Venice Biennale 2025 – Diller Scofidio + Renfro
Canal Café, by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, transforms Venice’s lagoon water into drinkable espresso, turning the city’s most fragile resource into a public ritual. Drawing water directly from the Arsenale canals, the project uses a hybrid natural and artificial purification system that combines bio-filtration, micro-wetlands, reverse osmosis, and UV treatment to make brackish water potable while retaining its mineral character.
Part café, part laboratory, the installation invites visitors to literally taste Venice, confronting issues of climate change, contamination, and mass tourism through a simple daily pleasure. The space also includes a public library and curated bookshop dedicated to water, ecology, architecture, and urban futures, encouraging visitors to reflect, read, and engage more deeply with the project’s themes.
Awarded the Golden Lion at the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale, Canal Café was developed in collaboration with Natural Systems Utilities and Sodai, with support from WeBuild.
