As part of the cultural revitalization project of Rio de Janeiro's Port Area, the Rio Art Museum was inaugurated in 2013. The project, designed by Bernardes + Jacobsen Arquitetura, consists of the integration of two main — and historic — buildings with distinct architectural characteristics: the Dom João VI Mansion, in the Eclectic style, and the former Maritime Police headquarters, a Modernist building.
Together with the former Rio bus station building, they are connected by a lateral walkway and by the roof structure, which functions as a public plaza and features an abstract and ethereal form.