Museum of Image and Sound

Copacabana’s long-delayed beachfront museum will finally open in the second half of 2014, construction willing, in time for this year’s World Cup (June 12–July 13), when the atmosphere in futbol-crazy Brazil will be cranked up to the max. The “folded” white building with a glass front will include exhibits dedicated to carioca culture (covering everything from Carnival to bossa nova to soap operas), a 300-seat theater, a shop, a café, and a terrace restaurant with views along the coast. Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s exterior “Vertical Boulevard” is a zigzaggy extension of the famous wave-inspired patterned sidewalk by Roberto Burle Marx.

The museum has not yet finished and has been late for years, but it seems to be a new architectural icon in front of the Copacabana beach. At least the architecture designed by Diller & Scofidio makes it very interesting.