“Bromelia” began as a piece of multifunctional street furniture, but its ambition is broader: to transform a service element into a small environmental, social and symbolic infrastructure. Inspired by the bromeliad, a plant capable of collecting and retaining water, the structure interprets nature not as decoration but as an operational model.
Initially conceived for Cotijuba Island in the river archipelago of Belém do Pará, Bromelia responds to practical needs: providing shade, harvesting rainwater, generating solar energy and serving as seating, a resting point, an urban marker and a meeting place. Its lightweight, modular form can adapt to different climatic and cultural contexts, creating public spaces that are more comfortable, sustainable and recognisable.
Over time, the concept has been reused and reinterpreted in other projects, including the proposal for the canopy over the new square beside the Al-Nouri Mosque in Mosul, developed with Zaha Hadid Architects. In this transformation, Bromelia retains its original identity but changes scale: from street furniture, it becomes a protective system, climatic filter and collective image.
For Studio Lauria Network, Bromelia represents an approach to urban design that brings function, landscape and innovation together. It is an object that appears simple yet is capable of producing comfort, energy, memory and new relationships in public space.
Aware of the challenges of globalisation, we draw on Italian creativity to develop projects that respect and enhance local identities and cultures.
