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
How can a building evolve alongside the people who inhabit it?
With the City of Naples, we’re reimagining Le Vele — the iconic modernist complex by Franz Di Salvo — through a collective process of memory, design, and AI.
Stories become spaces. Voices become visions.
At the Biennale Architettura 2025, a suspended model of Vela Celeste presents AI-generated futures born from community input — a dialogue between memory and transformation.
Not demolition. Not nostalgia. But design in progress.
@crassociati @manfredi_official @labiennale #GENS #IntelliGens #LeVele #VelaCeleste #Napoli #BiennaleArchitettura #ParticipatoryDesign #FranzDiSalvo #UrbanRegeneration
@agnese_bedini @dsl__studio
Open
The 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, curated by Carlo Ratti, opened to the public over the weekend.
We’re excited to share a little behind the scenes of the work that went into bringing Senseable’s Data Clouds ☁️ and Re-Leaf 🌳 exhibitions to life.
Special thanks to our collaborators at @mit @harvardgsd @journeydotworld and beyond!
@labiennale
#biennalearchitettura2025 #MIT #harvardgsd #intelligens #labiennaledivenezia #urban #innovation
Open
#CarloRatti #intelligens #Gens #BiennaleArchitettura2025 #labiennaledivenezia #biennalearchitettura @labiennale @hansulrichobrist @paolantonelli #mphomatsipa
Open
Let’s talk architecture futures - together!
As part of the GENS Public Programme, Workshops kick off on Thursday 8 May, during the pre-opening of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, curated by Carlo Ratti.
Taking place at the Speakers’ Corner in the Corderie dell’Arsenale — designed by Christopher Hawthorne, Johnston Marklee, and Florencia Rodriguez — these Workshops invite the public to engage directly with the themes of Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.
Throughout the six months of the Exhibition, the Workshops will activate conversations, ideas, and actions — from architectural critique to collective intelligence in response to the climate crisis.
📍 The GENS Programme is live and evolving: head to labiennale.org for the full calendar and updates.
#BiennaleArchitettura2025 #CarloRatti #CRA #Intelligens #SpeakersCorner #GENSPublicProgramme #LaBiennale #ArchitectureIsSurvival #Intelligens #Gens @labiennale @crassociati 📸: @martagobbo_
Open
Kicking off the preview days of Biennale Architettura 2025!
“In times of adaptation, architecture needs to draw on multiple forms of intelligence: natural, artificial, and collective. In times of adaptation, architecture needs to reach out across generations and across disciplines, from the hard sciences to the arts. In times of adaptation, architecture must rethink authorship and become more inclusive. Architecture must become as flexible and dynamic as the world we are now designing for.” #CarloRatti
Find out more about the 19th International Architecture Exhibition (#Venice, 10 May > 23 November 2025) and buy your tickets → www.labiennale.org
#LaBiennaleDiVenezia #BiennaleArchitettura2025 #IntelliGens @crassociati @labiennale 📸: @martagobbo_
Open
🍃Re-Leaf🍃 transforms tree distribution data in Amsterdam, Dubai, Los Angeles, and Rome, into dynamic “green skyscrapers”: physical models that allow visitors to intuitively compare vegetation density across very different climates and urban forms.
We are excited to see this exhibition come to life in just about a week!
#vegetation #urbangreenery #BiennaleArchitettura2025 #venicebiennale
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.
