What almost all critics agree on is that The Laboratory of the Future is a plural exhibition. It integrates very diverse voices that speak languages not always compatible, both in terms of themes and issues touched upon. However, it seems useful to try to frame this complexity through some possible categories, not exhaustive, that attempt to answer the main question posed by the exhibition: what is architecture?

It seems to me that, rather than sections or categories, one can effectively speak of  ‘worksites,’ partly in line with the meaning of the title that Lesley Lokko gave to this Biennale, envisioning the future as something “to be built,” and partly because, as often observed, in this exhibition there are more concrete questions than complacent answers. Architecture, for Lokko, is a relative practice, not absolute, because it is located in a defined space and, above all, in time. Speculative, a form of non-hegemonic thought; political, a non-hierarchical engagement device; material, non-extractive voice and practice; decolonial, a tool for non-racial redefinition; narrative, aimed at recognizing an ‘otherwise’ in the present. Among these characteristics, however, everything that seems like a denial is actually a proposal, a position, a project. Because, ultimately, that’s the essence of a future lab: to break away from criticism, even that which is yet to come, and have the courage to take a step forward.

Featured image: Brazilian Pavilion, Giardini (Golden Lion 2023)