Strategic urban planning and mega sporting events in Rio de Janeiro can be considered fundamental challenges for the reconstruction of city´s global image in the 21st century, enhancing the so-called terrain vagues, as theoretically suggested by Ignasi de Solà-Morales in 1995. This article aims to reflect about the concpt of terrain vague by analyzing the Maua Pier, a bench originally built in 1948 at the Rio Port area.