MAD Architects, led by visionary Ma Yansong, has taken root within the historic Arsenale at the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 with a profound and immersive installation titled City of Plants. Invited by this year’s curator, Carlo Ratti, the Beijing-based practice presents a compelling vision where the boundaries between urbanity and nature dissolve, proposing a future defined not by concrete monoliths but by sustainable urban ecosystems.
On view till November 23rd, 2025, in the Artiglierie hall, City of Plants challenges conventional urban paradigms. It envisions a metropolis where human sensory experience within nature becomes the primary metric of quality, superseding the dominance of skyscrapers built for capital and density. In this future, intelligence and technology are repositioned as humble facilitators, enhancing daily comfort and convenience rather than dictating form.
This interactive installation represents a sophisticated convergence of architecture, ecology, and cutting-edge technology, fundamentally composed of three core elements. At its foundation lies a responsive base intricately embedded with high-precision environmental sensors, meticulously gathering real-time plant data on humidity, temperature, and light levels. This vital biological information feeds into an integrated audiovisual interaction system, where it is dynamically translated into a unique and continuously evolving soundscape, crafted by composer Michele Tadini. Enveloping the entire experience, three interconnected ecological landscapes thrive within a singular, unifying dome-like enclosure, serving as a powerful physical manifestation and symbol of ecological conservation and forward-looking optimism.
The magic unfolds through real-time environmental sensing. Data harvested from the thriving miniature ecosystems is algorithmically transformed into melodic sequences, creating an ever-changing auditory environment that fills the space. The interaction deepens as visitors enter; sensors embedded in the floor detect the rhythm of their footsteps, translating movement into additional layers of sound through a custom algorithm developed with experience design and AI research expert Bruno Zamborlin. This creates a unique dialogue between the living plants, the environment, and human presence.
Enveloping the entire experience, the single dome acts as both a physical structure and a potent metaphor. It suggests a protective environment for nature within the urban context and frames MAD’s vision for a hopeful, sustainable urban future where humanity and flora exist in vital equilibrium. Landscape specialists Parcnouveau contributed to crafting the internal ecologies, while Crespi provided expertise as Bonsai Specialist.
Ma Yansong’s presence at the Biennale is further amplified by his role as curator of the Pavilion of China, also located within the Arsenale. MAD has additionally contributed an outdoor installation for the China Pavilion titled Chinese Paper Umbrella. Both the Pavilion and City of Plants solidify MAD’s position at the forefront of global architectural discourse, exploring culturally resonant and ecologically sensitive design solutions.
City of Plants is more than an exhibit; it’s an evocative prototype and a sensory invitation to reimagine our relationship with the natural world within the cities we inhabit. It stands as a testament to MAD Architects’ ongoing exploration of emotional architecture and their commitment to forging a harmonious path forward.
City of Plants by MAD Architects is on display at the Artiglierie, Arsenale, Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 until November 23, 2025. The project was realized with the additional support of ENEA, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, and Logli Saint-Gobain.