Just Add Water: As Sea Levels Rise, So Do Architectural Responses

[Serra Utkum Ikiz]

The 15th Architizer A+Awards has officially launched! Seize the lowest pricing of the season by entering before October 23rd, 2026. Learn more →


As sea levels rise and weather patterns change, cities are increasingly rethinking their relationship with the natural world, especially water. Professionals such as architects and engineers who work on the built environment are exploring new ways to design alongside water bodies, including rivers, lakes, and oceans. This raises a global question: how should the built environment engage with its most essential and unpredictable element?

The urgency of this question was prominently highlighted at COP30, which took place in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025, several years after the Paris Agreement. At this conference, the ocean was recognized as one of the planet’s most powerful allies in the fight against climate change. It serves as the largest carbon sink on Earth, helps regulate the climate, and absorbs much of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases. For the first time, the conference’s Action Agenda included a dedicated goal focused on preserving and restoring ocean and coastal ecosystems. Advocates also urged governments to protect at least 30% of the ocean by 2030, emphasizing that ocean-based solutions could contribute to cutting up to 35% of the emissions needed to meet climate targets by 2050.

Against this backdrop, the six projects from this year’s A+Awards offer their own architectural responses. From Brazil to Vietnam, they show that designing with nature, rather than against it, is both a practical necessity and a creative opportunity.

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AquaPraça​

By Carlo Ratti Associati + Höweler + Yoon, PA, Brazil​

Jury Winner, Cultural (Pavilion), 14th Architizer A+Awards​

AquaPraça adapts to water; it is a 4,305-square-foot (400-square-meter) floating cultural plaza unveiled at the Venice Biennale and permanently installed at COP30. According to its designers, AquaPraça’s stability is maintained through continuous recalibration. By filling or emptying ballast tanks, the plaza adjusts its elevation in response to tidal shifts and sea-level variations: when the ballast tanks empty, the structure rises; when they fill, it lowers to meet the waterline.

Initially presented in Venice as a special project, AquaPraça expanded its program upon relocating to Belém, where it hosted conferences, workshops, and public gatherings focused on climate change and sea-level rise. The plaza connects to the shore via an 82-foot (25-meter) gangway designed to accommodate extreme water-level changes. Following COP30, Italy donated this structure to a public space in Para.

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Seattle Waterfront Park​

By Field Operations, Seattle, Washington​

Popular Choice Winner, Landscape & Planning (Urban & Masterplans), 14th Architizer A+Awards​

Field Operations transformed Seattle Waterfront Park, which reconnects the city to the water by turning an elevated viaduct highway into a public space with bike lanes, piers, gardens, and a connection to downtown. The project extends 26 blocks from historic Pioneer Square to Belltown; Waterfront Park reconnects downtown, Pike Place Market and various neighborhoods to the bay.

According to its designers, inspired by the tough, working character of the once-industrial waterfront and the soft, natural palette of Elliott Bay and Puget Sound, the design reflects the rich cultural history of Seattle’s waterfront, embracing its broader natural setting while seamlessly connecting to the city’s urban fabric. Also, featuring over 150 species and more than 150,000 plants, 2.3 acres of newly planted habitat space were added. The tree canopy was significantly expanded with the addition of over 1,000 new trees. A dedicated nursery was established to grow these plants using locally sourced soil and plant materials.

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Ecoparque: Ciénaga de Mallorquín​

By DEB Architecture + El Equipo Mazzanti, Barranquilla, Colombia​

Jury Winner, Landscape & Planning (Urban & Masterplans), 14th Architizer A+Awards​

The Ecopark in Barranquilla restores water and was completed in 2023. It is a fundamental part of the city itself, not only because it is its most biodiverse natural space, receiving more than 200 species of birds each year, but also because of its location at the meeting point of the Atlantic Ocean and the Magdalena River. The Ecopark acts as an intermediate layer between Boca de Ceniza, an aggressively modified area, and the current project aimed at improving nature and its services, despite being polluted and forgotten, by trying to make its capacity to recover visible.

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Aqualuna​

By 3XN, Toronto, Canada​

Jury Winner, Multi-Unit Housing – High Rise (16+ Floors), 14th Architizer A+Awards​

Aqualuna, which imitates water in its design, is a residential development located in Toronto. According to its designers, the structures are inspired by the movement of the water body, with a sculptural form that echoes the waves of Lake Ontario. The façade is expressive and dynamic, composed of angled balconies and terraces that vary in rhythm and depth. This geometry improves privacy between units, enhances water views, and creates a wave-like visual effect that brings texture and movement to the building’s exterior. Aqualuna offers 215 residential units, each with access to outdoor space, both private and communal.

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Hidden Spa: Water Hope​

By Idee Architects Vietnam, Cam Ranh, Vietnam​

Jury Winner, Spa & Wellness, 14th Architizer A+Awards​

Hidden Spa is a spa and mud bath complex designed by IDEE Architects, located in Bãi Dài, Cam Ranh, Vietnam. The spa turns inward toward water and is organized around a central water courtyard that forms the project’s spatial and environmental core. Visitors enter the complex through shaded walkways framed by rows of timber columns and stone walls. The bathing spaces and mud treatment areas surround this inner oasis. The architectural language is defined by a restrained palette of locally sourced materials, including stone, timber, and bamboo.

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Cloud Center, Financial Street Ancient Spring Town​

By Wutopia Lab, Zunhua, Tangshan, China​

Popular Choice Winner, Spa & Wellness, 14th Architizer A+Awards​

Wutopia Lab designed Cloud Center, which draws on water as a cultural and natural resource, commissioned by Financial Street Real Estate Development Zunhua in 2024. Its architecture adopts a “de-architecturalize” concept inspired by the traditional Chinese landscape concept of the flying rock, and the center is shaped like a rock. The center also includes a hotel, swimming pool, gym, and outdoor spring pools, and provides spring water to surrounding villages. The site sits at the highest point in the town center, 66 feet (20 meters) above the main hotel entrance. The client envisioned it as a structure visible from every corner of Ancient Spring Town.


The 15th Architizer A+Awards has officially launched! Seize the lowest pricing of the season by entering before October 23rd, 2026. Learn more →


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