Each spring, Venice becomes the epicenter of global artistic and architectural dialogue, but few events capture the depth and urgency of contemporary discourse like Biennale Vernissage Week at Ocean Space, presented by TBA21–Academy. From May 7 to May 11, 2025, the historic Church of San Lorenzo transforms into a vibrant platform for architectural innovation, environmental inquiry, and radical speculation.
Ocean Space—known for catalyzing cultural change through interdisciplinary collaboration—hosts an extraordinary lineup of symposia, performances, and conversations in partnership with The Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL), Storefront for Art and Architecture, the New European Bauhaus, and a constellation of leading thinkers, designers, and artists.
Territories of Co-Cognition: Automation, Ethics, Built Environment
May 7, 2PM
The week launches with an incisive symposium on cognitive ecologies, machine ethics, and spatial agency. Curated by Roberto Bottazzi, Ilaria Di Carlo, and Annarita Papeschi, the event convenes visionaries like Patricia Reed, Luciana Parisi, and Fiona Zisch to interrogate how architectural practice is being reshaped by artificial intelligence and posthuman thought.
This symposium aligns with broader conversations happening in contemporary architecture, such as those explored in our feature on AI-enhanced living spaces.
Mediated Soundscapes & The Diriyah Visual Reader
May 8, 10:30AM & 2:30PM
Thursday begins with Mediated Soundscapes: On Swamps & Underwater Mountains, a sonic exploration that reorients architectural perception through acoustic ecologies. In the afternoon, After Rain, a visual reader from the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale 2024, provides critical insight into new desert narratives.
Participants like Nadia Huggins, Yina Jiménez Suriel, and Tessa Mars offer multimedia storytelling that challenges colonial legacies of land and image.
Rethinking the Role of Awards
May 9, 9AM
What is the role of architectural awards in shaping practice? A powerhouse panel featuring representatives from the Aga Khan Award, Holcim Foundation, EUmies Awards, OBEL, and others will debate how recognition can shift from symbolic to catalytic.
The session promises to be especially relevant to professionals and emerging designers engaged in socially responsive architecture—a theme we explore in depth in our collection of sustainable design case studies.
Archipelago for Possible Futures Summit
May 10, 10AM–8PM
Saturday marks the summit’s crescendo with Archipelago for Possible Futures, an intellectual and artistic gathering featuring Kim Stanley Robinson, Benjamin Bratton, Holly Herndon, Kate Crawford, and Superflex, among many others. From AI improvisation to speculative design, the summit questions architecture’s capacity to mediate planetary futures.
The evening culminates in a set of sonic performances, weaving together activism, computation, and myth-making through artists like Vivian Caccuri, Hannah Catherine Jones, and Kelman Duran.
Tales from Earth: When Nature Writes
May 11, 11AM
Closing the week is Tales From Earth, a one-day festival organized by AEON Collective that posits nature not as a passive backdrop but as co-author of human art and heritage. Through panels and a concert, the day reflects on how we might design with rather than for the planet.
This aligns with a growing movement in biocentric design, echoing trends covered in our article on nature-integrated residential projects.
Final Thoughts
The Biennale Vernissage Week at Ocean Space is not merely an auxiliary to the Venice Biennale—it is a critical node of transdisciplinary architecture in the 21st century. Here, architects, theorists, artists, and thinkers gather not only to exhibit, but to recalibrate the role of architecture in a time of ecological unraveling and technological acceleration.
For more insights from the intersection of art, design, and sustainability, follow our curated Projects section and stay updated with the latest events that shape the built world.
