In the early summer light of Venice, where winding canals brush against ancient brick walls, a quiet yet powerful architectural gesture has taken shape in the Arsenale. As part of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, the Circularity Handbook and its accompanying spatial installation—conceived and developed by the design collective PILLS—offer more than just visual spectacle. They propose a shift in how we think about architectural exhibitions: not as disposable showcases, but as living, reusable ecosystems.
The Circularity Handbook isn’t just another printed guide for visitors. It is a strategic manual rooted in circular design thinking, created specifically for the Biennale’s participants. Its focus is on sustainability through the entire lifecycle of an exhibition—from materials sourcing and construction to teardown and reuse. Developed by PILLS in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team including JIN ARTS, typo_d, Archi-Neering-Design / AND Office, and Róng Design Library, the handbook functions as both a philosophy and a toolkit.
What sets this project apart is its physical counterpart: a modular, demountable installation located at the heart of the Arsenale. Built using the very strategies outlined in the handbook, this structure turns abstract principles into tactile experience. It invites visitors to literally step into a space shaped by sustainability.
Walking through the installation is like entering a physical page of the handbook—an open book that doesn’t preach, but demonstrates. It recalls the story of Danish architect Marie Andersen, who once built a summer workshop cabin for her children in the Vienna suburbs using discarded construction panels. That little wooden haven became a space of learning, play, and reuse—a direct, human-scale embodiment of circularity. The Biennale installation evokes that same spirit: every beam, every joint, every module has a future life beyond the exhibition.
This year’s theme—“Intelligens: Natural, Artificial, Collective”—asks a critical question: How can design foster harmony among natural, artificial, and collective intelligences? Chief Curator Carlo Ratti’s goal is nothing less than ambitious: to make this Biennale the world’s first truly “zero-waste” architecture exhibition.
Circularity Handbook is a cornerstone of this initiative. It’s not just a theoretical response to Ratti’s “Circular Economy Manifesto,” but an active participant. Through its dual format—book and building—it reimagines the architecture exhibition as a space that’s not temporary, but transitional. A space that ends not in demolition, but in transformation.
Spearheaded by coordinator Zigeng Wang, the project drew together designers and thinkers from around the world, including Valeria Tatano and Massimiliano Condotta from Italy, and Xiaoqing Cui and Zhengwei Tang from China. Lighting design was handled by HDA Shenzhen Handu, while MOUJITI ART+TECH brought the installation to life with interactive multimedia. Construction was managed by We Exhibit srl, and transportation by Trojans Art Services.
At every stage, the project asked: what if exhibitions could mimic the circularity of nature? The team drew inspiration from global precedents—like a community garden project in San Francisco where local architects and volunteers turned demolished building materials into garden beds and communal gathering spaces. These stories are folded into the logic of the Circularity Handbook, which offers not only technical guidance, but also a more humane vision of architecture’s role in everyday life.
The result is a rare convergence of idealism and pragmatism. Visitors to the Biennale won’t just encounter architecture; they’ll step into a living model of resilience. And perhaps, like those in Andersen’s garden cabin or the San Francisco neighborhood garden, they’ll begin to imagine how reuse can become a natural, even joyful part of daily design.
The exhibition runs from May 10 to November 23, 2025, with the installation nestled among the historic naval warehouses of the Arsenale. Amid the many provocative and ambitious works on display this year, the Circularity Handbook offers something quietly radical: a reminder that the future of architecture may not be about building more—it may be about building better, and longer.
Whether this Biennale can truly become “zero waste” remains to be seen. But in one quiet corner of Venice, a blueprint for how it might happen has already been drawn—and built.