The Biennale Architettura 2025 closes with 298,000 tickets sold

Today, Sunday 23 November 2025, the 19^th International Architecture Exhibition Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective. Curated by Carlo Ratti, closed with a total of 298,000 tickets sold (+5% over 2023), in addition to the 17,584 visitors who attended the preview. This makes it the most attended Biennale Architettura ever, considering the high number of visitors during the pre-opening compared to the record-breaking 2021 edition.

During these months, researchers, professionals, and families have gathered at the Corderie dell’Arsenale and Giardini venues of La Biennale di Venezia to celebrate — with Carlo Ratti’s Architecture Exhibition, to whom we extend our thanks — a moment of shared learning and growth. The projects on display and the GENS Public Programme initiatives have provided visitors with valuable tools for interpreting our complex times. From this moment on, the International Architecture Exhibition — greeted with a dazzling public success — despite the closure of the Central Pavilion at the Giardini for restoration, which will which will return refurbished for the Biennale Arte 2026 - hands itself over and thus belongs to the Future, the time that belongs to us all, Gens gifted with Intelligence

We are delighted that the Architecture Exhibition has been such a success. The Public Programme drew extraordinary participation, with hundreds of workshops keeping the Speakers’ Corner at the Arsenale constantly busy. Thousands of contributors took the stage, united by a shared call for collective intelligence — the central theme of this edition. Yet the true legacy of a Biennale is not defined by immediate popularity, but by what endures. I propose two measures. The first is its impact on architectural practice. This year’s theme urges us to mobilize every form of intelligence to confront a changing climate. We must adapt our built heritage to new environmental conditions and correct the errors of the recent past. If these principles take hold in the profession in the years ahead, then this edition will have succeeded. The second legacy concerns the nature of a Biennale itself. In an age of instant communication, exhibiting works is no longer enough; we must create places where new knowledge can emerge. That belief shaped this year’s “Laboratory” approach: a creative ecosystem where architects, scientists, philosophers, chefs, programmers, farmers, and many others could meet and collaborate. This edition owes its success to all of them — to those who embraced a bold, experimental challenge beyond their everyday practice. Finally, I want to thank two wonderful teams: my curatorial team and the one of  La Biennale di Venezia, led by Pietrangelo Buttafuoco – together we have shared a truly wonderful adventure!”

A share of 50% of the public came from abroad, and 50% from Italy.
There was strong attendance by young people and students under the age of 26, totalling over 84,000, or 28% of all visitors.
The participants in the Fragile Categories Project, for the Accessible Biennale, counted 996 (71 groups). This figure confirms La Biennale’s constant attention to activities relating to the accessibility of the cultural heritage and of contemporary arts in particular to persons with disabilities or situations of social disadvantage or marginalisation.

Three inmates from the correctional facilities of Venice, Padua and Treviso took part in the Biennale Architettura 2025, carrying out work activities as part of a long-term project of La Biennale di Venezia, developed in collaboration with the Venetian prisons and the association Seconda Chance, which operates within the framework of an official protocol with the Department of Penitentiary Administration of the Ministry of Justice. The initiative, founded on the constitutional principles of re-education and social reintegration, offers inmates temporary work opportunities as an integral part of their rehabilitation process.

A total of 2,351 journalists were accredited during the pre-opening days alone, including 1,345 representatives from all the major international, general and specialized press. In addition, journalists continued to be accredited throughout the months of the Exhibition, coming from agencies, television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and digital media outlets.
The press review highlights extensive coverage across all geographic areas, with over 3,000 articles, in addition to numerous reports and specials on TVs, radios, specialized magazines, and international online platforms.

758      Architects invited to the International Exhibition
303      Projects participating to the International Exhibition
2          Curator’s Special Projects:
             Pavilion of Applied Arts in collaboration with Victoria and Albert Museum in London with the project On Storage
          Forte Marghera, polveriera austriaca with the exhibition Margherissima by Nigel Coates, with Michael Kevern, Guan Lee, John Maybury and Jan Bunge

GENS Public Programme:
111      Workshops
9          Conferences
66        National Participations, including:

26     National Participations in the historic pavilions at the Giardini

25     National Participations at the Arsenale (including Italy) 

15     National Participations throughout Venice’s historic centre

4       National Participations appearing for the first time: the Republic of Azerbaijan, 

the Sultanate of Oman, Qatar, and Togo

11        Collateral Events

The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement and the Special Golden Lion in Memoriam, awarded on the Curator’s proposal, were given respectively to the American philosopher Donna Haraway, and to the Italian architect, designer, and theorist Italo Rota (2 October 1953 – 6 April 2024). 
The International Jury, chaired by Hans Ulrich Obrist (Swiss curator, critic, and art historian, Artistic Director of Serpentine, London), together with Paola Antonelli (Senior Curator, Architecture & Design, and founding Director of R&D at MoMA, New York) and Mpho Matsipa (South African architect, curator, and academic), awarded the following official prizes:

• Golden Lion for Best National Participation to the Kingdom of Bahrain
• Two Special mentions for National Participations to the Holy See and Great Britain
• Golden Lion for Best Participation to Canal Café (Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Natural Systems Utilities, SODAI, Aaron Betsky, Davide Oldani)
• Silver Lion for a Promising Participation to Calculating Empires: A Genealogy of Technology and Power Since 1500 (Kate Crawford, Vladan Joler)
• Two Special Mentions to the participations Alternative Urbanism: The Self-Organized Markets of Lagos (Tosin Oshinowo, Oshinowo Studio) and Elephant Chapel (Boonserm Premthada)

Biennale College Architettura 2024/25 took place for the second time with students, graduates and emerging practitioners under the age of 30, selected by the Curator from the over 200 applications submitted from 49 countries around the world. The finalists in this edition – Joelle Deeb, Jia Wei Huang, Caterina Miralles Tagliabue, Agnes Thomasina Parker, Lucia Rebolino, Tanvi Khurmi, Rita Espinha Dos Santos Abreu Morais, Florian Kilian Jaritz, Franziska Gödicke, Jaakko Julius Heikkilä, Emil Oscar Lyytikkä – enjoyed a grant of 20,000 euro for the realization of the final work they presented, out of competition, as part of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective., curated by Carlo Ratti.

The Biennale Sessions project – dedicated to Universities, Fine Arts Academies, research and educational institutions in the visual arts and similar fields – has been promoting for over ten years groups of students and teachers to visit the Exhibition, registering the extraordinary participation of foreign universities. 
106 universities were involved, including 34 Italian universities and 47 foreign universities, from every continent. With 12 universities involved, Germany is the second country in terms of attendance, followed by Great Britain (4attendances).
After Europe, the Americas are confirmed as the second continent of origin, with 11 affiliated universities.
6,482 university students participated in the project. 

A total of 52,383 participants (3,205 groups) took part in the educational activities and guided tour services.

Educational Activities
29,685 young people and students who participated in the educational activities 
1,376   groups 
4,961   teachers involved in the educational activities in the exhibition venue 
2.021   teachers who participated in the dedicated previews 
660      participating schools, of which: 
              52        preschool
              141      primary schools
              50        Lower-level secondary schools
             417      Upper-level secondary schools

79% of the young participants in the educational activities were from Italy.

Guided Tours
22,698             adults and public who participated in the guided tours  (+22% compared to 2023)
16,702             public organised in groups (+17% over 2023)
5,996               the participants in the guided tours on a fixed schedule or family friendly 
1,829               groups  

Active Catalogues
An important contribution was given by the 20 active catalogues:                                                                                                                                                                                                                 young college graduates standing along the Exhibition route, according to a dedicated editorial project, with the purpose of providing information, met with the appreciation and gratitude of the visitors. 

Official website: www.labiennale.org
May 10th > November 18th 2025
1,049,987 active users
5,4 million page views
14 million events generated (page views, session openings, first visits, page scrolls, clicks, file downloads, etc.)

Social Media: The content published during Biennale Architettura 2025 on La Biennale di Venezia’s social media platforms – Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube – obtained around 121 million views overall, generating about 2 million interactions.

The official catalogue and guide of the Biennale Architettura 2025 are published by La Biennale di Venezia.

As of 18 November 2025, the Exhibition Bookshops and the e-commerce website store.labiennale.org, sold:
497 catalogues in Italian
1.001 catalogues in English
1.695 short guides in Italian
4.128 short guides in English

Since 2021, La Biennale di Venezia has launched a plan to reconsider all of its activities in light of recognized and consolidated principles of environmental sustainability. Since 2022 La Biennale obtained the carbon neutrality certification for all the events it held that year. This was made possible by carefully collecting the data on the causes of CO2 emissions generated by the events themselves, and on the adoption of consequent measures. The entire process for achieving, was conducted in compliance with the international standard PAS2060.
For the year 2025, the goal was to obtain the Carbon Neutrality certification in accordance with the new ISO 14067 standard, for all of La Biennale’s scheduled activities: the 82^nd Venice International Film Festival, the Theatre, Music and Dance Festivals and, in particular, the 19^th International Architecture Exhibition. For all the events, the most important component of the overall carbon footprint involves the mobility of the visitors. In this sense, La Biennale has been engaged again in 2025 in a communication campaign to raise the awareness of the participating public. La Biennale will also continue its decarbonization efforts by reducing and compensating for its CO2 emissions.
The Circular Economy Manifesto developed by Carlo Ratti with guidance from Arup and input from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, strengthened La Biennale’s commitment to this goal, promoting an increasingly sustainable model for the design, installation and operation of all its activities and events. The challenge is to create pavilions and spaces that serve as examples of bold circular thinking, generating a lasting legacy in terms of sustainability. The aim is to eliminate waste, circulating materials and regenerating natural systems, thus demonstrating that architecture and the built environment can coexist in harmony with our planet.

We would like to thank the Ministry of Culture, the local institutions that support La Biennale in various ways, the City of Venice, the Regione Veneto, the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per il Comune di Venezia e Laguna, the Italian Navy and the Museo Storico Navale di Venezia.
We thank the important international Donors, organisations and institutions who are essential to the creation of the 19th Exhibition. 
The 19th International Architecture Exhibition has been made possible by the support of Rolex, Partner and Official Timepiece of the event.
Sponsors: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Vela - Venezia Unica, Hydro and Gruppo Saviola.
Media Partner: Rai
We would also like to thank Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.
And we would particularly like to thank the Curator Carlo Ratti and his entire team.