At the far end of the Arsenale, where architecture meets the salt-laden waters of the lagoon, a small pavilion unconventionally challenges visitors’ habits. This is the Canal Café, a project by renowned New York-based studio Diller Scofidio + Renfro for the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale. Here, the studio plays with the language of alchemy, serving espresso brewed with water extracted and purified directly from Venice’s canals. The gesture is radical and almost symbolic: a challenge to rethink the complex value of the city’s waters through the simple, everyday act of sipping coffee “flavoured” with Venice itself.
At the core of the installation, whose conceptual seeds trace back to 2008, is a sophisticated purification system developed in collaboration with engineering firms Natural Systems Utilities and Sodai. The treatment begins with an eco-machine that removes sludge and toxins through biofiltration. From there, the brackish water follows a dual-path purification process: on one side, a “micro-wetland” of salt-tolerant plants naturally filters impurities while retaining minerals; on the other, reverse osmosis and UV sterilisation technologies remove salt, bacteria, and micro-contaminants to produce distilled water. The result is certified potable water, ready to be transformed into espresso under the guidance of Michelin-starred chef Davide Oldani, who helped refine the aromatic balance to achieve an authentically Venetian flavour.
More than just a café, the Canal Café is conceived as an architectural and environmental device designed to spark conversations around water scarcity, coastal resilience, and the potential of resource reuse. By tapping into the deeply rooted ritual of coffee drinking, the project becomes a storytelling tool for the environmental challenges of our time. To this end, transparency is integral to the experience: the entire purification process is displayed in real time, reinforcing the safety of the beverage and the reliability of the system.
With this project, Diller Scofidio + Renfro uses coffee as a medium for public dialogue, framing architecture as a proactive force in ecological transformation. Drinking an espresso becomes a statement of intent: a call to respect resources, and a small yet meaningful gesture that speaks to both the past and future of Venice.
UPDATE: Canal Cafè was awarded with the Golden Lion for the best participation in the Exhibition. Created by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Natural Systems Utilities, SODAI, Aaron Betsky, and Davide Oldani, the project is "a demonstration of how the city of Venice can be a laboratory to speculate how to live on the water, while offering a contribution to the public space of Venice. It also invites future speculation about the lagoon and other lagoons", the jury explains, adding that it also represents "an important parallel track in the DS+R’s practice since the very start". It is also aknowledged "the extraordinary persistence of the Canal Cafè project, which started almost 20 years ago".
Opening image: photo © Domus