Brasilia is the magnum opus of Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. The modernist buildings of the new capital are a display of the unique style of the nascent nation. In addition to the impressive National Congress building and the unique palace of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, two more presidential palaces and a cultural complex must be described. Their incredible dynamic forms are a demonstration of Niemeyer’s ambition and artistry. But did the forward-looking architecture and urban planning succeed in creating Brazil’s dream city? You can read about the origins of Brasilia and other important buildings HERE.
The tripartite division of power
At the Three Powers Square, designed by urban planner Lucio Costa, Niemeyer envisaged three important buildings corresponding to the tri-partition of power. The Palace of the Supreme Court represents the judiciary, the legislative power is exercised from the National Congress, and in the Palácio do Planalto the president holds meetings. The architecture of both the palace and the court is based on expressive columns. Moreover, the buildings face each other.
The aforementioned concrete columns seem to hold up the roof of the building. The tapering columns make the building appear larger than it really is. In addition, the building looks like a glass cube held above ground by a concrete frame. On closer inspection, it becomes apparent that this is an illusion, and in fact the building stands on columns and a glass and concrete entrance section tucked back. Moreover, the expressive waves of columns are not just grey concrete, but white marble. As with other administrative buildings, the presidential palace stands on a concrete island in the middle of a shallow pool of water. However, in this case, the pool of water was added 31 years after its opening.
A stately marble-lined footbridge leads to the main entrance. Although the president usually enters the building via the garage entrance, the ramp is the official entrance used during ceremonies. Next to the ramp, Niemeyer placed a marble podium with a lectern, but this element of the building is not used very often.
The people’s palace
Inside, guests invited to the palace will quickly notice the minimalist décor. Soft cream carpets mix with marble and white walls. Despite the low ceilings, the rooms are well lit by the sun’s rays, thanks to adequate glazing. A trail of cream carpeting leads to a winding ramp with a black railing. This foreshadows the comfortable interiors of the reception area, which is dominated by the aforementioned cream colour and accents of black. The ground floor, including the mezzanine, is furnished with modernist furniture designed by Brazilian designers. This level is also a gallery of modernist Brazilian art. After all, Brasilia was meant to be the capital of a diverse nation under the common denominator of modernism – the new national style.
The building has both rooms that can accommodate up to a thousand people and those that can seat around 20 officials. In contrast, the most important room – the presidential room – is located on the second floor. In fact, it is three separate rooms in one. The president receives foreign guests in the guest room, holds private discussions in the meeting room and works in the study. The latter room has panoramic windows offering views of the modernist city. The interior is furnished with slightly older Brazilian furniture and the walls are lined with wood.
Palace of the Dawn
The palace in Three Authorities Square is not the only presidential palace, however, as the Palácio do Planalto is official and representative. The place where the Brazilian president actually lives is the Palácio da Alvorada. Situated on the artificial Lake Paranoa, the residence is a paradisiacal residential villa where the president occasionally receives government officials. The protruding peninsula on which the palace is located lies away from the busy Monumental Axis.
Built in 1958, it is the prototype of the Palácio do Planalto described earlier and many other buildings in Brasila. Even its name hints at its ancestral role, as Palácio da Alvorada means ‘Palace of the Dawn’. As understood by the city’s founder, President Kubitschek, the palace, and indeed the entire capital, is the new dawn of Brazil. The building was so important to the emerging city that the design of its column was incorporated into the city’s emblem in 1960. The shape deliberately does not refer to classical motifs in order to emphasise the modernist character of the renewed nation.
It is the rows of iconic columns in the shape of an irregular four-pointed star that make the building an icon of modernism. Marble columns hold the extended roof and, as with the second presidential palace, enclose the glass interior in a stone framework. Of course, there is no shortage of sheets of water and an evenly trimmed lawn outside. Using Le Corbusier’s ‘precepts’, Niemeyer placed the building on rows of pilotis, which make the palace ‘float’ above the ground.
Tropical luxury
The open design of the interior invites with its sumptuous décor. The ground floor alone offers all the most important representative rooms such as the dining room, living room, presidential office and library. At first, concrete reigns supreme, but after walking a few steps, the wooden living room appears to the eye. In fact, two important rooms are lined with Brazilian rosewood, almost impossible to buy today. The luxurious wood adorns the walls and floors, and the rosewood furniture pairs well with the modernist black armchairs.
Of course, the palace’s sumptuous lounges could not be without abstract art. However, unlike many other administrative buildings in the capital, the interiors of the ‘Palace of Dawn’ also conceal paintings and tapestries from the 18th century. Even some of the furniture breaks out of the modernist rule and represents earlier eras. In addition to these artefacts, the palace houses considerable collections: porcelain from the East India Company, Brazilian silverware and sculptures.
In later years, a dining room with a long table and English chairs from the 18th century was also arranged. The Palácio da Alvorada is exceptionally rich in furniture and paintings from abroad. Some of the modernist furnishings were designed by the architect Mies van der Rohe, the paintings decorating some of the rooms come from Flanders, and the piano in the music room is the product of German craftsmen. It is also worth mentioning that the banquet hall was designed by the architect’s daughter Anna Maria Niemeyer.
Concrete planet
Perhaps the most unusual building in Brasilia is the National Museum, part of the original Lucia Costa cultural complex. The thing is, the museum building only opened in 2006, and Niemeyer’s original ideas from the 1960s were rejected due to the high cost. A national library and a theatre have since been built, but the concrete square where the ‘Museum of the Republic’ was to be built stood empty for several decades.
Niemeyer’s replacement design envisaged a museum enclosed under a dome resembling a planet emerging from the concrete. The cosmic effect is completed by a ramp suspended in the air that resembles Saturn’s ring. A concrete footbridge, classic for Niemeyer, leads to the interior of the planet.
Even at first glance, one can see what a difficult task the building’s engineer must have had. In the 1970s, the dome was to measure 40 m in diameter, but in 1999 this dimension was increased to 50 m. Interestingly, some structural compromises were worked out through collaboration between architect and engineer. The dome consists of a series of narrow reinforced concrete arches that form a stable structure. A particularly impressive element is the ramp that externally connects the first and third floors. The 20 m long connector is attached to the volume by beams hidden in the ramp.
Inside, visitors can admire Brazilian art spread over three floors. A winding ramp leads from the ground floor to a suspended mezzanine and further floors. The ceiling of the building is monumental and the whole thing rises to 26 metres. It is worth mentioning that in the final design the dome does not have an oculus or any openings, but Niemeyer originally envisaged that the top would be perforated. The top was to house a restaurant, which was eventually housed in a small pavilion next door.
Exile from paradise
Niemeyer succeeded in creating a modernist utopia with his timeless solutions. He said he was bored by straight lines, so he ‘sculpted with concrete’ in his designs to bring out expressive forms. The architect did not enjoy his creation for too long. A few years after the main work on Brasilia was completed, dictator Branco seized power in the country and hit out at the left-wing university community. In 1966, the architect left the country and began designing in France. His career did very well, and constant commissions for sizable offices or university edifices established him as a modernist genius. Nevertheless, his Brasilia was stuck somewhere between republic and dictatorship.
It was only after the fall of the generals’ rule that the architect returned to the country. Moreover, moments after his return, Brasilia was declared a UNESCO heritage site in 1987. However, time has shown that the enlightened ideas of modernism were too idealistic. Today, Niemeyer’s ‘egalitarian’ blocks of flats are almost exclusively inhabited by wealthy residents, while the poor have been pushed out to the suburbs. Thus, shabby towns have formed around the ‘city without favelas’. Costa Brasilia was intended to accommodate 0.5 million people, but this figure now exceeds 2.8 million. Overcrowding is driving up the cost of living, making the capital the most expensive city in the country.
A non-existent city
Comments can also be made about the structure of the capital itself. Residents complain about the lack of an actual urban fabric. Life is concentrated along the axes and the rest are huge ‘bedrooms’. The large avenues are empty and offer no reasonable walking routes. The architects have failed to inject life into this open museum of modernism. Brasilia is more of a government campus than a city, which is mainly due to the capital’s planning for car traffic. Add to all this an inefficient public transport system and the recipe for a modernist dystopia is ready.
The implementation of Le Corbusier’s ideas on such a large scale was not successful for either the urban planner or the architect. However, both defended Brasila as a unique city until their deaths. It should also be mentioned that, despite the high cost of living, the capital’s HDI is at the level of some European cities, and the same indicator for the federal district is comparable to Moscow. In addition, the city has the best examples of 1960s architecture in the world. Brazilian modernism still represents the most expressive branch of this style today. Brasilia is also a shining example of man’s ambition to build a multi-million dollar metropolis even in an unfriendly savannah.
Although the quote from President Kubitschek’s statement should have appeared at the beginning of the description of the presidential palace, where it was posted on the golden wall, it will more appropriately sum up the whole thing once the current state of the city is taken into account. “From this central plateau, from this great emptiness, which will soon become the centre of national decision-making, I look once again to the future of my country and anticipate the dawn with unwavering faith in its great destiny.”
Source: 20th Century Architecture
Also read: Architecture | Interesting facts | City | Brazil | Modernism | History | Concrete | whiteMAD on Instagram
