The Collective ‘Intelligens’ section at the 2025 Venice Biennale – Photos by Andrea Avezzù, courtesy of La Biennale – unless stated otherwise.

Architecture. How can architecture help us tackle climate change? That’s the key question behind Intelligens. Natural, Artificial, Collective, curated by Carlo Ratti for this year’s Venice Biennale. The exhibition brings together a range of ideas and approaches that point toward a more hopeful, sustainable future. Long before there were architects, architecture was shaped by collective effort, guided by local needs, place-based knowledge, and the instinct to survive. At the Corderie of the Arsenale, a special section called Collective Intelligens celebrates this shared wisdom, found in informal settlements, community-driven design, and organised resistance, often supported by digital networks and AI. “In the age of adaptation,” Ratti asks, “can we start a conversation?”

• RELATED STORIES: Read more about the Venice Biennale 2025 on Archipanic.

Speakers Corner.

“We’re sharing just a few highlights from the ‘Collective’ section—think of them as a teaser,” says Enrico Zilli, founder and Editor-in-Chief of Archipanic. “Carlo Ratti’s selection is rich, inspiring, and absolutely worth a deeper dive. What you read here is just the tip of the iceberg!”

Entrance of the Collective ‘Intelligen’ section of the Biennale.

Since 2012, climate activists in Germany’s Hambach Forest have been building treehouse villages to protect the forest from being cleared for a massive coal mine. For this year’s Biennale, Oliver Elser and the Forest Collective from Hambach brought a piece of that resistance to Venice: a Y-shaped hanging bridge from “Oaktown,” one of the forest’s treehouse neighbourhoods. Suspended 17 meters above the ground, the original bridge linked a dozen treehouses using walkways and climbing nets—a creative and powerful symbol of protest, community, and care for the planet.

Collective ‘Intelligens’ section of the Biennale.

At the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, BIG–Bjarke Ingels Group presents Ancient Future: Bridging Bhutan’s Tradition and Innovation, a live installation where artisans and robots carve timber side by side. This poetic collaboration explores how traditional craft and cutting-edge technology can work together to shape architecture. The beams, created on-site, will eventually become part of the studio’s upcoming Gelephu International Airport in Bhutan. For BIG, the project is about evolution, not replacement—where machines help scale, but the soul remains in human hands. Ancient Future is a statement on the harmony between past and future, showing that innovation can honour and extend tradition, rather than erase it.

Ancient Future – Photo by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group.

Vessels for Liminal Dialogues, presented by the Organizmo Foundation, invites visitors into a dome coated in earthen plaster, where a woven sculpture anchors the space. Inspired by Colombia’s Indigenous Casas del Pensamiento—centres of shared spiritual and communal life—the installation explores building as a deeply collective act. Through traditional architecture, ancestral wisdom, and documentary films, it highlights how Indigenous communities co-create spaces rooted in reciprocity and sustainability. More than just a structure, it’s a powerful reminder that the way we build can reflect care, connection, and respect for both past knowledge and future possibilities.

Vessels for Liminal Dialogues.

Oshinowo Studio presents Alternative Urbanism: The Self-Organized Markets of Lagos, an engaging look into the vibrant world of three unique markets in Lagos, Nigeria. These aren’t just places to buy and sell—they’re buzzing hubs of creativity and resourcefulness, where discarded items from industrialised countries get a second life. Acting like informal factories, the markets are built on grassroots systems of repair, reuse, and adaptation—core values in many African cities. Through three short documentary films, the exhibition offers a glimpse into the ingenious, self-made solutions that keep these markets—and cities—running in smart, sustainable ways.

Alternative urbanism: Self-organising markets of Lagos – Photo by Paul Raftery, ©Oshinowo Studio.

Lina Ghotmeh’s The 10,000 Hours of Care installation takes inspiration from Malcolm Gladwell’s idea that it takes about 10,000 hours of practice to truly master a skill. This concept comes to life at her Hermès Workshops in Normandy, where 50 artisans poured 500,000 hours into shaping the building’s intricate façade. As France’s first low-carbon, positive-energy factory, the project combines traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge, modern technology. Set in a once-overlooked suburb, it’s a warm and thoughtful example of how care, creativity, and sustainability can come together to build a more meaningful and greener future. Find out more…

10.000 Hours of Care.

Located in the Arsenale, the Speakers’ Corner is an angular timber grandstand designed by Christopher Hawthorne, Johnston Marklee, and Florencia Rodriguez. With space for around sixty people, it’s a lively spot for talks, panels, and workshops throughout the Biennale. Underneath, there’s a quieter room for interviews, a small library, and a place to pause. Continuing a tradition that started back in 1980, it’s all about keeping open conversation and thoughtful criticism alive—especially important today, as free speech and critical discourse face growing challenges and new possibilities.

Speakers Corner.

In a vibrant tribute to a city rich with history and resilience, Mexican studios a|911, Cadena Concepts, and Esrawe unveil Acapulco: Selective Memories—an installation that captures the ever-evolving spirit of this coastal icon. From its early days as a hub of trans-Pacific trade to its glamorous golden age as a jet-set playground, Acapulco’s layered past is brought to life through a striking double celosia (latticework). This architectural feature weaves together archival urban stories with a hands-on exploration of building methods, where tradition meets innovation. “After recent climate challenges revealed its fragility, Acapulco is being called to reimagine itself,” say the designers.

Acapulco: Selective Memories.

Alejandro Aravena’s studio, ELEMENTAL, presents solutions that tackle the housing crisis. Their exhibition, From Belongings to Belonging, shares real-world solutions—such as prefab homes used to help rebuild Viña del Mar in Chile, the first-ever use of Net-Zero concrete, and a vertical town square in Renca that offers young people a positive alternative in areas affected by narco influence. It’s all about building better communities with simple, sustainable, and meaningful design. The world needs 22 billion square meters of new housing, but using traditional materials would be disastrous for the planet. While “narcos” find workarounds, they undermine the rule of law. The challenge: How can we build sustainably and responsibly?

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Visitors are greeted by a striking 6-metre-tall installation made of three different cladding prototypes—crafted from blue biomass biopolymer composites, biocement, and woven palm leaves. Developed in Denmark, Cuba, and Italy, these materials are part of a collaborative project that blends traditional know-how with cutting-edge tech, all rooted in community-based innovation and circular thinking. Local Resource/Collective Knowledge—a joint exhibition by CITA, GXN-3XN, and the Royal Danish Academy—shows how local materials and wisdom can inspire more climate-conscious architecture around the world.

Local Resource: Collective Knowledge.

Once a symbol of state neglect, the infamous Vele di Scampia in Naples are being redeveloped into a more human-scaled neighbourhood, funded by the EU’s Next Generation program. Over 2,000 former residents, now dispersed, await relocation with hopes of returning. One tower, the Vela Celeste, will be preserved—not as a monument, but as a new civic space. In a unique participatory process, the Urban Planning Office is harnessing AI to help residents transform their memories and dreams into images, shaping the site’s future together.

Vela Celeste: Reimagining Home.

Ray Harlem—a collaboration between Frida Escobedo Studio, William Klukowski (Ray), and Laura Rog (LMXD)—will be the new home for NYC’s longest-running Black theatre. The design draws inspiration from West African mythology and symbolism, featuring pink-red brick that pays homage to the sacred Osun-Osogbo Grove in Nigeria. It’s a thoughtful tribute to the cultural roots and original craftspeople behind the theatre, blending history, ritual, and community into a vibrant new space.

Ray Harlem – Photo by Luca Capuano, courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia.

Good design can make a difference, spark creativity, and teach a job. The Design for Communities project, undertaken by NGO LiveinSlums and Giacomo Moor, involved local children and residents in creating furniture for the refectory and dormitory of a primary school in Mathare, one of the largest slums in Nairobi, Kenya. “We made the prototypes on site to make the locals and the kids totally autonomous for future productions. We also avoided using complex machinery: a chisel, set square, and pencil are the only essential tools for making the pieces.” Explained Giacomo Moor. Find out more.

Design for Communities.

All photos are by Andrea Avezzù – Courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia, unless stated otherwise.

Vessels for Liminal Dialogues.