms of expertise.”
Numerous additional Institute faculty and researchers are also represented. For instance, Daniela Rus, head of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL), has contributed to the design of an installation focused on utilizing robotics for the restoration of historical structures. Additionally, renowned MIT computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, is taking part in a Biennale event on intelligence.
“By selecting ‘Intelligens’ as the Venice Biennale theme, Carlo Ratti acknowledges that our time necessitates a comprehensive understanding of how various forms of intelligence — from social and ecological to computational and spatial — converge to shape our built environment,” Rus states. “The Biennale provides an opportune platform to explore how architecture can bridge these intelligences, crafting buildings and cities that engage with and for us.”
Simultaneously with the Biennale, a separate exhibit in Venice will spotlight MIT’s contributions in architecture and design. Running from May 10 through Nov. 23 at the Palazzo Diedo, the showcase, “The Next Earth: Computation, Crisis, Cosmology,” features the works of 40 faculty members from MIT’s Department of Architecture, along with contributions from the think tank Antikythera.
Meanwhile, for the Biennale itself, the main exhibition space, the Arsenale, is accessible, though other venues are undergoing renovations. This year, the organizers are utilizing additional locations throughout Venice to highlight innovative design works and installations.
“We’re transforming Venice into a living lab — extending the Biennale beyond its conventional boundaries,” Ratti states. “But there’s a broader vision: Venice might be the world’s most vulnerable city, caught between rising tides and the pressures of mass tourism. That’s why it could serve as an authentic laboratory for the future. Venice today might offer a glimpse into the world of tomorrow.”
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