Carlo Ratti and Höweler + Yoon design floating AquaPraça plaza for Amazonian bay

Italian studio Carlo Ratti Associati and US firm Höweler + Yoon Architecture have unveiled their design for a floating plaza, which will form part of this year's Venice Architecture Biennale before relocating to Belém, Brazil.

Named AquaPraça, the 400-square-metre platform is designed as a sheltered gathering space for discussing the climate, architecture and the environment.

The plaza will be unveiled on 4 September at this year's Venice Architecture Biennale, which has been curated by Carlo Ratti Associati founder Carlo Ratti, before being transported to Belém in time for the COP30 climate conference in November for use as the Italian Pavilion.

After the conference, AquaPraça will become a permanent public space on Belém's Guarajará Bay, which lies in the Amazon region.

Carlo Ratti Associati and Höweler + Yoon Architecture will create sloping floors for the plaza, creating higher points where visitors can overlook the surroundings and lower points where they are at eye-level with the water.

Renders of AquaPraça show a gridded canopy elevated on slender columns, as well as a rectangular cut-out that brings water into the centre of the sloped floor.

According to the studios, the partly submerged structure will hold and release water to maintain a consistent level with the surrounding water.

AquaPraça is designed to showcase Italy's perspective on architecture and the climate by hosting exhibitions, workshops and cultural events, with a capacity of approximately 150 people.

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

"AquaPraça lets visitors meet the sea at eye level," added Höweler + Yoon Architecture co-founder Eric Höweler. "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," continued co-founder J Meejin Yoon.

The Venice Architecture Biennale opened on 10 May. Other projects at the event that respond to the waterside location include a structure by US practice Diller Scofidio + Renfro, which transforms canal water into coffee, and a shimmering bridge and transport hub by car brand Porsche and the Norman Foster Foundation.

Other floating architecture recently featured on Dezeen include a residential neighbourhood in Rotterdam and a padel court in Miami Harbor.

The images are courtesy of Carlo Ratti Associati.

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