Carlo Ratti

Carlo Ratti
Name	Carlo Ratti
Nationality	Italian
Occupation	Architect, Engineer, Inventor, Educator
Known for	Urban informatics, Senseable City Lab, MIT

Carlo Ratti is an Italian architect, engineer, inventor, and educator known for work at the intersection of architecture, urban planning, information technology, and design. He is a founder and director associated with research and practice that link Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Senseable City Lab, and design firms active in global projects. His work has engaged institutions such as the Venice Biennale, World Economic Forum, United Nations, and numerous universities, companies, and cultural organizations.

Early life and education

Ratti was born in Italy and studied in European and North American institutions, attending universities and research centers that include Politecnico di Torino, École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Paris-La Villette, Università degli Studi di Torino, California Institute of Technology, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His formative education connected him with scholars and practitioners associated with Le Corbusier, Aldo Rossi, Renzo Piano, Santiago Calatrava, and institutions like the Royal Institute of British Architects and CNRS through exchanges and collaborations. Early influences included exposure to projects and exhibitions at venues such as the Venice Architecture Biennale, Milan Triennale, Centre Pompidou, and Tate Modern.

Career and professional roles

Ratti founded and led research groups and design practices, establishing organizations linked to Senseable City Lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and co-founding design firms and consultancies that engaged clients including ENEL, Ibm, Siemens, Bosch, and Audi. He has held professorships and visiting appointments at institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Politecnico di Milano, Harvard University Graduate School of Design, University College London, and ETH Zurich. Ratti has served on advisory boards and panels connected to World Economic Forum, United Nations Environment Programme, European Commission, MIT Media Lab, and cultural bodies including the Serpentine Galleries and the Fondazione Prada.

Major projects and works

His notable projects span exhibitions, installations, urban prototypes, and product design. Projects and commissions have involved collaborations with museums and events such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, Stedelijk Museum, Guggenheim Museum, Serpentine Galleries Summer Pavilion, Venice Biennale of Architecture, and the Triennale Milano. Specific works include sensor-driven urban installations and prototypes implemented in cities like New York City, Singapore, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Dubai, Shanghai, Milan, Turin, and London. Collaborators and partners have included firms and organizations such as Foster + Partners, Zaha Hadid Architects, UNStudio, Arup, AECOM, SOM, and technology companies like Google, Microsoft, Cisco Systems, and Intel. His design outputs have been exhibited alongside works by Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, Jean Nouvel, and Daniel Libeskind at major international exhibitions such as Expo 2015 and the Milan Furniture Fair.

Research and academic contributions

Ratti's research centers on urban informatics, real-time data, and the sensory city, contributing to literatures and curricula aligned with urban studies programs at institutions including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley, Columbia University, and Princeton University. His lab and teams have published work presented at conferences and journals associated with ACM, IEEE, MIT Press, Springer, and exhibitions at venues including the Museum of Modern Art, Barbican Centre, and MAXXI National Museum. He has supervised projects with collaborators from MIT Media Lab, Senseable City Lab, Harvard GSD, European Union research programs, and industry research groups at Siemens Corporate Technology and IBM Research. His academic output has intersected with topics explored by researchers at Stanford University, University College London Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, and EPFL.

Awards and recognition

Ratti's work has been recognized by awards, honors, and lists from organizations such as the Royal Institute of British Architects, World Technology Network, Fast Company, Wired, TIME, Domus, Dezeen, and Architectural Review. He has received prizes and fellowships from bodies including the Fulbright Program, European Commission Horizon, World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders, and accolades presented at events like the Venice Biennale and Salone del Mobile. Professional recognition has involved memberships or fellowships with institutions such as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Royal Society of Arts, and advisory roles for UN-Habitat and OECD.

Public engagement and media appearances

Ratti is an active public intellectual who has lectured and appeared in media outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian, Financial Times, The Economist, BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, NPR, Reuters, Bloomberg, and Forbes. He has participated in forums and conferences such as the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, TED, SXSW, Milken Institute Global Conference, and the Clinton Global Initiative. Ratti's public-facing projects and commentary have engaged audiences at festivals and venues like TEDGlobal, Ars Electronica, South by Southwest, Serpentine Galleries, and the Venice Biennale, alongside collaborations with cultural figures such as Bjarke Ingels, Rem Koolhaas, Iwan Baan, and Hito Steyerl.

Category:Italian architects Category:Living people