Roberto Burle Marx - Copacabana promenade

Roberto Burle Marx was a Brazilian landscape architect, painter, printmaker, ecologist, and naturalist. He designed world-famous parks and gardens and is accredited with having introduced modernist landscape architecture to Brazil. A contemporary artist and a public urban designer, his work had an immense influence on tropical garden design in the 20th century. 

One such public space is the Copacabana promenade in Rio de Janeiro. Comprising the four km long edge of Copacabana Beach. The promenade undulates, mimicking the adjacent ocean. The wave mosaic alternates between black basalt and white limestone. 

A modern twist on a traditional Portuguese design called calçadas, which started in 1842 when commander Eusébio Furtado ordered the prisoners of Castelo de São Jorge to pave their courtyard in a zig-zag pattern. (NEH) The stones were imported from Portugal because no limestone deposits had yet been discovered in Brazil, allowing the composition to come in different colours: black, white, and red.

(Archdaily)

Personally, I can appreciate the design and craftsmanship that went into the space. The materiality is what attracts me to it, as the flagstones give it a refined and detailed appearance. If the same designs were created with resin-bound paving my opinion of the space would be quite different.

While the wave motif on the promenade existed before Burle Marx refurbished it in the 1970s. He changed the direction of the pattern to better fit the site content, making them parallel to the sea and not perpendicular. Burle Marx's renovation also included the pagination of the sidewalk. Which has become the "largest example of applied art existing in the world", according to its listing in the Brazilian State Institute of Cultural Heritage. (SICH)

My only criticism of the project is how hardscape-heavy it is, while trees are utilised, the balance between planting and masonry is not as equal as I personally lean towards in public amenity space. Especially considering the climate and location, the promenade includes significant amounts of exposed car parking space and while there are a large number of trees along the bay, they do not always affect the public facilities.  With Rios's heat index recently rising to 58.5°C in 2023, I would love to see Burle Marx's lush vegetation pallets employed on the site.