CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and Höweler + Yoon unveil AquaPraça — a floating cultural plaza set to anchor COP30 in Belém, Brazil — in partnership with Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Italy’s Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, and in collaboration with CIHEAM Bari, the World Bank Group’s Connect4Climate program, Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Bloomberg Philanthropies. AquaPraça harnesses sensing technologies and Archimedes’ principle to adapt to changing sea levels and occupancy demands, serving as a platform for global climate dialogue. It will debut at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia (2025) before making its transatlantic journey to the Amazonian city, where it will become a permanent cultural landmark.
Spanning over 400 square meters (4,000 square feet), AquaPraça’s design literally carves public space out of the sea, creating a physical dialogue between the built environment and natural forces. The submersible structure floats using principles of equilibrium, displacement, and buoyancy. Holding and releasing water, AquaPraça constantly calibrates to maintain a minimal freeboard with the surrounding water level. The public experiences the dynamic fluctuations of sea level rise at eye level, creating new perspectives on natural and urban systems.
Functionally, AquaPraça aims to serve as a civic catalyst. It can host over 150 people for exhibitions, workshops, symposia, and cultural events. Debuting during the Biennale Architettura in September 2025, it will then travel sustainably to Belém, where it will serve as an integral part of the Italian Pavilion at COP 30, bringing Italy’s reflections on architecture and climate action to a global audience. After the summit, the platform will remain as part of Belém’s cultural infrastructure—a lasting legacy of the conference in the Amazon.
AquaPraça was made possible through a unique international coalition. Launched in partnership with Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, it is also supported by Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the World Bank’s Connect4Climate program, CIHEAM Bari, and others. Its creation underscores its mission: to unite diverse communities and advance ecological thinking on a planetary scale. A formal process for expressions of interest is underway.
“The concept of a floating forum is truly innovative and aligns perfectly with our vision for COP30,” says 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.”
“In 1979, Aldo Rossi launched the Teatro del Mondo at the first Biennale Architettura, positing that architecture could engage with the past. Today, AquaPraça shows how architecture can engage with the future—by responding to climate and engaging with nature rather than resisting it,” says Carlo Ratti, professor at MIT and the Politecnico di Milano, co-founder of CRA, and curator of the Biennale Architettura 2025.”
“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,” adds 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.”
Currently under construction in northeastern Italy by leading advanced steel construction company Cimolai, AquaPraça will be unveiled at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia on 4 September 2025, before embarking on its journey to Brazil. Anchored in Belém during COP30 from 10 to 21 November 2025 as part of the Italy Pavilion at COP30, it will then become a permanent floating landmark in the Amazon — an architectural testament to adaptability and dialogue in the face of climate change.
CREDITS
AQUAPRAÇA
CRA-CARLO RATTI ASSOCIATI (COORDINATOR)
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 Architecture: 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; 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, Luca Vian, Simone Andreatta, Filippo Bellomo, and Mario Nattero, CIMOLAI; Roberto Prever and Antonio Vatta, NAOS; Ruben Pescara and Lodovica Bontempelli, NMLex; Domenico Perrotta, DP38