Architecture for Pollinators: This Venice Biennale Installation Puts Bees and Nature First

Header: Courtesy of Virginia Tech College

Get ready for something different at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. From May 10th to November 23rd, 2025, the Giardini della Marinaressa will host “unEarthed / Second Nature / PolliNATION,” a special event led by the Virginia Tech Honors College and curated by Dr. Enric Ruiz Geli of Cloud 9 studio and Dr. Anne-Lise Velez from Virginia Tech. Instead of focusing solely on humans, this project places nature, specifically pollinators, at the center of the design.

Inspired by Venetian history

The idea partly originated from an old image depicting Venetian beekeepers relocating their hives by boat after a flood. It’s a picture of people adapting to and working with nature. The curators believe that examining these types of traditions, where people and the environment mutually support each other, is crucial to finding sustainable ways to live today.

What’s in a name: unEarthed, Second Nature, PolliNATION

The triple title hints at the project’s layers. “unEarthed” suggests digging up hidden ideas and showing the teamwork behind the scenes, much like the collaborative projects Virginia Tech Honors College is known for. “Second Nature” has a double meaning: it refers to the actual creation of a new natural space in Venice with over 60 types of plants and more than 10 kinds of pollinators invited in. It also expresses the hope that caring for nature becomes second nature to us, as automatic as breathing. Finally, “PolliNATION” is the goal: to spread these ideas about conservation and working with nature far and wide, like pollen travelling on the wind, creating a community that cares about the environment.

Design detail: An architecture for pollinators

The main feature at the Giardini della Marinaressa is a temporary architectural installation designed as a “pollinator-centered” space. Enric Ruiz Geli and his Cloud 9 studio, renowned for their environmentally focused work, refer to this as “interspecies architecture.” The goal isn’t just a building or space for people to look at, but an environment created specifically to support and attract bees and other pollinators vital to the ecosystem. This living garden aims to boost the local biodiversity during the exhibition.

Teamwork and big ideas

Virginia Tech Honors College emphasizes bringing people from different fields together to solve problems. This project shows that approach in action. Students have contributed projects exploring the importance of pollinators in Venice, environmental justice issues, and urban development ideas through posters, as well as a children’s book about the healthcare system. Other student concepts addressing real-world problems include improving access to higher education for incarcerated individuals, utilizing robotic systems (“Cobots”) for enhanced farming practices, designing sleep solutions for astronauts, and creating more flexible seating on airplanes.

More to see: Cloud 9 and expert talks

Alongside the main installation and student work, the event will display projects by Cloud 9, including designs like the Media-TIC building (a previous World Building of the Year winner), Villa Nurbs, and work for El Bulli Foundation. You can see these both at the Giardini della Marinaressa and inside the Palazzo Bembo.

To kick things off and dig deeper into the ideas, Aaron Betsky will moderate a symposium. Top architects and thinkers like Biennale curator Carlo Ratti, Elizabeth Diller (Diller Scofidio + Renfro), Vicente Guallart, and Enric Ruiz Geli himself, among others, will discuss how architecture, nature, and science can work together.

Visit the Pollinator Hub