How Ancestral Wisdom and Modern Algorithms Are Shaping Architecture’s Future

The emergence of digital technologies in the late 20th century, and more recently the growing use of AI, has vastly expanded the design toolkit. Generative algorithms, machine learning, and parametric modeling not only accelerate design processes but also introduce a new layer of systemic intelligence.

These tools support more efficient decision-making. As Mario Carpo argues in The Second Digital Turn (2017), this shift is not only technological but also epistemological: we are witnessing a transformation in the way architecture is conceived, where human authorship blends into statistical and computational systems.
 
In this landscape, AI becomes a design agent, capable of learning patterns and proposing solutions that often defy human intuition.

Yet as these technologies advance, there is also a renewed appreciation for traditional and natural forms of intelligence. Increasingly, contemporary projects are incorporating lessons from nature and vernacular practices. This is not a contradiction, but rather a reflection of a deeper tension: a reevaluation of what counts as "intelligent" when technical efficiency is considered alongside ecological, cultural, and social complexity. Within this broader perspective, the collective intelligence of communities also emerges as a key factor in decision-making processes.

In the 1990s, philosopher Pierre Lévy introduced the idea of collective intelligence — a form of knowledge that is distributed across individuals and contexts, drawing on the contributions of many to generate shared insight. In this view, everyone has something to contribute, depending on the context, and each contribution holds value. Collective intelligence, then, is based on mutual recognition and the enrichment of knowledge through collaboration.

Recognizing the role of the collective in architecture, the concept of architectural intelligence evolves into something more holistic. It is no longer just about mastering tools, but about cultivating the ability to connect innovation with tradition, data with intuition, global with local — all while respecting the knowledge of individuals and regions. This shift reframes architectural intelligence not only as a technical skill but also as an ethical and political act. Designing today requires listening to materials, to places, to people. Intelligence is no longer something imposed on the world through rules or systems; it is something that emerges from dialogue with the world.

This expanded understanding is especially urgent in the context of climate change, where architecture must draw on all available forms of intelligence — natural, artificial, and collective — to adapt. Fittingly, this is the theme of the 2025 Venice Biennale. Curated by Carlo Ratti under the title Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective, the exhibition highlights the need for architecture to reach across generations and disciplines — from the sciences to the arts. As Ratti puts it, architecture must become “as flexible and dynamic as the world we are designing.” The Biennale features projects such as Living Structure, in the Natural Intelligence section, which explores what it truly means to build with nature. Led by architect Kengo Kuma, the installation investigates how traditional Japanese woodworking techniques, combined with AI, can turn irregular timber into structural material, pointing to a future that relies equally on reverence for nature and technological innovation. The Collective Intelligence section, meanwhile, focuses on how wisdom is built and shared through collective practices — from the favelas of Rio and refugee camps in Bangladesh to self-managed markets in Nigeria — showcasing urban ecosystems that reveal how material economies and social networks function in harmony.

Save this picture!Between Algorithms and Ancestral Knowledge: Expanding the Concept of Architectural Intelligence - Image 5 of 13Alternative Urbanism: The Self-Organized Markets of Lagos / Tosin Oshinowo, Oshinowo Studio; Katangua Market - market stall; Photogrpah by Andrew Esiebo. Image Courtesy of Venice Architecture Biennale 2025