AquaPraça: Redefining the Relationship Between Architecture and the River Environment

A Platform that Interacts with Nature

Imagine a public space that rises and falls with changing water levels. This is the core idea behind the AquaPraça project, unveiled during the COP30 climate conference in Belém, Brazil.
And while many structures linked to environmental summits are temporary by design, this project is intended to remain as part of the local ecosystem at the heart of the Amazon, in the most sustainable way possible.

An Architectural Response to a Changing Climate

The platform is designed by CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and Höweler + Yoon, as an attempt to offer an alternative model for construction in regions where water levels are no longer stable.
Since the project is located in the Guajará Bay within the Amazon River system, the design relies on natural buoyancy to adapt to daily fluctuations in water height.

How Does the Platform Work?

Based on Archimedes’ principle of flotation, AquaPraça rises and falls with the tides, which can shift by nearly four meters each day.
This allows visitors to:

• Experience the real rhythm of the river
• Directly engage with a constantly changing environment
• Observe the impact of nature on architecture in real time

In other words, the platform does not impose itself on nature, it adapts to it and moves with it continuously.

A Deeper Look at the Concept

Through this approach, the project introduces a new vision for public spaces built around:

• Dynamic response instead of rigid permanence
• Integration instead of domination
• Coexistence with the climate rather than resistance

This opens the door to a broader idea:
How can architecture evolve from static structures into adaptable systems that respond to environmental change?

Behind the Idea: A New Architectural Vision

Carlo Ratti, MIT professor and curator of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, explains the intellectual foundations behind the project. Ratti points to Italian architect Aldo Rossi as a major source of inspiration, particularly in his ability to interpret cities through their history.

A Comparison Between Two Visions

In the 1980s, Rossi drew from the past to highlight how architecture can leave an imprint on the skyline of a city like Venice.
Today, however, with accelerating climate change, AquaPraça adopts a different perspective, a perspective that seeks a future built alongside nature, rather than attempting to overcome it or impose a static form upon it.

A Subtle Intellectual Shift

This shift, though seemingly simple, carries profound meaning:
Architecture is not limited to the design of buildings; it also encompasses how they interact with the ever-changing elements of the environment.
It marks an intellectual transition that paves the way for a new understanding of public spaces, one that is more flexible and more open to the natural world.

The Project’s Journey: From Venice to the Amazon

The AquaPraça journey is itself remarkable and distinctive, not only because of the project’s design, but also in how it was presented and transported across different contexts.

From Concept Model to Real Application

The platform was first unveiled in Venice last September during the Architecture Biennale, as a simplified version intended to express the core idea.
It was later transferred to Belém, Brazil, becoming part of the Italian Pavilion at COP30, allowing visitors to witness the idea turning into a tangible reality within a natural environment.

Social and Cultural Sustainability

After the conference concludes, Italy will donate the platform to Brazil, transforming it into a permanent community space.
There, AquaPraça will serve as a gathering point for dialogue on:

• Climate issues
• Local and creative culture
• Innovative initiatives and industries

In this way, the project manifests not only as an architectural landmark, but as a living platform contributing to greater environmental and social awareness.

A Living Climate Experience

What truly distinguishes AquaPraça is its ability to transform climate change from an abstract theoretical concept into a tangible, sensory experience that visitors can directly perceive.

Real-Time Interaction with Nature

The platform’s sloped surfaces and shifting levels respond to water movement in real time, creating a dynamic experience in which visitors feel as though they are part of the environment itself.
Eric Höweler described this interaction as a “delicate balance,” reflecting how finely attuned the design is to natural fluctuations.

A Platform for Reflection and Understanding

According to J. Meejin Yoon, the platform is more than an architectural structure; it functions as an educational tool and a metaphorical experience for understanding sea-level rise and its impacts on coastal communities worldwide.
Through this direct interaction, visitors can grasp environmental risks in a way that goes beyond numbers and statistics, turning them into a vivid, thought-provoking learning experience.

Geographical Symbolism

There could hardly be a more meaningful location than the city of Belém, situated at the meeting point of the Amazon River and the Atlantic Ocean. Here, freshwater meets saltwater, forming a unique estuarine ecosystem that makes the site ideal for testing adaptive architecture.

A Lesson from Nature

Guajará Bay reflects the cycles of nature on a daily basis, as low tide reveals shifting aquatic terrain beneath the surface.
This natural scene serves as a living reminder of the importance of designing architectural structures that interact with their environment rather than resist its transformations.

Architecture and Environmental Interaction

Through this location, AquaPraça becomes more than a floating platform; it transforms into an environmental and educational experience, demonstrating how architecture can evolve into a flexible system that adapts to nature and mirrors its dynamics.

Engineering Challenges

Constructing AquaPraça was far from an easy task. The project required complex coordination between architectural, engineering, and structural disciplines to ensure that the platform performs efficiently and safely within an environment of constantly shifting water levels.

An Exceptional Achievement in a Short Time

The Italian company Cimolai successfully completed the entire project in just five months, taking responsibility for:

• Structural design
• Execution
• Compliance with safety standards

This achievement is exceptional, particularly given that the platform is floating and interacts daily with fluctuating water levels, making speed and precision critical to ensuring the project’s success and long-term resilience.

The International Collaboration Behind the Project

The realization of AquaPraça came as the result of a broad international alliance involving governmental bodies and private institutions, reflecting both the complexity of the project and its ambitious sustainability goals.

Multiple Partners for a Shared Objective

The alliance included:

• The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• The Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security
• Supporting institutions such as Bloomberg Philanthropies, Costa Crociere, and ENEL

A Lesson in Collective Action

The project demonstrates how governments, private companies, and cultural institutions can join forces to achieve sustainable environmental objectives.
It stands as a living example of how confronting climate change requires cross-sector collaboration, where funding, expertise, and knowledge come together to create practical and scalable solutions.

A Floating Square and a Symbol of Renewal

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani described AquaPraça as a “floating Italian square,” evoking the spirit of Venice while serving as a symbol of friendship between Italy and Brazil.
Yet beyond diplomatic niceties, the project embodies a tangible idea of circular architecture, structures capable of serving multiple functions and being renewed over time.

A Model of Sustainability and Innovation

From Venice to Belém, and now as a permanent structure, the platform demonstrates how to:

• Continually reuse
• Reinvent
• Adapt design to nature and the environment

This makes it far more than an architectural structure; it stands as a living example of practical flexibility and sustainability in contemporary architecture.

Architecture as a Living Dialogue with the Environment

AquaPraça goes beyond being visually impressive. It embraces:

• Cultural events and programs
• Dialogues on climate policy
• A direct experience of environmental change, as it literally moves with the surrounding waters

In this way, architecture does more than speak about climate adaptation, it embodies it daily, with every tide, becoming both an educational and environmental experience.

✦ ArchUp Editorial Insight

The AquaPraça project demonstrates a clear ability to merge architecture with environmental fluctuation, offering a practical model for how structures can respond to the daily rise and fall of water levels. This aspect holds significant educational and experimental value, as engineers and designers can draw inspiration from the concepts of flexibility and dynamic adaptation in similar projects, particularly in regions vulnerable to flooding or sea-level rise.

However, the project raises a number of questions regarding long-term sustainability and the platform’s practical functionality. While it stands as an engaging and educational experience, the high cost of constructing a floating platform, and the uncertainty of its durability over decades, may limit its replicability in other urban contexts. Furthermore, the emphasis on interaction with nature as a core principle presents operational and maintenance challenges, especially in environments where water levels shift in extreme or unpredictable ways.

In addition, the project may be regarded as limited in cultural scope. Despite its potential to host forums and discussions, the platform’s physically constrained area could reduce its practical impact on the local community compared to larger, stationary initiatives. From a broader architectural perspective, questions remain about how such a unique experience can be adapted to other urban projects without compromising its educational value or economic sustainability.

In summary, AquaPraça offers an important model for studying adaptive architecture and direct interaction with nature, yet it remains more relevant as a research-driven and educational experiment than as an architectural solution applicable on a wide urban scale. Nevertheless, the principle of dynamic flexibility can inform the design of future public spaces or buildings in volatile environments, provided a balance is maintained between innovation and practical feasibility.

Prepared by the ArchUp Editorial Team

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