On October 25, 2025, Carlo Ratti and Justin Shubow will be participating in the workshop titled “Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again: A Debate” at the Biennale Architettura 2025 in Venice, Italy.
The event, which is part of the Public Programme of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, will take place at 14:30 at the Speakers’ Corner in the Corderie dell’Arsenale.
The discussion will delve into the ongoing debate between classical and experimental architecture, exploring the role of aesthetics in civic structures. Ratti and Shubow will examine how public input and innovative design can shape our built environment, fostering legibility, dignity, and lasting quality in federal buildings. The conversation aims to bridge traditional preferences with contemporary approaches, sparking new ideas for the future of public architecture.
The curator of the Biennale Architettura 2025, Ratti is an Italian architect and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he directs the MIT Senseable City Lab.
Shubow is president of the National Civic Art Society, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. He is former chairman of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts.
This event stems from a recent exchange between the speakers in the Financial Times that began with an op-ed by Ratti titled “Don’t Make Federal Architecture Beautiful Again.” Shubow responded with a letter to the editor, “Jefferson Is the President’s American Architecture Idol,” which in turn prompted a letter by architect Norman Foster, “Aesthetic Excellence in Architecture Is Not a Question of Styles.”
To access the Corderie dell’Arsenale and the Speakers’ Corner, visitors must hold a valid exhibition ticket for the Biennale Architettura 2025.