The Architecture Biennale - Anthropology of a Venetian Experiment

To understand how Architecture Biennales are planned, curated and staged, leading architectural theorist and anthropologist Albena Yaneva traces the making of the ninenteenth International Architecture Exhibition at La Biennale di Venezia in 2025 (Entitled Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.) as a key site for the interaction of architecture, global trends and local politics. Going beyond the curator’s official announcements, press releases and catalogues, Yaneva focusses on the ‘magical crowd’ of curatorial assistants, exhibition designers, Biennale staff and many others to document the Biennale’s making. In so doing, she manages to shine a unique light on the specific dynamics that make the Biennale Architettura such an essential tool for shaping discourse in the field of architecture.