prada and carlo ratti complete italy’s first ocean literacy center in venetian lagoon

prada group’s sea beyond ocean literacy center opens in venice

Venice, a city with historical dependence on and vulnerability to water, has just inaugurated a new center for ocean education and engagement. Developed by the Prada Group and designed by CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the SEA BEYOND Ocean Literacy Center sits along other various institutions on the island of San Servolo in the Venetian Lagoon, and invites an exploration of the interconnectedness of land, sea, and human activity in the face of the climate crisis.

While the Prada Group has continued to support creative and cultural initiatives in the city through its Fondazione Prada in the city, SEA BEYOND reflects a development in the Italian fashion brand’s cultural programming, extending into a focus on environmental literacy and public learning. This institution — the first of its kind in Italy — thus aims to encourage visitors to think critically about their relationship with the ocean and the lagoon, and to adopt positive behaviours in favour of a more sustainable future.

all images courtesy of Prada Group

carlo ratti designs immersive, interactive exhibition halls

The architectural concept, developed by CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati, translates the principles of circularity and ‘learning by doing’ into both form and function. The spatial experience, enhanced with the research and multimedia design by Dotdotdot, is structured around a narrative of scale, drawing inspiration from Charles and Ray Eames’ 1977 film Powers of Ten. Visitors are guided through a journey that moves from a planetary perspective to the granular, local scale of the lagoon itself. This conceptual framework is supported by personalized video projections and interactive installations that encourage users to view water as an integral living system. 

The design team has positioned a tactile world map based on the Spilhaus Projection at the entrance of the first room, A World of Islands. Rethinking traditional cartography perspectives, this prelude to the main display presents the ocean as a single, continuous body of water, with a 3D extrusion presented as a luminous table of water. Alongside it, the exhibits draw connections between climate data and biodiversity and invite reflection on human impact on the systemic nature of oceanic change through interactive displays. The tactile installation Feel the Change reconstructs marine ecosystems, both in their natural state and when damaged by acidification, while the Water Salinity activity allows guests to taste water from various parts of the ocean.

a new center for ocean education and engagement

The Venetian Lagoon takes centre stage in the second room, featuring digital and analog microscopes to analyze samples collected from the lagoon, audio elements playing bioacoustic recordings, and a table displaying a 3D extrusion of the lagoon set against the wall. The story narrated in the previous space here takes on a local dimension, illustrating how tides function in an area that acts as a buffer between land and sea, where hydrodynamic exchanges influence temperatures, salinity and currents, and shape the entire habitat. The final room, titled The Power of Actions, features a gamified installation to encourage SEA BEYOND’s younger visitors to create their own ocean literacy projects. Unfolding across the floor in the shape of an island, the game has been created in collaboration with Luca Borsa. The Center also features a library with integrated seating and interactive screens that promote educational engagement.

Through material and spatial choices, CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati further reinforces the Center’s broader commitment to preserving marine ecosystems. The floors, for instance, are made using recycled seashells, and a closed-loop water system ensures minimal resource consumption. Throughout the space, interactive maps, microscopes, and even water-tasting installations have been integrated to promote a tactile, hands-on approach to knowledge-making. These elements have been developed in close partnership with research institutions and game designers to holistically engage both mind and body.

The Center is developed in collaboration with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, a long-standing partner of Prada Group’s SEA BEYOND initiative which since 2019 has been working to increase awareness of issues surrounding sustainability and ocean preservation. ‘Redefining our relationship with water is one of the greatest challenges of the climate crisis,’ notes architect Carlo Ratti who is also curating this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale with a similar approach, focused on urging a shift in architectural practices to support a world altered by climate change. ‘Venice, with its fragility,’ he says, ‘can serve as a laboratory for the future.’ 

the first institution of its kind in Italy

a series of immersive, interactive exhibits

inviting an exploration of the interconnectedness of land, sea, and human activity

‘Redefining our relationship with water is one of the greatest challenges of the climate crisis,’ notes architect Carlo Ratti

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project info:

name: SEA BEYOND Ocean Literacy Center

architect: CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati | @crassociati

brand: Prada Group | @prada

research, multimedia design: Dotdotdot | @dotdotdot_it

location: Venice, Italy