carlo ratti & höweler + yoon launch floating cultural plaza in venice ahead of brazil's COP30

carlo ratti & höweler + yoon urge global climate dialogue

Amid rising sea levels and growing calls for adaptable infrastructure, AquaPraça is a proposal for a floating cultural plaza hosting gatherings for global climate dialogue. Developed by CRA–Carlo Ratti Associati and Höweler + Yoon for the upcoming COP30 in Brazil, the public space harnesses natural intelligence, responsive technologies, and Archimedes’ principle to adapt to rising water levels and occupancy demands, exploring a new symbiosis between architecture and the environment.

The structure spans over 400 square meters and comprises a series of sloping surfaces and adaptive systems. Sensors, responsive technologies, and the natural flow of water work together to ensure the submersible platform adjusts its buoyancy in real-time. As water levels shift, so does AquaPraça, holding and releasing water to maintain a minimal difference between its surface and the sea. It is also designed to meet visitors at eye level with the ocean, bringing various perspectives on the realities of climate change into physical, immediate view. While models were unveiled at the main exhibition of the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale, the design team will return in September to debut the built prototype. In November, it will be taken to COP30 in Belém where it will anchor the Italian Pavilion, and as the summit concludes, the structure will remain in the Amazon as a long-term cultural landmark.

UPDATE September 3rd, 2025: On September 5th, 2025, AquaPraça is set to make its public debut in Venice during the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. Presented by Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, in partnership with the COP30 Presidency, the floating plaza will activate the Venetian waterfront as a civic stage before beginning its transatlantic journey to Brazil. Visitors will be able to experience the platform’s sloping surfaces and responsive water-balancing systems firsthand, immersing themselves in a shifting equilibrium.

all images by DSL Studio, unless stated otherwise

A FLOATING PLAZA FOR climate discourse at COP30 in THE AMAZON 

AquaPraça is currently under construction by Cimolai in northeastern Italy, and at COP30, to be held in the Amazonian city of Belém, it will host exhibitions, workshops, and symposia as the centerpiece of Italy’s pavilion, capable of hosting over 150 people at once. Beyond its distinct position carved into the sea, the project is defined by its insistence on responsiveness.

‘In 1979, Aldo Rossi launched the Teatro del Mondo at the first Biennale Architettura, positing that architecture could engage with the past,’ says Carlo Ratti, curator of the 2025 Biennale and co-founder of CRA. ‘Today, AquaPraça shows how architecture can engage with the future — by responding to climate and engaging with nature rather than resisting it.’ 45 years after Rossi’s floating theatre moved through the Venetian lagoon, this new platform builds on that legacy, recasting architecture’s role as an active participant in shaping the environmental futures of the cities it touches.

AquaPraça makes its public debut in Venice

the floating plaza will activate the Venetian waterfront as a civic stage

visitors will be able to experience the platform’s sloping surfaces

from November 10th to 21st, 2025, it will be anchored in Belém

comprising a series of sloping surfaces and adaptive systems

the structure spans over 400 square meters

AquaPraça is a proposal for a floating cultural plaza hosting gatherings for global climate dialogue

developed by CRA–Carlo Ratti Associati and Höweler + Yoon

1/22

gallery images courtesy of CRA–Carlo Ratti Associati, unless stated otherwise

the submersible platform adjusts its buoyancy in real time

as water levels shift, so does AquaPraça

exploring a new symbiosis between architecture and the environment

beyond its distinct position carved into the sea, the project is defined by its insistence on responsiveness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

image via @howeleryoonarchitecture

image via @howeleryoonarchitecture

image via @howeleryoonarchitecture

project info:

name: AquaPraça

architect: CRA–Carlo Ratti Associati | @crassociati, Höweler + Yoon | @howeleryoonarchitecture

collaborators: Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Italy’s Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, CIHEAM Bari, World Bank Group’s Connect4Climate program, Bloomberg Philanthropies