Shaping the City Venice, Exhibition European Cultural Centre, Venice

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Shaping the City Venice:

Forum for sustainable cities and communities

From 21 November to 22 November 2025

European Cultural Centre

Riva del Carbon, Venice

Closed now: open at 10:00

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After the success of previous editions in Venice, Chicago, and New Orleans, Shaping the City returns to the floating city for two days of dialogues on housing and community. The sixth edition of the conference, organized by ECC Italy as part of the biennial architecture exhibition Time Space Existence, will take place at Palazzo Michiel on November 21 and 22, 2025, and will be streamed on ECC Italy's YouTube channel. Free participation upon registration on Eventbrite.
The event brings together academics, urban planners, designers, architects, politicians, and local and international associations with the aim of addressing the challenges of contemporary cities and the communities that inhabit them. The conference recognizes the crucial role of architecture and urban planning in shaping people's relationship with the city and contributing to their well-being.
Among the speakers are Tatiana Bilbao from Tatiana Bilbao Estudio, Mads Bigens from Cobe, Sabine Pollak and Michael Obrist, curators of the Austrian Pavilion 2025, Alina Kolar from HouseEurope!, Wolfgang Renner from the municipality of Vienna, Peter MacKeith from the University of Arkansas and curator of the American Pavilion 2025, Abdullah Alsanea and Faisal Alohali from Foster + Partners.
This year, the conference focuses on two urgent challenges: housing and the sense of community. Globally, from established metropolises to emerging cities, themes such as economic accessibility, resilience, and belonging are redefining how communities live and grow. Through examples of innovative housing models and community initiatives from different contexts around the world, this year's edition highlights how common issues such as increasing inequalities, environmental pressures, and fragmentation of spaces find creative responses that intertwine design, governance, and civic participation. Housing and community emerge as interconnected pillars to build a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable urban future.
The Panels
Living the Future: Shared Solutions for Inclusive CitiesThe place where we live influences our lifestyle. Faced with growing social inequality, climate challenges, and a lack of accessible housing, there is an urgent need to rethink housing solutions globally. This panel explores housing as a civic right that supports dignity, autonomy, and collective well-being, going beyond technical solutions to include political, cultural, and architectural dimensions.Questions to be addressed include: what defines quality housing? What policies and governance structures can ensure equitable, adaptable, and accessible living environments? How can architecture improve quality of life without increasing costs? The panel will examine innovative strategies such as incremental housing, co-living, and modular models, along with the reuse and transformation of existing spaces, positioning housing as a tool for social and environmental change.
Community: Building TogetherIn an era of growing social fractures and rapid urban transformations, community-led development emerges as a model to regain autonomy and promote equity. This panel explores how collective action can reshape the built environment and strengthen bonds of belonging, emphasizing participation, co-creation, and the active role of citizens in defining their neighborhoods. Collaborations between governments, real estate operators, and communities will be highlighted, and new models of governance and financing that place communities at the center of decisions will be discussed.
Public space is treated as a common good and a fundamental place to build identity, inclusion, and solidarity, with strategies to design inclusive, multigenerational, and resilient environments. The panel promotes a vision of urban change guided by the community, where collaboration, belonging, and social justice are at the core of developing the cities of tomorrow.

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	opens - closes	last entry
monday	10:00 - 18:00
tuesday	Closed now
wednesday	10:00 - 18:00
thursday	10:00 - 18:00
friday	10:00 - 18:00
saturday	10:00 - 18:00
sunday	10:00 - 18:00

Shaping the City Venice:

Forum for sustainable cities and communities

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