Curator Carlo Ratti announced that the exhibition title will be presented in a single Latin word, ‘intelligens’, instead of English and Italian. The word is related to the modern term ‘intelligence’, but Ratti emphasized the Latin word ‘gens’, meaning ‘people’. He suggested that the word could represent a future form of collective intelligence, particularly in the new frontiers of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The exhibition will bring together various disciplines such as art, engineering, biology, data science, and others, connecting them to urban space and the urgent issue of the climate crisis.
During the announcement of the exhibition, Ratti, together with the President of La Biennale di Venezia, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, outlined four methodological pillars. The first pillar, “Transdisciplinarity”, will promote collaborations between multiple professionals in the field of architecture, with an emphasis on advancing scientific knowledge. The second pillar, “Living Lab”, will utilize a number of special satellite projects around Venice and the Biennale sites while the Central Pavilion at the Giardini is undergoing renovation. For the third pillar, “Space for Ideas”, the public is invited to submit their ideas via the Biennale website, which will incorporate a collaborative approach to design. Lastly, the “Circularity Protocol” will develop a manifesto that sets a new standard for the future of cultural events.
Students, graduate students and emerging practitioners under the age of 30 from all over the world are also invited to submit projects that employ ‘natural, artificial and collective intelligence to combat the climate crisis’, as part of the second edition of the Biennale College Architettura. A final selection of eight projects will be chosen (following a collaborative workshop in September 2024 with selected participants) to be included in the exhibition, with a grant of €20,000 for each project. The international call will remain open until 21 June 2024.
