As part of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025, the design studio Formafantasma returns to the spotlight with The Shape of Things to Come, a new exhibition staged inside the historic Negozio Olivetti in Venice. Running from May 8th through September 28th, the show is curated by Bartolomeo Pietromarchi and coincides with this year’s edition of the Venice Architecture Biennale, offering a critical lens on the role of design in an era of environmental urgency.
Set within Carlo Scarpa’s iconic Negozio Olivetti, the exhibition revisits and expands Formafantasma’s acclaimed 2017 project Ore Streams, delving deeper into the planned obsolescence built into consumer electronics. Through a mix of objects, films, and animations, the studio examines how the tech industry masks its environmental costs, turning cloud computing and sleek product design into tools of concealment.
Key works include a forensic mapping of global recycling chains and a pointed critique of products intentionally designed to fail. These investigations unfold in dialogue with Olivetti’s own legacy—a brand historically associated with innovation, longevity, and ethical design—bringing new relevance to Scarpa’s architectural gem during the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025.
Rather than speculate on the future, The Shape of Things to Come urges a recalibration of present-day priorities. For Formafantasma, the Negozio Olivetti becomes more than an exhibition space—it’s a lab for rethinking systems, materials, and the values embedded in design today.
Dive into our interview with Carlo Ratti—visionary architect, tech innovator, and curator of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale.