Department of Architecture Lecture
University of Hong Kong (HKU)
Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR
26/09/2024
Carlo Ratti 0 loves cities and the built environment. Ranked as one of the top ten most-cited scholars in urban planning and one of the leading designers in America, he focuses on intelligent systems and the convergence between the natural and artificial worlds. Recently nominated curator of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, he aims to foster a public conversation 1 on our urban habitat, starting from his work at the intersection between academic research 2, innovative design 3, and start-up entrepreneurship 4.
Public conversation
Carlo’s opinions on cities, technology, and the future are contributing to a global conversation. Follow his hottest takes across the pages of his books, opinion essays, interviews, and social media.
(1.1) Latest OP–EDs
(1.2) Latest Books
Atlas of the Senseable City
Read it Now
The City of Tomorrow: Sensors, Networks, Hackers, and the Future of Urban Life
Read it Now
Open Source Architecture
Read it Now
Decoding the City: Urbanism in the Age of Big Data
Read it Now
Architettura Open Source
Read it Now
Senseable City Guide
Read it Now(1.4) Social Media
We’re delighted to see the France Pavilion staircase featured by Dezeen (@dezeen) as one of the Top 10 staircases of the year.
Designed by Coldefy (@coldefy.fr) with CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati (@crassosciati), the France Pavilion at Osaka World Expo 2025 reimagined the space as a theatre of life.
This sinuous staircase evokes grand staircases in theatres and creates a dialogue between the inside of the Pavilion and the plaza outside, blurring the boundaries between inside and out, providing a sense of welcome and openness to all. It also draws on the Japanese legend of Akai Ito, the invisible red thread binding people destined to meet.
Images by @julienlanoo
@thomascoldefy @isabelvanhaute @franceexpo2025osaka @expo2025japan #Expo2025 #FrancePavilion #Coldefy #CRACarloRattiAssociati #Architecture #Design
Open
2025, in review.
A year of building with care and adapting more.
From research to prototypes, from Biennale to COP30, our work focused on architecture that responds to place and people.
Across continents and scales, projects evolved as living systems, sensing and adapting over time. Architecture as dialogue. Design as a collective effort.
Thank you to all collaborators and communities who made this year possible.
Onwards. 🌍
#CRA #2026 #architecture #design #CarloRattiAssociati
Open
2025, in review.
A year of building with care and adapting more.
From research to prototypes, from Biennale to COP30, our work focused on architecture that responds to place and people.
Across continents and scales, projects evolved as living systems, sensing and adapting over time. Architecture as dialogue. Design as a collective effort.
Thank you to all collaborators and communities who made this year possible.
Onwards. 🌍
#CRA #2026 #architecture #design
Open
It’s been a little over a month since the doors closed on the Biennale Architettura 2025 (@labiennale) — Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.
Over six months, the Exhibition, curated by Carlo Ratti (@crassociati), became a living laboratory of perspectives — more than 750 contributors exploring how architecture can adapt and respond in a changing world.
As the exhibition lights fade, the spirit of Intelligens continues — a Petri dish of ideas carried into daily practice. Architecture can guide our adaptation and, echoing Buckminster Fuller’s words, help shape the utopia of a more livable tomorrow.
#Intelligens #LaBiennaleDiVenezia #BiennaleArchitettura2025 #CRA
Open
Stepping into the MAE Museum (@mae_museum_), the archive unfolds as a landscape of possibilities.
Behind its many doors, precious patents and objects wait to be discovered, tracing the evolution of carbon fiber from industrial process to material icon. Digital overlays guide visitors through MAE’s universe, turning technical expertise into a readable, immersive experience.
Here, the archive becomes a living museum — a place to connect ideas and observe how innovation takes shape over time.
Designed by CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati (@crassociati) in collaboration with the late Italo Rota.
Images by @beppemiotto and @marcocappellettistudio
@maechemistrymachinery @annymuselove #MAEMuseum #CarloRattiAssociati #ItaloRota #CarbonFiber
Open
Carlo Ratti (@crassociati) sat down with NBC News (@nbcnews) to speak about the design of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic torch, and how its stripped back design allows the flame to take centre stage.
He reflected on returning to what is essential, giving full presence to the flame, and on balancing the honor of designing the torch with the great responsibility it carries.
Many thanks to NBC’s Raf Sanchez (@rafsanchez.nbc).
The torch was born from the vision of Versalis (Official Supporter of the Games), in collaboration with CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati for the design and Cavagna Group for engineering.
#IOC #OlympicTorch #MilanoCortina2026 #CarloRattiAssociati #Olympics #Paralympics
Open
Academic research
How can we use new tools to uncover our cities’ hidden secrets? Our team at the MIT Senseable City Lab is publishing new findings all the time. Read on for some of our latest discoveries…
(2.1) Latest papers
Sustainable Cities and Society
Scientific Reports
npj Urban Sustainability
Scientific Reports
Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science
Martin Beech (ed.) Geoengineering and Climate Change: Methods, Risks, and Governance (Scrivener), and Governance (Scrivener), Martin Beech (ed.) Geoengineering and Climate Change: Methods, Risks
(2.2) Teaching roles
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2007-present
Professor of the Practice of Urban Technologies
MIT International Science andTechnology Initiatives (MISTI) 2009-present
Director
Politecnico di Milano 2022-present
Distinguished Professor
TTUP Tashkent 2023-present
Honorary Professor
University of Cambridge 2017-2019
Visiting Research Fellow
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology 2017-2019
Visiting Professor
Cambridge, United States
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Innovative design
A pavilion with walls of water. A skyscraper covered in plants. A renewable energy battery that doubles as a sauna. Carlo’s design firm, CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati, is designing the city of tomorrow and bringing the natural and artificial worlds together.
Start–up entrepreneurship
Carlo believes that innovation has to make it into the real world – and we have created an ecosystem of startups. We have received more than 500 million dollars to fund multiple projects internationally, in the field of micro-mobility, leisure, and construction.
