CITIES AS A POLITICAL

STATEMENT – WASHINGTON DC &

BRASILLIA
SUBMITTED BY
MEGHA
ANURAG
 BIRTH OF CITIES
 Commercial Centers - Fresno, Venice, New York
 Industrial Cities - Manchester, Detroit, Los Angeles
 Primary Resources - Scotia, Minas Gerais, Nevada City
 Resort Cities - Santa Barbara, Las Vegas, Marseille
 Government Centers - Washington D.C., Brasilia
 Education Centers - Palo Alto, Berkele
Brasillia
 Capital of Brazil & seat of
Brazillian Government
 Planned and developed - 1956
 Acquired status of capital – 1960
 Chief planner – Lucio Costa
 Chief Architect – Oscar Niemeyer
 President Juscelino Kubitschek
ordered the construction of
Brasília - the capital should be
moved from Rio de Janeiro to a
place close to the center of the
country.
 B R A S I L L I A – A P O L I T I C A L S TAT E M E N T
- Symbol of the new world order.
- Hallmark of modern age by use of civic
design that was before its time.

OSCAR NIEMEYER

Personal Political Philosophy Communism

Reflections in design

Principles of design

Uniformity Equality Power Little

Flexibility
• Superquadras placed everyone in a structure where economic differences are less
noticeable
• extreme separation of uses,
• access only by motor vehicle,
• mid-rise boxy buildings set in vast open spaces
 CONCEPT PLAN

LUCIO COSTA’S BUTTERFLY PLAN FOR

BRASILIA 1957
MASTER
PLAN
Critical Analysis
- A cold and inflexible idea like Brasilia is impressive and powerful in
symbol

- Structured and Rigid design

-The idea behind Brasilia disconnects its citizens, and the citizens are
unfortunately just observers who are subjected to the powerful idea of
Brasilia.

- This city is an idea, a group of ideals and social remedies, not a living,
breathing organism that individuals can connect with.
 CIRCULATION
 There are no traffic lights or sidewalks in the city (at least in the original
design),
 almost every four-way intersection is a cloverleaf interchange.
 The design ensures that motorists will never have to inconvenience themselves
by stopping, and pedestrians don't mind because they theoretically don't exist.

Human use on the map reveals a complex network of activity very different from the
plan. Brazil: A democratic & capitalistic country, an emerging global
power SUPERQUADRAS
The achievements and hard work of the wealthier individual become marginalized
in the architecture of Brasilia. – Fareed Zakaria
View of Brasilia toward Congress building Congress building

Oscar Niemeyer, Plaza of the Ministries, with Cathedral of our Lady of Fatima
 SITE SELECTION
IN 1791, PRESIDENT WASHINGTON
COMMISSIONED L'ENFANT TO PLAN THE
LAYOUT OF THE NEW CAPITAL CITY.

ROCKS CREEK (OFFICIALLY KNOWN AS THE DISTRICT OF

COLUMBIA) IS TIED TO ITS ROLE AS THE
CAPITAL OF THE UNITED STATES.

TIBER CREEK JENKINS HILL (HIGHEST POINT)

THE SITE ALONG THE POTOMAC
RIVER, BETWEEN MARYLAND AND
VIRGINIA WAS CHOSEN FOR THE
CAPITAL CITY BY GEORGE
POTOMAC RIVER WASHINGTON.
ANACOSTIA RIVER

N
 It demonstrates the commission's
mania for symmetry, harmony, and
building groups rather than individual
buildings.

It also demonstrates its power.

A city designed as a work of

art":preservation of the area's natural
beauty for future generations.

South of the monument were projected

sites both for a principal memorial
honoring the founding fathers and for
facilities for indoor and outdoor sports."
In addition, a monument to Lincoln was
planned for the reclaimed swampland
west of the Washington Monument, as
well as Memorial Bridge leading to
Arlington Cemetery
 • The Mall was to present "the public a symbol of the power of the national
government, a combined civic and cultural

• Long, wide swath of open space something between a park and a boulevard and the
buildings along its edges serves as a sacred enclosure, a tenemos for a democracy.
CAPITOL BUILDING IN FOCUS, FILLING A ROLE THAT IS FUNTIONAL,
SYMBOLIC, AND SCULPTURAL
 At the opposite end of the monumental core
stood the Washington Monument, anchoring
the two axes of power--the Capitol and the
White House.
A grand avenue in the center of the mall

Two focal points from which several streets radiate

A line of white palaces, one on each side of the

avenue, extending along its entire length system of
AXIS OF MALL
radiating streets garden, with radiating avenues
and walks.

The whole city was planned with a view to the

reciprocal relations that should exist among public
buildings.
The origin of the National Mall is as old as the
capital city. The open space and parklands
envisioned by Pierre L'Enfant plan create an
ideal stage for national expressions of
remembrance, observance and protest.
REFERENCES
 www.un.org/issues/gallery/history/
 Article On “Brasilia: Living In The Shadow Of Idea” By
Sam Miller
 http://www.brasiliabsb.com/index.html
 www.gringos.com
 Hall, Peter, Cities of Tomorrow
 Gallion, The Urban Pattern
 http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/
 Branch.M.C., Urban Planning Theory