Artificial Intelligence at the Forefront of Biennale Architettura 2025
- Pritish Bagdi
- Aug 16
- 2 min read
The Exhibition is pleased to present two new digital companions: Spatial Intelligens, developed by sub, a transdisciplinary architecture and design studio led by Niklas Bildstein Zaar, and In Other Words, produced by VOLUME, one of the featured participants.
Pritish Bagdi
Artificial intelligence takes center stage at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective, curated by Carlo Ratti and organized by La Biennale di Venezia. Open until November 23, 2025, it features a GENS Public Programme and introduces two new digital companions. Spatial Intelligens, developed by sub, and In Other Words, by VOLUME, extend the curatorial theme, inviting visitors to explore architectural ideas and question knowledge organization within cultural institutions.
Artificial Intelligence at Work AI has been used for summarizing texts, generating captions, and assisting with wayfinding. These tools transition from logistical support to public engagement, making the Exhibition a responsive system.
“The Biennale becomes a living lab,” says Carlo Ratti, “a place for asking new questions”.
SUB’s Spatial Intelligens
Spatial Intelligens, an AI-powered digital twin by sub, enhances the Exhibition with personalized visitor interactions and a conversational AI. Accessible via mobile devices, it provides a personalized journey map, transforming individual experiences into collective architectural understanding.
Niklas Bildstein Zaar, sub: “This project redefines exhibitions, showcasing architecture in a living dialogue. Spatial Intelligens embodies the Biennale’s spirit: architecture as a living, evolving system.”
VOLUME - Ultimate Biennale Companion: In Other Words...
In Other Words, part of VOLUME’s Bursting Bubbles initiative, uses AI to mediate between expert discourse and cultural engagement. It offers an AI-generated audio guide with diverse perspectives, creating a polyphonic reading of the Biennale. Available as a podcast on Spotify, it also includes reimagined Venetian souvenirs questioning symbol circulation.
Stephan Petermann, VOLUME editor: “This experiment explores AI’s impact on storytelling, challenging archetypal writing in design exhibitions.”
La Biennale as a living laboratory
Both tools are part of a broader experimental ecology at the Biennale Architettura 2025, emphasizing knowledge production and infrastructural imagination. Ratti notes, “The use of AI invites rethinking authorship and collaboration, addressing architecture’s future in an age of algorithmic mediation.”
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