The 19th International Architecture Exhibition, Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective., curated by Carlo Ratti and produced by La Biennale di Venezia, is open to the public now through Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, at the Giardini, the Arsenale, and various locations across Venice. The Exhibition searches for a path forward, proposing that intelligent solutions to pressing problems can take many forms. It presents a collection of design proposals and many other experiments, exploring a definition of “intelligence” as an ability to adapt to the environment with limited resources, knowledge, or power.

A standout, collaborative exhibit by Dr. William Carpenter, FAIA (Lightroom Studios, Florida and Brazil) and Northern Virginia AIA Member, Jim Burton, AIA (Carter + Burton Architecture, Virginia) explore a multidisciplinary approach to architecture, phenomenology, and the ambient through music, design, and ideation. Their work invites visitors into a rich, immersive environment where architecture meets sound, light, and form. In alignment with this year’s Biennale theme the exhibit explores how architecture operates as a sensory field — not just a spatial one.

Rooted in a shared interest in phenomenology, craft, and cross-disciplinary collaboration, Carpenter and Burton’s exhibition responds to the urgent need for architecture to adapt, listen, and connect. Drawing inspiration from Martin Heidegger’s “fourfold” and John Cage’s “Silence,” the installation proposes a model of “ambient modernism” — a framework where buildings and spaces act as vessels for presence, sound, and overall heightened sensory awareness.

The exhibit features architectural projects from across the eastern United States and Brazil, highlighting work that is deeply responsive to its natural biome and cultural context. Through layers of original music, film, visual art, and environmental soundscapes, the installation transcends traditional architectural presentation, offering an immersive experience that speaks to both the intellect and the senses.

Visitors move through a curated sequence of spaces that evoke both craft and atmosphere, with materials, textures, and ambient audio curated to encourage reflection on architecture’s role in shaping our perception of the world around us.

The exhibition also coincides with the international launch of Digital Fabrication and the Design-Build Studio (Routledge, London, 2024), a newly released book by Carpenter and Burton that continues the legacy of Carpenter’s influential 1997 publication Learning by Building (VNR, New York, 1997). The new volume explores digital technologies, fabrication, and hands-on learning in architectural pedagogy, reflecting the evolution of design-build methodologies in contemporary practice.

In showcasing how architecture can act as a cultural medium — simultaneously technical, artistic, and deeply human, Carpenter and Burton’s exhibit proposes a future in which architecture is not only seen and built, but heard, felt, and experienced. It is a timely reminder that design must not only respond to place but participate in it — echoing the Biennale’s call for a more collective, conscious, and creative architecture.

Additional credits: Catherine Burton, creator of video installation. Original music score by Wiederfaden 2025 (Brian Ginn and William Carpenter).