This web-based extension of the physical installation "Constructing la Biennale" offers a critical and data-driven exploration of the Venice Architecture Biennale. The installation uncovers the hidden layers—both historical and contemporary—of this globally significant event by examining its evolving curatorial processes and networked structures.
Produced as part of "Constructing la Biennale", a project by Politecnico di Torino / Dipartimento di Architettura e Design and Northeastern University. Developed for INTELLIGENS. NATURAL. ARTIFICIAL. COLLECTIVE for the 19th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia.
The interactive platform developed by BarabásiLab presents the historical network of La Biennale di Venezia – Architettura (1975–2023). It lets users explore individuals, identify nodes on the panel, and access the data behind the large network.
Each edition is visualized as a distinct network with a unique color. Participants—architects and their team members—are shown as individual nodes connected to the projects they contributed to, highlighting their collaborations.
Each year (1975–2023) is assigned a unique color, forming distinct network clusters.
Example: 1986 is shown in green (bottom center)
Example: 2023 is in blue (far right)
There are two types of nodes:
A link connects a participant to a project they contributed to during a specific year.
In the 2023 edition, the project Down to Earth was co-created by Francelle Cane and Marija Marić. Their bright blue nodes are linked to the darker blue Down to Earth project node, visually representing their collaboration.
| Year | Title | Curator | Number of projects | Number of participants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | On The Subject Of The Stucky Mill | Vittorio Gregotti | 9 | 12 |
| 1980 | The Presence Of The Past | Paolo Portoghesi | 678 | 116 |
| 1982 | Architecture In Islamic Countries | Paolo Portoghesi | 167 | 111 |
| 1985 | Progetto Venezia | Aldo Rossi | 60 | 1544 |
| 1986 | Hendrik Petrus Berlage. Disegni | Aldo Rossi | 175 | 2 |
| 1991 | The 5th International Architecture Exhibition | Francesco Dal Co | 119 | 1132 |
| 1996 | Sensing The Future—The Architect As Seismograph | Hans Hollein | 438 | 411 |
| 2000 | Less Aesthetics More Ethics | Massimiliano Fuksas | 217 | 877 |
| 2002 | Next | Deyan Sudjic | 170 | 572 |
| 2004 | Metamorph | Kurt W. Forster | 382 | 891 |
| 2006 | Cities, Architecture And Society | Richard Burdett | 79 | 911 |
| 2008 | Out There: Architecture Beyond Building | Aaron Betsky | 364 | 1252 |
| 2010 | People Meet In Architecture | Kazuyo Sejima | 127 | 883 |
| 2012 | Common Ground | David Chipperfield | 125 | 1175 |
| 2014 | Fundamentals | Rem Koolhaas | 103 | 741 |
| 2016 | Reporting From The Front | Alejandro Aravena | 146 | 1316 |
| 2018 | Freespace | Yvonne Farrell; Shelley Mcnamara | 147 | 847 |
| 2021 | How Will We Live Together? | Shelley Mcnamara | 195 | 821 |
| 2023 | The Laboratory Of The Future | Lesley Lokko | 140 | 685 |
Albert-László Barabási
Principal Investigator and DataArt Expert. Cirta, Romania, 1967. Lives and works in Boston, USA and Budapest, HU. Instagram
Csaba Both
PhD student, Network Science, Data Design and Visualization Expert. Miercurea Ciuc/Csikszereda, Romania; lives in Boston, MA, USA. LinkedIn
Alice Grishchenko
Data Design and Visualization Expert. Jacksonville, FL, United States; lives in West Boylston, MA. Website
Marco Buongiorno Nardelli
Music Composition and Sound Design. Rome, Italy; lives in Denton, Texas. University of North Texas and Santa Fe Institute. LinkedIn
Daria Koshkina
Data Design and Visualization Expert. Moscow, Russia; lives in Boston, USA. Website
Yixuan Liu
Data Collection and Analysis, PhD student. Chengdu, China; lives in Boston, MA, USA. LinkedIn
Ábel Elekes
AI Processing. Postdoctoral Researcher, AI Expert. Budapest, Hungary. LinkedIn
Rodrigo Dorantes Gilardi
Data Collection and Analysis. Postdoctoral Researcher. Mexico City, Mexico; lives in Boston, MA, USA. LinkedIn
Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo; Camera di Commercio di Torino; Department of Network and Data Science - Central European University; Politecnico di Torino; Northeastern University; SECAP S.p.A.; REPLY S.p.A.
