Making Praça Nelson Mandela: Morphological change and graphic interventions to define a new square in the Botafogo district of Rio de Janeiro

Through briefly tracing the making of a new square in the Botafogo district of Rio de Janeiro we evidence how Nelson Mandela’s heritage is conveyed through the introduction of urban graphic objects. In doing so we highlight how an otherwise indistinct parcel of land is further transformed into Praça Nelson Mandela and subsequently differentiated and enhanced through the imposition of graphic heritage associated with him. Therefore, we aim to raise awareness of the role of the graphic object in the larger scaled urban object. The specific intent of the research is three-fold: i) identify a disciplinary perspective to analyse the early collection of visual data; ii) acknowledge the significance of the iconography associated with visual representations of Nelson Mandela; and iii) identify possibilities for further analysing the collected assets and the potential for future graphic heritage interventions. The research provides a cross-disciplinary view integrating the morphological and visual dimensions of urban design.