One of the most prestigious and influential architecture events in the world is underway in Venice. In a city that may well disappear under rising seas as global temperatures soar, it is fitting that this edition’s theme is climate resilience. It marks a rare beautiful and hopeful moment in the relentless doomsday discourse of climate change.
First, the origin story
The biennale is formally known as the International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. The Venice Biennale was founded in 1895 as an art exhibition and soon grew to include cinema, dance, music, and theater. Architecture first became part of the mix in 1975 and it soon became a recurring event in 1980—when the first Biennale Architettura was held.
The first edition: Curated by Paolo Portoghesi, it was titled "The Presence of the Past"—or the “lost language of architecture.” The main exhibition was laid out as a thoroughfare known as La Strada Novissima—built inside the Arsenale (a former shipyard). It featured facades of houses arrayed down a postmodern street or strada. They were designed by 20 legendary architects—including Frank Gehry, Robert Venturi, and Rem Koolhaas. To give you a sense of what it looked like:
As you can see, the theme was post-modern:
Beyond the Western blueprint
The biennale’s very next edition—in 1982—focused on Islamic architecture since World War II—and its influence on Western architecture. It may not seem terribly avant garde now, but it made a significant statement at the moment when Western culture and perspective was supreme and unchallenged:
In the West in the 1980s, this seemingly unstoppable trajectory towards a perfect world was apparently powered by scientific discovery and technological development. Defining swathes of the globe as First or Third World – with most or all of the Islamic countries in the latter category and developing towards the supposedly more advanced state of the West – the assumption was that in architecture the technologies of mass production, highly processed materials and artificially moderated environments were the future to be aspired to.
Since 1991, National Pavillions have become part of the exhibition—ensuring at least some measure of inclusivity. Most of the biennales since have not specifically focused on non-Western architecture other than the 2023 edition “The Laboratory of the Future”—which looked at Africa and the relationship between architecture and race.
A lovely sidenote: Curator Paolo Portoghesi—a legendary architect dubbed the “unlikely decoloniser”—designed the Mosque of Rome in 1974—which remains the largest in the Western world:
In 1995, he unveiled the stunning Mosque and Islamic Cultural Center in Rome:
Beyond the pretty: From aesthetics to ethics
For decades, the biennale was primarily concerned with the aesthetics of architecture—and/or individual architects. In 2000, the biennale pivoted sharply to the politics of architecture. Curated by Massimiliano Fuksas, the exhibition had three main themes: the environment, society, and technology—and was appropriately titled “Less Aesthetics, More Ethics.” The “strada novissima’ was replaced by a massive, linear screen presenting 12 videos of major cities from around the world: Bogotà, Buenos Aires, Bucharest, Budapest, Mexico City, New Delhi, Paris, São Paulo, Quito, Cairo, Athens and Montréal:
Here comes the D-word: In 2006, Ricky Burdett curated the “Cities, Architecture and Society”—the first to lean into urban development. Ten years later, Chilean curator Alejandro Aravena chose “Reporting from the Front” as the theme. The ‘front’ being refugee camps in Europe, slums in the Global South and barren communities in Detroit in the US. Brave attempts to acknowledge the ugliness of urban ‘growth’ amid lavish imaginings of ‘startichects’.
Quote to note: The biennale has since developed psychological whiplash: “[T]he Biennale, the Venetian vitrine of contemporary architectural culture, swings wildly between two poles. On one hand there is the urge to express (architecture as art) and on the other the urge to confess (social conscience).” Perhaps the best example of this contradiction is the work of Italian artist Giacomo Costa. Featured in the 2006 biennale. Costa offers breathtaking visions of megapolis dystopias (see: lead image) influenced by—wait for it—Blade Runner:
Other memorable images from past biennales include…
One: This floating pavilion made of glass and carbon fibre in the 2021 edition by Achim Menges and Jan Knippers:
Two: The mirrored terrarium in the Argentina Pavillion from 2018—which creates a surreal immersive experience of being in the Pampas (more surreal when you realize it is a giant glass box like so):
Three: The 2012 Russian pavilion which consisted of three rooms tiled with a giant mosaic of QR codes—which you scanned with the iPad given to you.
Four: The Vatican’s Asplund Pavilion—which offered a moment of outdoor contemplation in the midst of the 2018 biennale:
The 2025 edition: ‘Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective’
Curated by Carlo Ratti, the 19th edition looks at the role of intelligence in architecture—be it natural, artificial, or collective—all of which will be needed to survive on our planet—and maybe save it from ourselves. The exhibition runs from May 10 till November 23, 2025, at the Giardini, Arsenale, and other locations throughout Venice.
Our absolute favourite: is the Belgium Pavilion—which is a very good example of the theme. The collab between landscape architect Bas Smets and plant neurobiologist Stefano Mancuso is an ingenious solution to global warming.
They selected 250 plants from around the world—and connected them to machines. These devices allow the plants to self-regulate their environment. For example, they can make it rain when they need water. The result—indoor microclimates—created when plants cool the place, regulate humidity, produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide. In Smets’ words,
What trees want is to grow . . . They want more photosynthesis and that is good for us, lowering the temperature, producing more oxygen. What we’re proposing is a new symbiosis between what the plants need . . . what the building can handle and what we humans like. And we think that in that new symbiosis lies the future of architecture; architecture not as something that is dissociated from nature but a new collective intelligence between humans, plants and buildings.
You can see the machines here:
This is what the exhibit looks like:
Other notable exhibits: check these out if you’re in the neighbourhood…
One: This year’s top award—the Golden Lion—went to Bahrain’s pavilion titled ‘Heatwave’. It doesn’t look like much—a central column connected to chains that support a portable ceiling. But it does an extremely important job: cool construction workers who work in the sun. Dezeen has lots more on how it works.
Two: The first ever pavilion from the biennale’s sponsor Rolex showcases sustainable architecture with serious style:
Three: Deserta Ecofolie is a prototype for minimalist housing designed to endure the rigours of the Atacama desert in Chile:
Four: This year marks Togo’s debut at the biennale—where it is showcasing its brutalist architecture, including the fading Hotel de la Paix with its ‘kissing facade’.
Five: We were impressed with Sombra—a dynamic shading structure made of panels that open or close in response to the sun: “The impression is akin to a living organism, which changes its posture as the sun moves through the sky, and breathes a sigh during cloudy periods.” The most interesting bit: The panels are powered by air canisters that respond to the heat of the sun—and open or shut accordingly.
The bottomline: We leave you with an image of the opening hall in Arsenale—an installation where “upside-down air conditioners pump out excess warmth from adjacent galleries, immersing visitors in the waste side of thermal comfort and confronting the unseen costs of climate control.” Point taken.
Reading list
The biennale website is worth a browse. Arch Daily and Design Boom offer a quick overview of its history. Wallpaper has the best overview of the 2025 edition—and its highlights. For more lovely images from this year’s exhibition, check out the biennale’s Insta handle and this Arch Daily gallery. If you’re interested in specific exhibits, see more on Denmark, Togo, Bahrain and Belgium (splainer gift link).
