Mauá Square

An aerial view of Mauá Square with the Quayside in the background and the Museum of Tomorrow on the right: the area is undergoing a process of the most thorough redevelopment in more than one hundred years (photo: Marcos Tristão / Museu do Amanhã).

After four years of closure due to the works of Porto Maravilha, Mauá Square was reopened to the public in September 2015 (photo: Marcos Tristão / Museum of Tomorrow).

Artistic expression in Mauá Square during the inauguration of the Museum of Tomorrow, in December 2015. Revitalized, the area is frequented by locals and tourists (photo: Derek Mangabeira / I hate flash).

The bronze monument honors one of the forerunners of industrialization in Brazil: Baron de Mauá. It was installed in 1910. Taken away from the site in 2011, returned in February 2015 (photo: Marcos Tristão / Museu do Amanhã).

The Mauá Pier, originally Oscar Weinschenck Pier, under construction in 1948/49, to receive tourists for the World Cup 1950 (photo: Arquivo Nacional).

With intense port activity, the Mauá Pier in 1962 (Photo: Arquivo Nacional).

Mauá Square during the construction of the High Perimeter in 1970 (Photo: Arquivo Nacional).

In April 2014, the city authorities had the last stretch of the High Perimeter Road demolished, at the height of Mauá Square. The decision raised discussions (photo: Ricardo Cassiano).

The arsenal of the Navy, in Ilha das Cobras, was created in 1763 by viceroy Antônio Álvares da Cunha. The space was intended to repair the ships of the Navy of Portugal (photo: Marcos Tristão / Museu do Amanhã).

The demolition of the Perimeter Road allowed Mauá Square gain more prominence and return to the limelight of the population (photo: Marcos Tristão / Museu do Amanhã).

The Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR) was opened in 2013 within the framework of the city's broader plan. It became an icon of the city (photo: Marcos Tristão / Museu do Amanhã).

The MAR is located in two buildings with heterogeneous and interconnected profiles: the eclectic Palacete Dom João VI, officially considered to be a historic edifice, and a modernist-style building of the former coach station (photo: Marcos Tristão / Museu do Amanhã).

The Pier Mauá cruisers terminal in the Touring Club Building, is Rio's main ship docking point. In 2015, it broke the record of 9 vessels anchored at the same time (photo: Marcos Tristão / Museu do Amanhã).

Founded in the late sixteenth century, the Monastery of St. Benedict is the oldest building of the Port Region of Rio. The church is one of the country's main monuments of colonial art (photo: Marcos Tristão / Museu do Amanhã).

Considered as one of the country's main monuments of colonial art, the interior of the church is fully furnished with carved and gilded decoration. (photo: Marcos Tristão / Museu do Amanhã).

The building which housed one of the most important radio stations in Brazil, the National Radio, the Edifício A Noite was the first skyscraper in the country. Its construction began in 1927 (photo: Biblioteca Nacional).

The Museum of Tomorrow by night. The building is signed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava (photo: I hate flash).

The seven water mirrors surrounding the museum are supplied by the Guanabara Bay. The air-conditioning cooling system reuses the water, saving millions of liters (photo: Marcos Tristão / Museu do Amanhã).

Since the water is salty, and constantly changed, there is no risk of proliferation of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito (photo: Museu do Amanhã).

The gardens that surround the Museu do Amanhã are laid out after a design by Burle Marx office. It is based on Atlantic Forest species and palm trees. (photo: Marcos Tristão / Museu do Amanhã).

The Museu do Amanhã in the center, with A Noite building, left, and the Rio Branco 1 (RB1), right (photo: Marcos Tristão / Museu do Amanhã).

Puffed Star II is an installation by American artist Frank Stella in a water mirror near the Museum of Tomorrow. Made of aluminum, it has twenty points and six meters in diameter (photo: Marcos Tristão / Museu do Amanhã).

The huge water mirror brings the concept that renewal is necessary (photo: Marcos Tristão / Museu do Amanhã).

The surroundings of the Museu do Amanhã are a public area and have already become a new leisure option for locals as well as tourists (photo: Marcos Tristão / Museu do Amanhã).

The roof of the building is formed by large flaps which open and close according to the intensity of the sun. The 5,492 plates generate about 10% of the energy used daily by the Museum (photo: Marcos Tristão / Museu do Amanhã).

The new Light Rail Vehicle (LRV) crosses the Port Region. Capable of carrying up to 300,000 passengers a day, the system will operate 24 hours a day (photo: Marcos Tristão / Museu do Amanhã).

The VLT Carioca will integrate with metro, trains, boats, overhead railway, BRTs, and conventional bus networks (photo: João Paulo Engelbrecht).

Visitors line up to enter the museum during the opening week (photo: Museu do Amanhã).