Although Prada is, understandably so, primarily recognized for its clothes since Miuccia Prada took the helm of her household firm in 1978, it has at all times had a sturdy presence within the cultural sphere. Fondazione Prada, the model’s artwork and cultural establishment, was based in 1993 and expanded in 2011 and 2015, with the openings of its Venice and Milan galleries. However extra not too long ago, Prada has begun to place itself as a patron of science and the surroundings, as evidenced by the opening of the Sea Past Ocean Literacy Centre in collaboration with UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Fee UNESCO (UNESCO-IOC), which was unveiled final week on the island of San Servolo within the Venetian lagoon.
Architect Carlo Ratti and inventive studio Dotdotdot configure Prada’s new Ocean Literacy Centre
Sea Past Ocean Literacy Centre in Venice
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Prada)
‘The opening of the Sea Past Ocean Centre right here in San Servolo marks an necessary milestone in our journey in direction of restoring our relationship with the ocean,’ says Francesco Santoro, senior programme officer at UNESCO-IOC. ‘This centre is extra than simply the bodily area for hands-on ocean schooling and awareness-raising actions. It is a image of the rising degree of recognition of ocean literacy as a self-discipline and a apply.’
The bottom ground area was designed by the architect Carlo Ratti, who can also be the curator of the 2025 Venice Structure Biennale. The constructing, which appears out over Venice’s placid lagoon waters, incorporates reused timber and round options within the design, together with a closed-loop water filtration system to maintain consumption to a minimal. Ratti selected a palette of blues all through the interiors to evoke the sensation of ‘water getting into inside,’ he says.
‘You may need to take a look at the bottom intimately,’ he added. ‘As a result of the bottom appears like concrete however is made with shells from the ocean.’
Sea Past Ocean Literacy Centre in Venice
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Prada)
Organized in an enfilade of rooms, every area is devoted to the visualisation of various sorts of ocean-related information, conceived by the Milan-based artistic studio Dotdotdot. The primary two installations, which take the type of interactive maps – one depicting a Spilhaus Projection of worldwide oceans and the opposite zoomed into the Venetian lagoon – illustrate scientific information by way of dynamic projections that embody the change in water temperature, salinity ranges and the circulation of currents all year long. The ultimate room is devoted to an interactive sport for kids and faculty teams, who would be the centre’s principal viewers.
Venice as the positioning of the centre was a pure alternative. The town, famously susceptible to the threats of rising oceans, has lengthy been a web site of oceanic analysis – most notably, the MOSE system, a retractable barrier that shields the delicate metropolis from incoming sea surges and was accomplished in 2020. It’s additionally a residing laboratory for learning the fragile stability between human settlement and marine ecosystems – a pressure that can solely intensify within the coming many years.
Sea Past Ocean Literacy Centre in Venice
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Prada)
‘It began with the thought of getting a optimistic affect on society and giving again to the surroundings,’ stated Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group’s head of company social duty. ‘Which is why beginning this journey with [UNESCO-IOC] was a pure alternative. We now have to talk to and educate future generations – and that is solely the start of a really lengthy journey.’
The Sea Past Ocean Literacy Centre is open to guests on Tuesday and Friday from 10am to 12pm and from 3pm to 5pm
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