Venice Biennale 2025

Our exhibition at the 2025 Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy as part of the "There is nothing to see here" group exhibition in the Hungarian Pavilion about architects who escaped from their original profession, including Ernő Rubik and others. Curated by Marton Pintér, our section by András Graf, produced by Ludwig Museum.

Scroll down to see how we Draw, Make, Code & Prezi.

Images from the opening days in Venice

Interview on site (In Hungarian)

For me, the real magic of making exhibitions lies in quietly watching how people respond — from the side, or in the midst of actual conversations. It’s in those sparks of curiosity, the smiles, the little confusions, the moments when something clicks. What stays with me are the feelings and ideas we manage to trigger and explore together.

It was an extra joy this time to share all this with our kids — to watch them observe from the side, to see them engage, and start finding their own personal and meaningful links to this world of doing exhibitions. - Adam, 2025 May 9

Opening Remarks

Adam:
I was invited as a “dropout architect,” and I felt that the creative energy and the work I’ve invested my life into would only be authentic and honest if it reflected the way we’ve been living for the past two decades: together with my family

Why did we do this? What do we want to show?

We’ve lived these two decades by creating together, and the outcomes have branched out in many directions. A small child lives with joy, in community, and learns. The adult learns from the child how to remain creative—and later on, our children’s personal curiosity and knowledge surpass our own. That’s when we begin learning from them.

Those who know us well appreciate this communal, calm, creative life we live—not aimed at Instagram posts, but at the unfolding of life itself.

You might say it’s a bubble—I’ve heard that plenty of times. With Prezi, with Kitchen Budapest, with every project, someone always said, “It’s like it’s not even in Hungary.” But it is. And everywhere I’ve been in the world, it was always bubbles that became institutions, communities.

That’s why we wanted to show this—amid the noise and stress of the world—that it’s possible to live in love and peace together, and still keep the process exciting. Of course, there are always challenges, difficulties. But if we help each other when someone needs support, life on Earth today can be quite livable. We just wish more people could experience this—and strive for shared creation, not winning over others.

So what did we do—and why did we invite you?

We don’t know if you’ll make it to Venice, but we’d love to show you this work that sums up the last twenty years in a form we felt was honest and authentic. It’s a table-like object filled with stories—somewhat like a built Prezi. At the centre is our home in Leányfalu, from which we shaped four rooms or circles for our forms of making: drawing, tinkering, coding, and Prezi. These also connect and overlap. In some areas, one of us may have gone deeper, but everywhere, the shared work shines through.

We’d now like to share this with you. We hope it brings joy, and more than that, invites and inspires. For some, because they’ve been part of this journey at some point. For others, because we respect what you create and share here in Hungary—and this is our way of saying thank you, by doing and sharing something ourselves in return.

I’d now like to ask Ancsi, Léna and Antu to say a few words. And I especially recommend you listen to Anita’s thoughts on why drawing is good.

Anita:

We drew on walls, on concrete, in sand. Every drawing made it to the kitchen wall. We loved that they were part of our everyday lives, and the kids learned early on that their work is valuable, something to be proud of. We digitised all the drawings and turned them into a book.

We soon realised that it’s not just adults who can have sketchbooks—drawings can immediately go into art books that travel with us to this day. That became the core of the installation.

And an important base became our summer house in Leányfalu, where we created together year-round. A workshop emerged there, and lots of space for materials—initially leftovers from building work.

To close, Léna and Antu spoke about their drawing and making experiences.

The meaning of our life is not built through consumption, but through creation. Consuming feels passive and isolating, while making brings us together.

When we create -whether shaping an object, a drawing, a song, or a product - we connect, collaborate, and build something greater in-between our separate selves. This is not about self-expression; it's about crafting a world that is more sustainable, more personal, and social, and more joyful.

Creativity is not a privilege - it's a way of engaging with life, accessible to all. In making, we find freedom, connection, and a future that is ours to shape together.

In the center of our installation is a conceptual model of our home. It has been the living heart of our shared creative life. Designed by Anita in collaboration with Minusplus Architects and built in 2014, it has always been more than a place to live—it has been our workshop, our laboratory, and our playground. Here we built our first simple pieces of furniture together, crafted our first wooden cart, and spent countless afternoons drawing and painting side by side.

Like writing but easier to do together

Drawing precedes speaking. From the tiny to large, from the silly sketch between homework to carefully crafted details, drawing becomes a social activity, a way to see the world, a way to prepare dreams to be built.

Drawing is like writing for us, but easier to do it together. – Anita

At first, I started with very tiny pictures that only I could see. – Léna, 9

In our family, we’ve been drawing ever since we were little. And over time, everyone started doing what they love most. – Léna, 7

I like painting on clothes, on my skin, on my nails. On canvas. On the edges of school assignment papers. Under the light switch on the wall. – Léna, 14

Instead of buying. It's more fun.

When I go buy wood, I spend an hour looking for the best grain and density. I know what I need them for, and I pick different types depending on the project. Dense grain makes it stronger, but looser grain is easier to shape and gives a more graceful, airy feel to the final piece. – Antu, 17

We show decades of our family’s work—a process that begins with an idea, then we imagine it, design it, make it, and share it. – Antu, 17

If it starts in my head, I want it in my hands—like this bike. Building it is way more fun than buying. – Antu, 11

My handmade toys got 200.000 views on my YouTube channel: @antutna. BTW, I don’t like weapons, but I love wood, mechanisms, and building things my friends and I can play with. – Antu, 15

I love crafting with cardboard and a glue gun—it’s way more hands-on than drawing, and quick and easy to do. – Antu, 7

Toys, not weapons

Reflect on the birth of digital culture

We built physical pixels with Adam, Péter Sándor Nagy, and Bengt Sjölén—screen-like spaces, but real, shaped by sunlight, and made for people to experience together. We showed them in Helsinki (Kiasma), Milan (Hangar Bicocca), Zürich (Technorama), San Jose, Paris, and Budapest. - Anita, 2004

This is Reorient, we turned cheap products into large interactive spaces. Shown at the 2006 Venice Biennale, later in Paris, Hasselt, Tokyo & London. - Adam and Anita with A. Baróthy, B. Bodó, A. Bujdosó, P. Dávidházy, P. Földes, K. Kelner, I. Kiss, G. Kovács, M. Matúz, A. Nemes, G. Salát, B. Sterk, T. Szakál, S. Szemerey, and Zs. Szvetelszky.

Aleph is a piece I made with Bengt Sjölén using car mirrors that pick up colours from their surroundings. They reflect the world into a low pixel image. Shown at Belsay Hall (UK) and the 2008 Venice Biennale, curated by Juha Huuskonen. - Adam, 2007

This is WiFi Camera capturing what WiFi looks like, right now. While cameras capture visible light, we reveal the electromagnetic landscapes that surround us. With Bengt Sjölén and Usman Haque, shown in Riga, Tokyo, Beijing, Monterrey, Helsinki, Berlin, and Rijeka

Adam (2006–2010)

Spatial thinking for 160 million people

Prezi Credits

Adam wrote a personal presentation tool based on this idea around 2003. Prezi.com was co-founded by Adam Somlai-Fischer, Péter Arvai, and Péter Halácsy in 2008. Over the years, we grew into a 200–300-person company with most of us in San Francisco and Budapest. Today, with Jim Szafranski as CEO and Stefani Grossman CPO/CMO, Adam continues working on innovation with mathematician Zsuzsa Weiner. Prezi has reached 160 million users and over half a billion presentations worldwide.

Texts

Family Creation

by Adam Schmideg

I watch them through the window, though I am not sure where the window is. It is somewhere between here and there, between longing and finding. I have looked through many before this one—families of hurried dinners, quiet misunderstandings, love that does not always know how to reach beyond routine. But this one moves differently.

The father passes a chisel to his son without a word. The mother and daughter sketch together, their pencils sweeping across the same page, sketching a frog opening its mouth. On the table, wooden toys take shape, a concept piece for an interactive space leans against the wall, a half-written program flickers on a laptop screen. It is not just the things they create, but how they create them—layer upon layer, idea upon idea, as if the space between them is as much a part of the work as the wood, the graphite, the code.

I step inside, choosing this family as my own, choosing to be born here. The air is still. Wood shavings pile up, curling at their feet. The son leans in, shaping the wood into something new. The daughter traces a fine line with her pencil, then tilts her head, erases, and redraws, more certain this time. The mother watches the brush in her hand, its bristles heavy with color, before dragging it across the canvas in a slow, deliberate arc. The father steadies the wood under his son's hands, pressing just enough to keep it from shifting, but never too much. They do not speak much. They do not need to. I pick up a small unfinished piece—a wooden curve, sanded smooth but incomplete. I turn it in my hands, feeling the weight of possibility.

No one stops me. No one questions why I am here. The mother slides over a pencil. The father nods. The daughter smiles. A place is made for me, just as naturally as a piece fitting into a larger whole.

I have found my way home.

(written as an inspirational feedback to our project)

Message to Architecture Students

Dear reader—student, creator, visitor,

Perhaps it is our shared interest in the built environment that connects us? Spaces, cities, objects, furniture—the physical reality shaped by our civilization. Our roles may vary: we may be creators, designers, collectors, observers, or preservers. But there is one common thread in all of them: spatial thinking. (Even Socrates considered Daedalus, the mythical architect, his ancestor, highlighting the deep connection between thought and space.) How does cultivating space intertwine with the practice of thinking?

What we create today may still exist decades from now. Our work extends beyond the immediate market; house by house, object by object, we shape the world around us, making its original functions more sustainable and timeless.

For many of us, thinking solely in text can be challenging—movement, spatial change, and tangible ideas help bring thoughts to life. This is how Prezi was born: as a personal tool for spatial thinking, where zooming through ideas helps structure them and activates spatial memory.

This may be our enduring role as architects—spanning across generations. Let’s embrace, develop, use, and share spatial thinking—from the tangible world to abstract thought—because it is of great value.

Anita Pozna & Adam Somlai-Fischer

Üzenet Építészhallgatóknak

Kedves olvasó; diák, alkotó, látogató.

Talán az épített valóság iránti érdeklődés köt össze minket? A terek, városok, tárgyak, bútorok – a fizikai valóság, amit civilizációnk alakít. Szerepünk lehet alkotó, tervező, gyűjtő, megfigyelő vagy megőrző. De mindben ott van egy közös, a térbeli gondolat. (Még Szókratész is Daidaloszt, a mitikus építészt, vallotta ősének, rávilágítva a gondolkodás és a tér kapcsolatára). Hogyan fonódik össze a tér kultiválása a gondolkodás művelésével?

Amit ma létrehozunk, évtizedek múlva is jelen lehet. A munkánk túlmutat a pillanatnyi piacon; házról házra, tárgyról tárgyra alakítjuk a világot, ami körülvesz minket, fenntarthatóbbá és időtállóvá téve az eredeti funkciót.

Sokunk számára a pusztán szöveges gondolkodás nehézséget jelent – a térbeli mozgás, változás, a megfogható gondolatok segítik az ötletek születését. A Prezi is így született: személyes eszközként a térbeli gondolkodáshoz, ahol a zoomoló utazás segíti az ötletek elrendezését és előhívja a térbeli memóriát.

Ez lehet építészként korokon átívelő szerepünk. Szeressük, fejlesszük, használjuk és osszuk meg a térbeli gondolkodást, a megfogható valóságtól az absztrakt gondolkodásig, amely nagy érték.

Pozna Anita es Somlai-Fischer Adam