Copacabana Promenade: design as heritage

ABSTRACT

Fresh air became a luxury good in times of Covid-19 pandemic. After lockdowns' stringency is over, former enclosed activities have been adapted to be held in open air spaces, reinforcing the importance of well-designed parks, squares and sidewalks. This paper will address one of the most iconic Brazilian public open spaces the Copacabana promenade, designed by Roberto Burle Marx. Extending 4,5 kilometers alongside Rio de Janeiro's waterfront, the three sidewalk lanes are a social living spot, housing multiple activities. Appealing to tradition, Burle Marx designed a Portuguese stone mosaic, but innovated by proposing modern and patterns. It is an exceptional case of heritage-valued public landscape combined with social appropriation and very intense use. Unfortunately, Copacabana promenade's integrity has been constantly threatened. Many pubs and restaurants extended their structures over the pavement, ruining both the sidewalk materiality and the landscape;a number of potholes denounce the lack of appropriate maintenance - even if both the stone mosaics and the vegetation designed by Burle Marx are listed as municipal and state heritage. The promenade is also included in the "culture landscape” of Rio de Janeiro, listed as a World Heritage by Unesco, in 2012, highlighted for its contribution to the outdoor living culture. The case of Copacabana Promenade suggests that not always is materiality the real heritage. In some cases - such as some landscape architectures - materiality renovation is a requirement to design conservation and the fundamental document to heritage preservation is the paper and not the stone. © Design: Social Commitment and Quality of Life, Proceedings.All rights reserved.