Mars Hydrosphere by Clouds AO at the Venice Biennale 2025
A Poetic City of Water Rises on Mars
By Kyoko Sato
July 12, 2025
Humanity continues to pursue the dream of living on Mars—not as fiction, but as an approaching reality. In 2023–2024, NASA conducted CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog), a year-long simulation at the Johnson Space Center (Houston, TX), where four crew members lived in a Mars-like habitat, testing what life might truly be like on the red planet.
Amid such tangible advancements, Mars Hydrosphere emerges as a visionary yet scientifically grounded proposal for a Martian city, presented at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale. Conceived by the New York–based firm Clouds Architecture Office (Clouds AO), this project envisions a future urban space shaped by the elusive presence of subsurface water on Mars.
In 2008, NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander confirmed the existence of vast quantities of frozen water beneath the Martian surface. Clouds AO’s fascination with this discovery led to their groundbreaking entry in the 2015 NASA and ICON–sponsored Mars habitat design competition. Their proposal “Mars Ice House”—remarkably, the only one to use ice as a core architectural material—was awarded the Grand Prize. A decade later, Mars Hydrosphere is the evolution of that vision: an ongoing pursuit to create life-supporting habitats using Mars’s most precious resource—water.
Set within the Lowell Crater in the planet’s southern hemisphere, Mars Hydrosphere imagines a city where gravity, air, and light obey entirely different rules. Its architecture is also a work of visual poetry—domes of translucent structure layered like rippling waves, evoking both fragility and resilience. These forms shimmer with the gentle movement of water, suggesting not only survival, but a quiet resolve to flourish.
This water-based habitat is not merely utilitarian. It is a poetic mechanism—a meditation on the question, “What does it mean to live?” Viewed from the alien vantage of Mars, the city prompts us to reflect on Earth itself—its beauty, its vulnerability, and its irreplaceable nature.
In this article, we explore the Mars Hydrosphere concept through a dialogue with its creators, Masayuki Sono and Ostap Rudakevych of Clouds AO—visionaries who fluidly navigate the boundaries between architecture and art.
The Philosophy of Water on Mars
Japan Contemporaries (JC): What are intentions behind the title “Mars Hydrosphere”?
What concerns or ideas were behind your choice of the theme of “water” on Mars?
The project felt more philosophical than architectural. How do you perceive the relationship between human existence and the environment?
Masayuki Sono (MS): The title “Mars Hydrosphere” symbolizes source and necessity for all life forms – water – which also provide radiation protection on Mars surface that is crucial for survival. Water also act as “liquid sky” to allow natural light to fill the city below, which is the heart of this proposal. Light is essential for life both functionally and for mental wellbeing – its changes help to maintain circadian rhythms and create shimmering reflections.
Ostap Rudakevych (OR): In classical thinking Earth consists of five natural ‘spheres’ that coexist in dynamic equilibrium: atmosphere (air), hydrosphere (water), cryosphere (ice), lithosphere (ground) and biosphere (living things). Humans are dwellers of the atmosphere, though we depend on energy and nutrients harvested from the lithosphere and hydrosphere. The project attempts to make visible our basic needs for survival in a clear way. To support life (biosphere) on Mars we need viable natural spheres found on Earth. This project employs radically optimistic design to reconstitute the debilitated natural spheres of Mars and enable large scale human settlements utilizing in-situ resources and landscape – a stepping stone to propel a bubble filled with life to Mars, and the solar system beyond.
Engineering the Impossible
JC: You had input from experts on cutting edge science, futuristic technology to help shape the design. What was the most challenging or most liberating aspect of this project?
MS: Idea of conceiving settlement of 10,000 people on another planet is inherently challenging and we had been struggling on this concept for years. Among major challenges were structural and radiation shielding strategy at this scale, together with providing adequate pressure, atmosphere and temperature. In initial studies, configurations to support body of water as radiation shielding over the city were tested but that led to numerous structural and design issues. Breakthrough finally came when we tried inverting the whole relationship and floated the city inside water using crater as natural basin – the vision of underwater city was thus born. The intent was not only to solve problems but also to reverse the challenges in creating physically functional and metaphysically enriching experience.
On structural design, we worked with professor Jun Sato at Tokyo University who has also collaborated with us on other space related project which shares development of structural system that has overlap with this one. It played critical role in defining boundaries and criteria of the project. As for water, recent data analysis collected from probes on Mars prove that there is abundant water under crust of Mars in form of both ice and liquid, and the amount is estimated enough to form a layer across the entire surface that would be more than half a mile deep.
Resonance from the Outer Limits
JC: What was the audience’s reaction at the Venice Biennale?
Have you gained any insights or inspiration from your conversations with other international architects?
MS: Despite the modest scale of our installation among large and spectacular works, it has gained unexpected and engaging attention from visitors. The uniqueness of our physical model which is actually airtight and floats in transparent water tank as “proof of concept” works effectively to spark people’s curiosity. Being at the end of the Arsenale section entitled “OUT” – a speculative collection which looks to outer space as a concept for rethinking planetary futures – relationship and tension among multilayered works expand and complement as an ensemble, ranging from low earth orbit to deep space, and applied back on earth to deliver provocative perspective as a whole.
We are aware that there has been fundamental question and criticism around space exploration while there are so much issues caused on our own planet. We believe that it is inevitable for humans to expand to space, and we need to work on both fronts in balance to achieve best options for future. It is also often overlooked that space exploration has contributed enormously on Earth as well, not only in the fields of science technology, but also expanding our awareness. The iconic “Blue Marble” photograph significantly contributed to growing environmental movement by visualizing Earth’s vulnerability. Going outside of our familiar places and looking back allows us to understand it more clearly – same is true when we imagine life outside Earth, we find miracles in what we normally take for granted.
OR: Some people respond to these kinds of projects with ‘save Earth first’ calls for ending poverty, homelessness or war, before heading out to space. I feel this is a naïve and regressive attitude that asks us to close the door on imagination and progress. I have personally worked hard to help end the war in Ukraine, and I won’t let Putin keep me from dreaming.
Projecting Futures, Rethinking the Present
JC: How do you think imagining a future where we live on Mars will impact our “current” cities and society?
What are the challenges Clouds Architecture Office is most interested in when it comes to future architecture?
MS: For example the technology that will be developed for this project can also be applied on Earth for underwater development which is considered as last frontier on our planet. Also imagining living on Mars can help expand our perspective to see things here from various new angles. We see architecture on Earth also as part of space architecture in larger sense, to seek new design solutions and technologies. This can be seen in our projects on Earth such as Avatar X Lab (a floating architecture) and Serendix Sphere (3D printed dwelling). Our interest in future of architecture has been on its typological potential which we believe is the essence in evolving architecture to adapt to different and extreme conditions. In foreseeing future it is important for us to discern things that changes over time and values that stay same. This helps to keep focus on essentials and to achieve certain timelessness.
Serendix Sphere is an advanced housing prototype that employs in situ 3D-printing technology to quickly and economically fabricate small residences. The design is a progression of their interest in habitats for extreme environments, and builds on the success of the award winning Mars Ice House concept prepared for NASA. © Clouds Architecture Office
OR: As architects we don’t swing hammers to actually build a building. Instead, our discipline teaches us to imagine fictions: to visualize unbuilt futures, and to represent and communicate these visions to others. We have simply decided to stretch our training to imagine more distant futures. Our hope is to participate and have a voice in shaping our future environment.
Poetry in Form: Designing with Planetary Forces
JC: The form of this underwater city has a very poetic beauty. What was the source of inspiration for the design?
Did the “out of ordinary” site on Mars affect the freedom and abstraction of the design?
Who made the visuals and model for this exhibition?
MS: Under extreme conditions as this, large framework of design needs to follow natural principles – for instance the shape and proportion of membrane dome structure is strictly governed by structural balancing of pressure and force, which does result in pure geometries. The city massing is similarly defined under certain parameters, but within we intended to maximize natural light and surface area by creating porous structure – like sponge, the city is carved to create circulation for people and light. Form and curves are used not as ornaments but as functional tools to expand psychological perception within limited space. Spiral movement create sense of infinity and organization as weaved loops allow people to take endless walks within. For this, natural forms found in water and its organisms provided inspiration in introducing asymmetrical movements within overall symmetrical framework.
OR: One of our main interests in architecture is form, and specifically how buildings meet the ground. This project presented us with unique constraints in terms of pressure, temperature, weight and gravity, that forced us to think about form in a completely different way than on Earth. For example, the bubble of air that’s submerged underwater has a stronger pull upward than the downward pull of gravity (like trying to push a beach ball underwater), so we had to reverse our way of thinking about forces. This upward force allowed to continue our exploration of buildings that float, or appear to hover over the ground. We felt these forces directly with our hands when making the scale model for Venice. The pressures within the system also limit the height of the project to only 25m which is pretty short for a city of 10,000. In our work we’ve found that more severe constraints can lead to unexpected outcomes.
MS: All the production of visuals and physical models are made in-house by us except water container of the model which was too large to transport.
Atmosphere of Light: A Visual Manifesto
JC: The way “light” and “transparency” are handled in this work is very impressive. What emotions or concepts did you want to convey through the visual experience?
When incorporating the concept of an underwater city into the design, were there any points you paid particular attention in terms of color or material (texture)?
MS: Light and transparency both played crucial part in visual representation since they express the main benefit of the concept. In expressing the water texture we tried to capture the magic of “liquid sky” and its shimmering movement. Mars has a very peculiar color palette with its regolith (soil) and sky, and since the city is conceived as 3D printed regolith, controlling right tonality was essential to reinforce this strategy. Martian sky has reddish tint during day time but sunset generates blue color which is opposite from what we are familiar with. We tried to incorporate that otherworldliness into our images.
© Clouds Architecture Office
Immersive Space, Embodied Experience
JC: How are the physical senses and sense of scale of a “space where people live” reflected in the design?
What perspectives and staging did you keep in mind to give the viewer the feeling of “entering” the city?
MS: Since the structural system requires the city to be subdivided in radial segments, we used it as opportunity to break down the large mass. These segments are sliced horizontally to treat layering of levels as stepping landscape to enable people to move in elevations freely. This results in diverse vantage points and three dimensional depth of spatial experience. Views moving inside the city are introduced to provide simulated experiences – this aspect of design is planned to be developed further in next stage.
OR: We wanted to distinguish our project by creating a large amount of open public space for people to walk around, meet and gather, without having to wear a space suit. The arrangement of having a bubble of air under water means that the air and water pressures are almost in equilibrium, which allows for the membrane to be very thin and transparent, almost imperceptible. It would be very similar to being outside on Earth, except that it might be more humid, like a tropical place. Open unprogrammed public space is a vital component of stable societies.
© Clouds Architecture Office
Beyond Architecture: A Work of Art in Itself
JC: This project goes beyond the framework of architecture and seems to have been established as contemporary art as well. Have you ever thought about the architectural and artistic aspects of this project?
It feels like you are presenting the “future of imagination” through this work, but what kind of “questions” or “feelings” do you want viewers to take home with them?
MS: Our office was founded with aim to fuse experience from the fields of architecture, academia, and the arts. For speculative works such as this one, we consider it as opportunity for experimentation of visionary ideas to push limits of imagination which we see as the most powerful tool. We believe if the work is charged with thoughts and energy, it becomes contagious to create discourses and plant seed for future growth.
OR: Art is hard to define. If art is the process of testing ideas, an exploration in the making of new things, that results in some kind of artifact, then maybe there is an artistic aspect to our work.
Dialogues Across Disciplines
JC: Art, science, fiction, philosophy… This work fuses various fields. Please tell us if there are any works or ideas that have had a particularly strong influence.
What possibilities do you see for projects that blur the boundaries between architecture and art in the future?
OR: Things are changing so rapidly that traditional devices for forecasting the future (philosophy, sci-fi books, movies, art) are having difficulty keeping up with reality. Our hope is that culture, science and technology will progress to the point that some of our ideas may be realized within our lifetimes.
Mars Hydrosphere by Clouds Architecture Office invites us to imagine not only what is technically possible, but what is humanly meaningful. It is a work of architecture, yes—but also a work of art, philosophy, and poetic speculation. In envisioning an underwater city on Mars formed by layers of translucent membranes and filled with refracted light, this project transcends the utilitarian needs of survival and elevates design into a meditative act. It asks us: What does it mean to dwell? What will we carry from Earth, and what will we rediscover anew under Martian skies?
Art, at its core, is the act of giving form to imagination through technique. In this sense, architecture can absolutely be considered a form of art. Clouds Architecture Office exemplifies this through their unique methodology: they construct buildings not only from data and scientific analysis, but from vision, wonder, and intellectual rigor. Mars Hydrosphere stands as a compelling example—where informed imagination becomes tangible space.
As we stand at the edge of interplanetary possibility, projects like Mars Hydrosphere challenge us to reframe our understanding of home—not as a fixed location, but as an evolving synthesis of environment, culture, and consciousness. In doing so, they remind us that our greatest resource is not water or energy, but imagination itself.
The 19th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, curated by Carlo Ratti, features Clouds Architecture Office’s Mars Hydrosphere project, which is on public view from May 10 through November 23, 2025, in the main exhibition hall at the Arsenale, within the “Out” section.
Tai Francis Wallace is the director of Emerald Room Gallery and Emerald Editions, and represents the Estate of Teruko Yokoi (1924–2020), his grandmother. He contributed an introductory essay on Yokoi for Japan Contemporaries.