Aqua Dome

Aqua Dome — IADA 2025 award

Aqua Dome received Platinum Winner recognition at the International Architecture & Design Awards 2025 in Museum, Exhibition & Gallery Design. Project status, design team and credits are listed alongside the presentation.

About the project

One of the ephemeral bias that faces architecture is that, once it is built, it remains almost static. However, nature is in the process of perpectual change, it raises the question: how can we create a certain architecture that simulates the flow of seasonal change?

Aqua Dome is responding to the question by adapting to water environment variation throughout the year. Located in the north-west of Brazil, the site demonstrates a dynamic geologic and ecological environment. During the rainy season, the valleys among the dunes are filled with freshwater lagoons. The submerging and emerging actions allow the form to appear differently.

The fundamental idea of this project probes into different types of intersection between architecture form and landscape, and how this form variation impact on space, structure, and the surrounding environment.

Aqua Dome serves as a eco-tourism destination complex, which also includes basic landscape ecological research function. The walkway flowing through the architectural form connects each program zones, and takes visitors to the outdoor plazas and green houses.

Under different submerged condition, the outdoor plaza and the shell dome is shaped differently by the water lagoon. In this way, Aqua Dome responds to the seasonal change on the site.

Studio Wei Yu

SWY balances experimental, research-driven design with real-world execution, ensuring each project is both visionary and functional.

Interdisciplinary Approach

With experience across urban development, digital fabrication, and service design, SWY integrates knowledge from multiple fields to push the boundaries of architectural practice.

Sensory & Phenomenological Design

Spaces are designed not just for utility but for emotion, memory, and human interaction. SWY’s work often incorporates light studies, material experimentation, and computational strategies to craft immersive experiences.

What SWY Stands For

SWY’s design ethos is about not just reclaiming what was lost but shaping what comes next. Through architecture and spatial interventions, the studio seeks to transform built environments into catalysts for social, ecological, and cultural renewal.