SPACE July 2025 (No. 692)
Terms and Conditions by Transsolar, Bilge Kobas and others
Golden Lion winner. Canal Café by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Aaron Betsky, Davide Oldani and others
‘Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.’: 2025 Venice Biennale | Main Exhibition
Curator Carlo Ratti’s actions reveal a sense of ambition. Not only did he assemble a record-breaking 750 artists through his open call, but he also proposed a theme capable of encompassing the natural, the artificial, and the collective. Furthermore, each section is designed as a modular and fractal space, enabling visitors to explore the exhibition in their own way. Due to the large number of works, the wide range of themes, and the open cutatorial composition of the exhibition, the audience may feel overwhelmed and lost. Lee Jihoi (curator, MMCA) provides a helpful guiding framework by weaving the theme, sections, and main works into a single coherent narrative. In addition, the editor Park Jiyoun poses questions that have arisen from the theme and this curatorial approach, enabling us to evaluate the boundaries of architecture as defined by the exhibition in relation to the theme proposed by Ratti, who has emphasised the connection between architecture and other fields. Reading comments from figures across the architectural communities, alternating between positive and negative views, there remains one final question: is Ratti’s curatorial approach inclusive or ineffectual?
Silver Lion winner. Calculating Empires: a genealogy of technology and power since 1500 by Kate Crawford and Vladan Joler
‘Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.’ is the main exhibition of the 2025 Venice Biennale, which began with an unprecedented challenge: due to the renovation of the Central Pavilion in the Giardini, the majority of the exhibition had to be concentrated in the Arse...
