Image credit: DSL Studio
Carlo Ratti Associati and Höweler + Yoon have created a floating cultural plaza as part of Italy’s contribution to COP30. AquaPraça opened to the public at the Arsenale to coincide with the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, and will remain in Venice before traveling to Belém, Brazil, where it will be inaugurated in November as part of the Italian Pavilion at the climate conference.
Image credit: DSL Studio
Image credit: DSL Studio
Conceived as a space for public engagement, AquaPraça is designed to accommodate up to 150 people for exhibitions, workshops, and cultural events. The design team describes the installation as a civic catalyst, aiming to facilitate dialogue around climate change and the relationship between built and natural environments.
Image credit: DSL Studio
Image credit: DSL Studio
Spanning over 4000 square feet, the floating structure holds and releases water to constantly calibrate and maintain a minimal freeboard with the surrounding water level. As a result, users experience dynamic fluctuations of sea level rise at eye level, creating new perspectives on natural and urban systems.
Image credit: DSL Studio
Image credit: DSL Studio
“In 1979, Aldo Rossi launched the Teatro del Mondo at the first Biennale Architettura, positing that architecture could engage with the past,” said Carlo Ratti. “Today, AquaPraça shows how architecture can engage with the future — by responding to climate and engaging with nature rather than resisting it.”
Image credit: DSL Studio
Image credit: DSL Studio
Following its presentation at the Biennale, AquaPraça will embark on a transatlantic journey to Belém, Brazil. There, it will host events as part of COP30 and later remain as a permanent cultural infrastructure in the Amazon Basin. The team believes that the platform’s legacy will be to provide an enduring venue for climate dialogue and social engagement.
Video courtesy Carlo Ratti Associati and Höweler + Yoon
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