«Architecture has always been a response to a hostile climate. From the earliest “primitive hut,” human design has not only been led by the need for shelter and survival, but also driven by optimism. Our creations have always strived to bridge the gaps between a harsh environment, the safe, liveable spaces we require, and the lives we want to live. Today, as the climate becomes less forgiving, that dynamic is being taken to a new level. Over the past two years, climate change has accelerated in ways that defy even the best scientific models. 2024 marked a grim milestone, as Earth registered its hottest temperatures on record, pushing global averages beyond the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target. And in the fires of Los Angeles, in the floods of Valencia and Sherpur, in the droughts of Sicily, we have witnessed the elements attacking us with unprecedented ferocity. When the knowledge and systems that have long guided our understanding begin to fail, new forms of thinking are needed. For decades, ever since we started counting carbon, architecture’s response to the climate crisis has been centred on mitigation—on reducing our impact on the climate. That approach is no longer enough. Architecture must pivot away from mitigation, reconnect with its longer history of adaptation, and rethink how we design for an altered world.»
«Adaptation demands a fundamental shift in architectural practice. This year’s Exhibition, Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective., invites different types of intelligence to work together to rethink the built environment. The title, a neologism whose final syllable, “gens,” is Latin for “people,” is an invitation to experiment with intelligence beyond today’s limited focus on AI and digital technologies and demonstrate how we can adapt to the world of tomorrow with confidence and optimism. Intelligens serves as a dynamic laboratory, uniting experts across various forms of intelligence. For the first time, the Exhibition features over 300 contributions from more than 750 participants: architects and engineers, mathematicians and climate scientists, philosophers and artists, chefs and coders, writers and woodcarvers, farmers, and fashion designers, and many more. In times of adaptation, architecture is at the centre. In times of adaptation, architecture needs to draw on multiple forms of intelligence: natural, artificial, and collective. In times of adaptation, architecture needs to reach out across generations and across disciplines, from the hard sciences to the arts. In times of adaptation, architecture must rethink authorship and become more inclusive. Architecture must become as flexible and dynamic as the world we are now designing for.»