1956-1960

BRASILIA
CITY (CAPITAL) OF FIFTY YEARS IN FIVE

BY-
1305032 (PALLAVI)
1305038 (DIWAKAR PASWAN)
1305048 (SHAIL PRATAP SINGH)
 BRIEF
Brasília is a planned city situated in the centre of Brazil’s vast and unpopulated
interior. Built in the mid-fifties, it was inaugurated as the country’s capital on
April 22, 1960.

This city is remarkable for a number of reasons, not least its aeroplane like
street layout planned by Lúcio Costa. However it’s the distinctive architecture
that draws most attention, and much of this was designed by Oscar Niemeyer.

It was built in just 41 months, with its construction ordered by the country’s new
President, Juscelino Kubitschek

1956-1960
Juscelino Kubitschek (President of Brazil, 1956 - 1961)
promised for “fifty years of prosperity in five" plan.

Niemeyer’s idea was "to build a new Capital to bring

progress to the interior of Brazil".

1956-1960
 Pilot Plan

was planned and

developed by Lúcio
Costa and Oscar Niemeyer in
1956 to move the capital
from Rio de Janeiro to a more
central location. The landscape
architect was Roberto Burle
Marx..

1956-1960
 Pilot Plan
The pilot plan for Brasília was built to conform to Le
Corbusier's Letter of Athens, which, according to the Modernists,
embodied the ideal qualities of a city. The Letter had four basic
beliefs for the ideal city:

• Well-ventilated residences near green spaces;

• the separation of residences from workplaces, with

industries excluded from the city proper;

• exclusive space for cultural activities, near residencies; and

• the separation of the circulation of vehicles and pedestrians.

COMMERCIAL 1956-1960
ENTERTAINMENT
COMMERCIAL
ADMINISTRATIVE
 Layout Plan
 The basis of the plan of the city was a simple cross;

 The cross had to be adapted to the local topography due to

prior plans of an artificial lake and the city gained the
shape of an aero plane;

 The aero plane symbolizing the fastest way out of the

town;

 City pointing like an arrow in to the future;

 Two intersecting axes:

• Monumental axis
• Residential axis

1956-1960
 Concept
The plan consisted of three structural elements:

• the crossing of two axes,

• two terraced embankments and a platform

• the equilateral triangle is the area called ‘ Plano

Piloto’ and forms the core of the capital.

1956-1960
 Paranoá Lake is a large artificial lake that was
built to increase the amount of water available
and the region's humidity.

The city's design divides it into numbered

blocks as well as sectors for specified activities,
such as:

• the Hotel Sector,

• the Banking Sector and
• the Embassy Sector

1956-1960
Costa designed the city in four scales of design:

 The monumental scale :

• intended to provide Brasília with the dignity of a capital city.

• achieved with wide avenues of six lanes in each direction,
• the Esplanade, where the ministries and public buildings are located, the Cathedral, and the
Plaza of Three Powers.

 The residential scale:

• contained orderly superblocks with a uniform height of six stories, no high rises,
• vast motorway
• had ample parking for vehicles,
• low population density and
• plenty of wide open green space.

 The gregarious (or social) scale:

• consisted of the bus station—where the two axes cross—and the entertainment, commerce,
and retail sectors

 The bucolic scale : 1956-1960

• showed Costa's intent for Brasília to be a city of parks
 Superblocks
 housing for 600,000 people;

 large groups of apartment buildings, grouped in a very

orderly manner;

 Each group of four superblocks was supposed to serve

as a single neighborhood unit;

 Between the superblocks were lower buildings for

commercial businesses;

 Each group was to have

a church,
a secondary school,
a movie house,
a youth club, and
adequate field space for children to play;
1956-1960
 Superblocks

 Each superblock's six-story buildings rested on massive pillars, so there

was an open area beneath the building for the free movement of
pedestrians and for children to play under during inclement weather.

 The superblocks were also intended to be egalitarian, so that people of all 1956-1960
income levels would live together and interact without class distinctions
 Socio-Economic Factors
PROS-
o form-space configuration
o fine urban qualities
o green areas
o mild climate of Brazil’s Central Plateau
o affords good bioclimatic performance

CONS-
o low urban densities
o dispersion of occupied areas with no man’s land in between
o perverse relation between location of jobs and homes
o Urban infrastructure is underused
o intense commuting between peripheral areas and the urban core is a daily nuisance
o urban configuration does not favour transit systems
1956-1960
 Socio-Economic Factors

According to the original plans, Brasília would be

a city for government authorities and staff.

o Candangos

o Fragmentation
(separated in space by significant discontinuities)

o Dispersion
(strong discontinuities in the urban tissue)

o Eccentricity (CBD, DC, MC)

1956-1960
 CONCLUSION
------ City Of Great Contrasts….

“ The issue is not whether it's a good city or a bad city - it is just not a city “
- Ricky Burdett, London School of Economics

“ Hauntingly Beautiful and absolutely Magical ”

- Norman Foster, British Architect

1956-1960