Ma­te­rial Bank: Mat­ters Ma­ke Sen­se

At the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025, the section Material Bank: Matters Make Sense is curated by Stefano Capolongo and Ingrid Maria Paoletti (Politecnico di Milano, Department of Architecture, Built Environment, and Construction Engineering), Margherita Palli, and Nobel Laureate Konstantin Novosëlov (National University of Singapore). Together they explore the foundational role of materials in shaping our understanding of the world, showing how matter can act as a link between nature, technology, and human culture. 

In the interview, Ingrid Paoletti describes the Material Bank as a “labyrinth-library” that visitors can walk through, where materials reveal unexpected properties. She recalls, for example, a cement that becomes conductive thanks to the integration of innovative compounds, or clay mixed with 3D-printed elements. These cases illustrate how traditional resources are being transformed through technology, extending their possibilities and narratives. 

For Paoletti, the value of the Material Bank lies in its ability to connect the sensory dimension of matter with the social and cultural processes that surround it. Materials are not only tools to build, but also actors that produce meaning: they carry histories, open new imaginaries, and suggest paths for more responsible ways of constructing. By experiencing them directly, visitors are encouraged to see architecture not only as the design of spaces, but as a practice of awareness and care rooted in the very substances that compose our environment.