Porsche and Norman Foster Foundation rethink future of mobility

Porsche Gateway to Venice's Waterway installation — Approached by Frauscher x Porsche 850 Fantom Air sports boat, *Gateway to Venice’s Waterway*

(Image credit: Porsche)

In partnership with Porsche

Venice’s public transport system – ancient, predominantly aquatic, reliant on the gondola since the 11th century and last revolutionised by the city’s first steam-powered, mechanically propelled vaporetto (water bus) back in 1881 – is having a rare radical rethink.

Gateway to Venice’s Waterway is an urban mobility collaboration between the Norman Foster Foundation and Porsche and the star of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale; architects from the foundation and designers from the German sports car manufacturer worked together on a construction that represents a visionary transportation hub for a Venice of the future.

Inspired by the network of 435 foot bridges that span the city’s 150 canals and connect its 121 islands, the project is a 37m-long, physical manifestation of the intersection between design and architecture and the latest iteration of Porsche’s The Art of Dreams initiative.

Resembling a 21st-century interpretation of a vaporetto dock, the installation’s sinuous aluminium space-frame/lattice-tube construction references classic Porsche race cars such as the 908. The kinetic surface, meanwhile, is inspired by the cube pattern of the new Porsche Macan Electric. Throughout construction, recycled materials and environmentally friendly systems have been used.

A practical, fully working and operational endeavour, the hub functions as a gateway to e-mobility on both land and water. Emission-free water bicycles by California’s Schiller Bikes and Frauscher x Porsche 850 Fantom Air sports boats equipped with the all-electric drive of the Porsche Macan provided alternative transport for attendees during the biennale’s opening week (10 May). Other alternative ideas for urban transportation developed by students from Style Porsche and Studio FA Porsche Zell am See are also on display.

With ‘Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective’ as the theme of this year's biennale, the Norman Foster Foundation and Porsche envisage their collaborative work as a response to transport challenges facing the Italian port city, a catalyst for a discourse on sustainable, urban change and a physical exercise in design reconciling the complex demands of modern urban infrastructure.

‘Design and architecture share the same attributes,’ says Michael Mauer, Vice President Style Porsche. ‘Both disciplines stand for an interplay of aesthetics and technology as well as functionality and realisability. The exchange with creative colleagues beyond the boundaries of classic automotive design is always enriching for us. Creativity thrives on communication and freely conceived ideas.’

Porsche and the Norman Foster Foundation believe that through the integration of technology, insights from nature and lessons from the past, cities can be reimagined as more sustainable, connected and efficient, a holistic approach bringing together experts from different fields to shape the future of mobility.

‘Gateway to Venice's Waterway is a testament to this vision,’ says Norman Foster. ‘It shows how innovation and tradition can co-exist to inspire new solutions for the urban landscapes of tomorrow.’

Gateway to Venice’s Waterway can be visited throughout the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, which runs until 23 November.

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Simon Mills is a journalist, writer, editor, author and brand consultant who has worked with magazines, newspapers and contract publishing for more than 25 years. He is the Bespoke editor at Wallpaper* magazine.