BRASILIA

"We have turned our back on the sea and penetrated to the heartland of the nation. Now
the people realize their strength.'‘ - Juscelino Kubitschek

BRASILIA . . .
 Brasilia for its
defenders,
Brasilia symbolizes brazil’s coming of age, her takeoff into mature nationhood, a
break from sleepy agrarian semicolonial past & sweet life of the coastal centres ,
into a future of pioneering growth in the interior & in the realm of industrial
production. The capital symbolizes the optimistic mood of developmentism & is
to be at the center of a network of jungle-cutting highways such as the one
between brasilia & the amazonian port city of Belem.

VISION. . . BRASILIA . . .
 Brasilia for its
detractors,
The city is a monumental urbanistic & social disaster, a venture into conspicuous
consumption on a national scale, the source of crippling inflation. It is the
demagogic, megalomaniac adventure of a populist politician bent on personal
enrichment & seeking a cheap way to win a place in history. Brasilia’s existence
by now must grudgingly be conceded, but to these critics it remain a potemkin
village in the midst of sea of poverty, corruption, disease & despair.

VISION. . . BRASILIA . . .
 Fig. 2 Google image

Fig. 3 Google image

Fig. 1 brazil map

The main reason of formation of new national capital was to take development in interior of the
Brazilian plateau.

VISION. . . BRASILIA . . .
 Fig. 5 plan by MMM roberto firm

Fig. 4 plan by Ney Goncalves,

Baruch milman, Joao henrique rocha

The competition of designing master plan for Brasilia was undertaken by panel headed by ar.
Oscar niemeyer
COMPETITION ENTRIES . . . BRASILIA . . .
 Fig. 7 plan by MMM roberto firm

Fig. 6 plan by Ney Goncalves,

Baruch milman, Joao henrique rocha

COMPETITION ENTRIES . . . BRASILIA . . .

COSTA’S PLAN. . . BRASILIA . . .
 Lucio costa’s plan divided brasilia into two principal parts, the monumental axis
& the residential axis, the latter in turn being divided into what have come to be
called the south & north wings. Conceptually , the plan has four parts
1. The government buildings
2. The residential zone of superblock
3. The vehicular circulatory system
4. The city center

MASTERPLAN . . . BRASILIA . . .
 Fig. 9 concept sketch

Fig. 8 initial sketch by lucio costa

Fig. 10 key plan

COSTA’S PLAN. . . BRASILIA . . .

 Brasilia- costa’s plan

radiant city- Le Corbusier

INSPIRATION. . . BRASILIA . . .
 Fig. 15 radiant city- Le Corbusier

The inspiration of Brasilia from corbusier’s radiant city is its monumental scale & futuristic
outlook.
INSPIRATION. . . BRASILIA . . .
 Hills
terrain

Monumental
axis

Water body

The orientation of main monumental axis is guided by the presence of water body & hilly terrain around
site

AXIS . . . BRASILIA . . .
 Fig. 11 Master plan by lucio costa

MASTER PLAN . . . BRASILIA . . .

 Fig. 12 residential super block

Institution areas
Commercial areas
Residential areas

RESDENTIAL SUPER BLOCK . . . BRASILIA . . .

 Fig. 13 residential super block-open
spaces

RESDENTIAL SUPER BLOCK . . . BRASILIA . . .

 Vehicular axis
Pedestrian axis
The master plan of Brasilia lacks consideration of pedestrian movement as most of spaces are planned
according to concept of radiant city which is more of vehicular oriented planning.
RESDENTIAL SUPER BLOCK . . . BRASILIA . . .
RESDENTIAL SUPER BLOCK . . . BRASILIA . . .
 Fig. 14 monumental axis
structures

MONUMENTAL AXIS . . . BRASILIA . . .

FORMATION OF SATELLITE TOWNS . . . BRASILIA . . .
 1. The monumentalist emphasis on dramatic architecture & broad vistas.
2. The favoring of automotive circulation in spite of the fact that cars remains a
luxury for vast majority of Brazilian population.
3. Only cursory attention being paid to the needs & desire of first residents & to
the lower-class residents in general.
4. The non-development, static, or skeletal character of the plan, expressed as a
final output rather than a process of growth which at all stages would involve
human lives.
5. The necessity, given prevailing political practice in brazil, of finishing the city
according to plan within a three-year period if it was not to be later
abandoned.
6. The centralized character of the planning & execution processes themselves,
with no provision for consultation or participation by any but upper-level
technical & political personnel.

CONCLUSION . . . BRASILIA . . .