International design and innovation firm CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati has partnered with UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) to co-design the SEA BEYOND Ocean Literacy Centre on Venice’s San Servolo island. The Centre leverages data science, data visualization, and storytelling for an educational hub focused on ocean learning, developed in the framework of SEA BEYOND, a project by Prada Group conducted in partnership with UNESCO-IOC since 2019 to raise awareness of sustainability and ocean preservation.
The visitor experience unfolds across three rooms connected by the ocean. Inspired by the “Power of 10” concept in Charles and Ray Eames’s 1977 film, this approach takes visitors on a journey through different scales—beginning with the vast global oceans (scale 10^9) narrowing down to the intricate microbial biodiversity of Venice’s lagoon (scale 10^5) and finally user-led interactions on San Servolo Island (scale 10^1). Informed by scientific research and data, the Ocean Literacy Centre conveys the individual and collective impact on Earth’s hydrological cycles, highlighting the interconnectedness of all aquatic ecosystems across scales. It invites visitors to interact directly with marine ecosystems and aquatic scientific processes.
Each room, developed with multimedia design agency Dotdotdot, demonstrates how data-driven storytelling can help learn with water as both a resource and a living system. The first room features data about ocean currents and water temperature fluctuations projected onto water basin tables. The table is shaped as a world map with oceans as the central focus, portraying them as one interconnected whole. The second room turns the water tables into interactive stations where guests can analyze natural samples from the Venetian lagoon and examine them under real microscopes, connecting with nearby and far marine environments. The third room completes the experience, an Ocean Literacy Floor Game modeled after San Servolo island, challenges players to solve 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.”
Special approaches to materials have been used in the project. The interior floors are crafted from crushed oyster shells and seashells. To conserve water, the interactive water tables use a closed-loop filtration system that continuously recycles and purifies water without waste. This inspires visitors to reflect on strategies for preserving the fragile ecosystem of the Venice Lagoon.
This project builds on CRA’s ongoing exploration of educational spaces and museum design, including collaborations with the MEET Digital Culture Center in Milan and AGO Modena. It also challenges the boundaries between natural and artificial, as during Milan Design Week 2019, CRA’s Circular Garden installation, the largest structure ever made with mycelium. Similarly, the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai—designed by CRA with Italo Rota, Matteo Gatto, and F&M Ingegneria—served as a “living lab” to advance circularity in architecture. Its construction incorporated unconventional materials such as coffee grounds, recycled plastic, and algae, reinforcing sustainability through innovative material reuse.
CREDITS
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)
Photos by: Giuseppe Miotto, Marco Cappelletti Studio