International design and innovation office CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati has revealed the design for the Sea Beyond Ocean Literacy Centre, located on San Servolo Island in Venice, Italy. 

This project is realized in a collaboration with UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and the Prada Group. Science and storytelling, both driven by data, connect the Venetian Lagoon to the oceans.

The Centre utilizes data science, data visualization, and storytelling to create an educational hub centered on ocean learning. This hub is part of Sea Beyond, a project initiated by the Prada Group in collaboration with UNESCO-IOC since 2019 aimed at promoting awareness of sustainability and ocean preservation.

The experience of the visitor takes place in three rooms linked by the ocean. This approach, inspired by the “Power of 10” concept from Charles and Ray Eames’s 1977 film, guides visitors through various scales—starting with the immense global oceans (scale 10^9), then focusing on the detailed microbial biodiversity of Venice’s lagoon (scale 10^5), and culminating in user-led interactions on San Servolo Island (scale 10^1).

The Ocean Literacy Centre, drawing on scientific studies and data, communicates the effects of individual and collective actions on the hydrological cycles of Earth, emphasizing the interconnectedness of all aquatic ecosystems at various scales. It encourages visitors to engage directly with marine ecosystems and the processes of aquatic science.

Every room, created in collaboration with the multimedia design agency Dotdotdot, showcases the potential of data-driven storytelling to facilitate learning about water as both a resource and a living system. 

The first room showcases data regarding ocean currents and variations in water temperature, projected onto tables of water basins. 

The table is designed to resemble a world map, with oceans as the focal point, depicting them as a single interconnected entity. In the second room, water tables become interactive stations where visitors can scrutinize natural specimens from the Venetian lagoon under actual microscopes, linking them to marine environments both nearby and distant. 

The third room rounds out the experience with an Ocean Literacy Floor Game inspired by San Servolo island, where players confront marine conservation challenges through playful interactions and learning.

"Redefining our relationship with water is one of the greatest challenges of the climate crisis," said Carlo Ratti, Founding Partner of CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati, Director of MIT Senseable City Lab, and Curator of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. 

"We're proud to collaborate with UNESCO-IOC on the SEA BEYOND Ocean Literacy Centre on the island of San Servolo, merging environmental advocacy with data-driven science and storytelling. Venice, with its fragility, can serve as a laboratory for the future–the challenges facing Venice today will soon be the world’s," he added.

The project has utilized special approaches to materials. The floors inside are made from crushed oyster shells and seashells. 

The interactive water tables employ a closed-loop filtration system to save water, continuously recycling and purifying it without generating waste. This encourages visitors to contemplate approaches for safeguarding the delicate ecosystem of the Venice Lagoon.

This initiative is based on CRA's continuous investigation of educational environments and museum design, which includes partnerships with the MEET Digital Culture Center in Milan and AGO Modena. 

It also questions the limits between natural and artificial, as seen during Milan Design Week 2019 with CRA’s Circular Garden installation, the largest structure ever created using mycelium. 

In the same vein, the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai—crafted by CRA in collaboration with Italo Rota, Matteo Gatto, and F&M Ingegneria—functioned as a “living lab” to promote circularity in architecture. 

It was built using nontraditional materials like coffee grounds, recycled plastic, and algae, bolstering sustainability through the inventive reuse of materials.

Image © Dotdotdot

Image © Dotdotdot

Image © Dotdotdot

Image © Dotdotdot

Image © Dotdotdot

Image © Dotdotdot

Image © Dotdotdot

Image © Dotdotdot

The 19th International Architecture Exhibition will take place from 10 May to 23 November 2025 at the Giardini, the Arsenale and various venues in Venice, Italy. 

Titled Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective, the exhibition is curated by architect and engineer Carlo Ratti.  

Recently, Carlo Ratti said that: "Architecture Must Rethink Authorship And Become More Inclusive, Learning From Science". In addition, Carlo Ratti Associati has completed an earthy and sunken business canteen for Mutti, global leader in tomato-based products. 

Project facts

A project: by CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati for The Prada Group and UNESCO-IOC 

CRA team: Carlo Ratti, Francesco Strocchio (partner-in-charge), Nicolette Marzovilla, Davide Scaglia; CRA Strategy: Luca Bussolino, Camilla Nicolini, Giulia d’Aleo

Multimedia Design and Research: DOTDOTDOT (Alessandro Masserdotti, Laura Dellamotta, Martina Merigo, Davide Bruno, Francesco Garavaglia, Nicola Buccioli, Martina Esposito)

Gamelogist: Luca Borsa

Graphic Design: Omnicom PR Group Italia

Furniture, Contractor, and Electricity: EUROFIERE (Luca Bertoletti, Alessandro Bruno)

Multimedia Systems: AVUELLE (Paolo Carresi, Tommaso Carovani, Claudio Cantini, Damiano Palagi)

Security: INTERCONSULTING (Davide Bacchin, Cinzia Grandin)

Technical on-site support: SAN SERVOLO TECHNICAL OFFICE (Eleonora Porcellato)

All images © Giuseppe Miotto, Marco Cappelletti Studio unless otherwise stated. 

> via CRA 

Carlo Ratti Carlo Ratti Associati exhibition