AquaPraça, a floating cultural plaza designed by Höweler + Yoon and CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati, will serve as the focal point of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil. 

In collaboration with the COP30 Presidency, Italy's Ministry of Environment and Energy Security and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation will reveal AquaPraça in Venice. 

AquaPraça serves as a forum for international climate discussion by utilizing sensing technologies and Archimedes' principle to adjust to shifting sea levels and occupancy demands. Before traveling across the Atlantic to the Brazilian port city of Belém, where it will become a permanent cultural infrastructure, the project made its debut on September 5 at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale. 

Image courtesy of Cimolai

With a total area of more than 400 square meters (4,000 square feet), AquaPraça's design establishes a public area supported by the sea, fostering a tangible conversation between the natural world and the constructed environment. Using the concepts of buoyancy, displacement, and equilibrium, the submersible structure floats. 

AquaPraça continuously adjusts its holding and releasing capacity to keep a low freeboard with the surrounding water level. At eye level, the audience witnesses the dynamic variations of sea level rise, resulting in fresh insights into urban and ecological systems. 

Image © DSL Studio

AquaPraça's functional aim is to act as a civic catalyst. It can accommodate more than 150 people for cultural events, workshops, symposia, and exhibitions. 

It will make its sustainable journey to Belém after making its debut at the Biennale Architettura in September 2025, where it will be a crucial component of the Italian Pavilion at COP30. The platform will be a permanent cultural legacy in the Amazonian Basin and part of Belém's cultural infrastructure after the summit.

Image © DSL Studio

AquaPraça was made possible through a unique international coalition. launched with the help of BF International, a member of the BF S.p.A. Group (as AquaPraça COP30 Naming Partner), Bloomberg Philanthropies, ENEL, Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, and CIHEAM Bari, as well as the World Bank Group's Connect4Climate program. Its design emphasizes its goal of bringing disparate communities together and promoting ecological thinking.

Image © 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, professor at MIT and the Politecnico di Milano, co-founder of CRA, and director of the Biennale Architettura 2025.

"Today, AquaPraça shows how architecture can engage with the future—by responding to climate and engaging with nature rather than resisting it," Ratti explained.

Image © DSL Studio

"The concept of a floating forum is truly innovative and aligns perfectly with our vision for COP30," said Andre Corrêa do Lago, President of COP30. 

"Bringing this structure to Brazil would create a striking and symbolic presence at the conference, highlighting our commitment to sustainability. Moreover, it could serve as a lasting legacy of our joint efforts and a continuous reminder of the importance of sustainability," Do Lago explained. 

Image © DSL Studio

"AquaPraça lets visitors meet the sea at eye level,” says Eric Höweler, co-founder of Höweler + Yoon and a Professor at Harvard University. “Its sloping surfaces and shifting levels embody a delicate equilibrium.” “It’s a platform, both literal and figurative, for deepening our collective understanding and experience of sea level rise and the impacts of climate change on global cities and communities,” explained J. Meejin Yoon, co-founder of Höweler + Yoon and the Gale and Ira Drukier Dean at Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, and seeking collective solutions.

Image © DSL Studio

Image © DSL Studio

Image © DSL Studio

Image © DSL Studio

Image © DSL Studio

Image © DSL Studio

Image © DSL Studio

Image © DSL Studio

Before going to Brazil, AquaPraça will be unveiled on September 5, 2025, at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. As part of the Italy Pavilion at COP30, it will be moored in Belém from November 10 to November 21, 2025. 

After that, it will stay in the Amazon as a permanent floating cultural infrastructure, representing communication and adaptation in the face of climate change.

Project facts

Project name: AquaPraça

Architects: CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati (Coordinator) and Höweler + Yoon Architecture

Team Members

CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati: Carlo Ratti (Principal), Andrea Cassi (Principal), Luca Bussolino (Strategy), Gizem Veral (Architect), Sonia Simone (Architect), Rodolfo Siccardi (Senior Architect), Gary di Silvio (Architect/3D Artist), Pasquale Milieri (Architect/3D Artist), Gianluca Zimbardi (Architect/3D Artist)

Höweler + Yoon: J Meejin Yoon (Principal), Eric Höweler (Principal), Asli Baran Grace (Project manager), Shuang Chen (Designer), Selin Sahin (researcher), David Hamm (Technical Advisor) 

Supporters: Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale; Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica; Bonifiche Ferraresi; Bloomberg Philanthropies; Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning.

In collaboration with: Ciheam Bari, the World Bank Group’s Connect4Climate Program 

Technical Collaborators: Elettra Bordonaro, Argun Paragamyan, and Luciana Martinez, Light Follows Behaviour; Cristiano Bottino, Studio FM; Mykola Murashko, Davide Spina, Julio Ramirez, and Eren Sezer, Maestro Technologies; Corrado Curti, IngeMBP; Luca Infanti, Andrea Faggiani, Luca Vian, Simone Andreatta, Ettore Zanzotto, Andrea Basso Luca, Dylan Bortoluzzi, Pierluigi Colussi, and Mario Nattero, CIMOLAI; Roberto Prever and Antonio Vatta, NAOS; Ruben Pescara and Lodovica Bontempelli, NMLex; Domenico Perrotta, DP38

The top image in the article courtesy of Cimolai.

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AquaPraça Carlo Ratti Associati cultural plaza