Cristina Morbi Exhibits Lithic Chords at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale

Selected for exhibition at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, Lithic Chords is a striking installation that explores the expressive, structural and acoustic potential of stone. Presented within the historic Arsenale, the work takes the form of a 21-metre-long post-tensioned stone structure – at once a communal space and a resonant instrument – inviting visitors into a multisensory experience where architecture, geology and sound converge.

The project reinterprets the ancient practice of spolia – the reuse of architectural fragments – through the lens of contemporary sustainability and engineering innovation. Offcuts of stone are repurposed and brought into structural dialogue via advanced post-tensioning techniques, revealing the latent dynamism of a material more often associated with permanence and weight. 

Lithic Chords is a collaboration between architectural designer Cristina Morbi (Maetherea), structural engineer Francesco Banchini, and sound artist Andrea Granitzio, in partnership with Fondazione Sciola. Their interdisciplinary approach transforms the installation into a living instrument, where carefully composed soundscapes echo through the stone, amplifying its tactile and emotional resonance. Aligning with the Biennale’s focus on material intelligence and ecological responsibility, Lithic Chords offers a poetic yet technically rigorous exploration of how traditional materials can be reimagined to foster dialogue, memory and gathering in the contemporary architectural landscape. 

In an era defined by ecological urgency and material rethinking, the project offers a meditative but rigorous proposal for how ancient materials can speak to new futures.

The project is supported by Cereser Marmi, The Stonemasonry Company, Manni Sipre, Macalloy.

Image credits: Gunther Galligioni