Brasilia as the symbol of power

Brasilia
Introduction History Symbol of power Planning Costas concept Master plan Monumental axis Three power square National congress Palacio do planalto Supreme court Power to & power over Some facts Conclusion bibliography

c o n t e n t s

B r a s l i a

Brasilia, the capital of Brazil inaugurated on April 22nd 1960, in the central area of the country.

i n t r o d u c t i o n

The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. (Brazilian Highlands )

The city was planned and developed in 1956 with Lcio Costa as the principal urban planner and Oscar Niemeyer as the principal architect. On April 22 of 1960, it formally became Brazil's national capital.

Braslia was built so that the federal capital of Brazil could be transferred from the coast to the Mid eastern interior

Previously the capital of Brazil was Rio de

Janeiro

h i s t o r y

President Juscelino Kubitschek, who became President in 1956, invited the best Brazilian architects to present projects for the new capital.

Oscar Niemeyer, today one of the most famous world's architects, combined straight and rounded

shapes to create innovative architectural masterpieces.

Lucio Costa, renowned Brazilian urbanist, devised a lay-out combining beauties, simplicity and functionality.

The proposal of Brasilia as a symbol of power

to improve distribution of the countrys wealth by attracting population and economic activity to Brazils interior.

The ambition rooted in politics and economic power gave birth to the first capital city built from
scratch.

building an interior capital to profit from the resources of its inland territories. As a symbol of the countrys determination and ability to become a great economic power. To become a world model for urban development, architecture and society. to achieve a higher level of national cohesion by rejecting their former capitals of Rio de Janeiro for a new capital site.

p o w e r

The Master Plan was a dream project for planners because they did not have to cut and trim
their vision of an ideal city to fit preexisting land uses. In designing Brasilia, they had free rein to plan an ideal city. The key element of the Master Plan was an inspiring but sketchy proposal from Lucio Costa, who belonged to the modernist school of architecture and city planning that

had become dominant in Brazil.

The modernists thought that a city should be an exemplar or blueprint of changes and could produce a new society on the basis of the values motivating the city's design. In short: Build the ideal city and it will create the ideal society.

The planning of an ideal city was the most basic goal of Costa's Pilot Plan.
Brasilia was constructed according to a precisely laid out urban plan, devised by Lucio Costa, and the architectural programme designed by Oscar Niemeyer following a socially egalitarian and functional vision of the city.

p l a n n i n g

Basically, two axes crossing at right-angles; the very sign of the Cross

sought to adapt this sign to the local topography, the natural

drainage of the area, to the best possible orientation; one of the axes was curved in order to make it fit into the equilateral triangle which limits the urbanized area

C o s t a s

the natural ways of access, was made into a through radial artery,
with fast central lanes and side lanes for local traffic. Along this axis, the bulk of the residential districts have been placed

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The intersection of the monument and the highway-residential axes

the esplanade in the ministry district.

heavy vehicular traffic a secondary independent road system with point crossings.

C o s t a s

independent paths for local pedestrian traffic were created both in the central and the residential districts, ensuring free circulation

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A triangular terraced embankment will be supported on retaining walls of rough stone, rising above the surrounding countryside. It is approached from the freeway leading to the residence and the airport

One of the buildings was placed at each angle of this plaza

- Plaza of the Three Powers as it might well be called - with

Government House and the Supreme Court occupying the base of the triangle and Congress at the apex

C o s t a s

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Brasilia, aerial and highway capital, a garden city; the Patriarch's century-old dream.

C o s t a s

c o n c e p t

The Pilot Plan was based on the shape of an airplane. The basis of the city is a Monumental Axis, or fusilage of an airplane, intersecting in the center of the city with a Residential axis, or the wings of an airplane. Costa designed the city in four scales of design, a monumental scale, a residential scale, a gregarious scale, and a bucolic scale.

M a s t e r

p l a n

1. The monumental scale was intended to provide Braslia with the dignity of a capital city.

This was achieved with wide avenues of six lanes in each direction,
the Esplanade, where the ministries and public buildings are located, the bus station, where the two axis cross, the Cathedral, and the Plaza of Three Powers.

M a s t e r

2. The residential scale contained orderly superblocks with a uniform height of six stories, no high rises, and vast motorways providing an excellent transportation system. The superblocks also had ample parking for vehicles, low population density, and plenty of wide open green space for people to enjoy. 3. The gregarious (or social) scale consisted of the bus station, and special sectors of the city, like the entertainment, commerce, and retail sectors. 4. The bucolic scale showed Costa's intent for Braslia to be a park city, where everything was separated by vast green spaces and parks.

p l a n

M The Monumental Axis as a symbol of power over o n u The Monumental Axis. m The Monumental Axis (Eixo Monumental) is the e name of the two parallel expressways, each in a n t direction, which cut the Plan Pilot of Braslia a from East to West. It starts in the Three Powers l
Square, then go westwards until the vicinity of the inter State bus station. At the center of the Plan Pilot, the Monumental Axis crosses with the Eixo.

a x i s

The name was chosen because many of the monuments built in Braslia are located near this Axis.
At the far east, the Three Powers Square, seat of the Powers in Brazil; the area of the Axis where the Ministries are located is called Esplanada dos Ministrios. The Metropolitan Cathedral is located at the end of the Esplanada. Going from east to west, one can see the National Theater,

the Television Tower, the arena and the stadium of Braslia, the Palcio do Buriti (seat of the
government of the Federal District), the JK Memorial, and the recently opened (in 2005) Braslia Convention Center.

Differently from the Eixo, which is sided by residential blocks, there is hardly any residence along
the Monumental. Besides the monuments, it is worthy noticing that the hotel sector of Braslia is located along the Monumental, near the crossing with the Eixo. Just like the W3 avenue, the Monumental is also an important thoroughfare for buses; many buses

M o n u m e n t a l

connect the central bus station to the official buildings and to the satellite cities.

a x i s

T h r e e

Praa dos Trs Poderes =Three Powers Square.

The seats of Legislative, Executive and Judiciary Powers are located around the square, making a nearly equilateral triangle.

o w e r

The National Congress with its Secretariat.

The Planalto Palace.

The Supreme Court

s q u a r e

Brazil's bicameral National Congress consists of

N the Senate (the upper house) and a t the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil (the lower i house). o It was designed by Oscar Niemeyer in the modern n Brazilian architecture style. a The hemisphere to the left is the seat of the Senate and l
the hemisphere to the right is the seat of the Chamber of
Dome- shaped Hall for the Upper House Saucer- shaped Hall for the Lower House

Deputies.

Between them there are two towers of offices. The Congress also occupies other surrounding buildings,
some of them interconnected by a tunnel. The building is located in the middle of the Eixo Monumental, the main avenue of the capital.

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The Palcio do Planalto is the official workplace of the President of Brazil. The main working office of the President of the Republic is in the Palcio do Planalto.

P a l a c i o

The Warriors

The Planalto Palace

d o
p l a n a l t o

Besides the President, senior advisors also have offices in the "Planalto", including the VicePresident of Brazil and the Chief of Staff; the other Ministries are laid along the Esplanade dos Ministrios.

S u p r e m e

The supreme court housed in a building opposite to Planalto palace. Its colonnade which gives its architectural personality, closely resembles that of the planalto palace though its proportions are smaller.

c o u r t

P o w e r t o

&

p o w e r

o v e r

Brasilia is the most complete example of the form of urban planning prevalent until the 1970s. Construction took just three years, from 1957 to 1960, following a government initiative to create Brazils capital, at a time when cities played a prime role in the construction of national territories, especially in the countries of the South

There were no pedestrian streets. Motorists traveled on highways, uninterrupted by cross traffic. A service road led to the back of each building; the formal entrance faced an open area where children could play without worrying about automobiles. In other cities, pedestrians walk on sidewalks separated only by a curb from moving automobiles; in Brasilia, pedestrian and motorist meet each other only at the back entrances of buildings.

S o m e f a c t s

pedestrians in Brasilia have almost no place to walk. There are stretches of pavement around each building, but to reach another building, a pedestrian has to cross open spaces and highways where there is no traffic light to halt oncoming cars. Because walking is difficult, people use their cars to go almost everywhere, and Brasilia seems like an empty city because there are few people to be seen.

conclusion
We can certainly say that Brasilia changed the ways for Brazilian architecture. Niemeyer showed in a couple of lines the harmony and beauty that those buildings would have. And it is interesting that during all these years, the buildings remain great and admired all over the world. The modern use of concrete and glass and the sensual shapes of buildings inspired in women curves are marks of Brasilia's architecture.

bibliography Article by Cornish Edward, Building utopia: lessons from Brasilia., Published on AllBusiness.com THE MORPHOLOGY OF BRASILIA: AN EVALUATION by Frederico de Holanda

About Braslia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braslia www.infobrasilia.com.br/history.htm Two newly-created capitals: islamabad and brasilia by glenn v. stephenson G. S. Tenorio, R. G. dos Santos Jnior, Brasilias urban mobility plan, 45th ISOCARP Congress 2009