BRASILIA THE CAPITAL OF BRAZIL

• In 1939 Oscar Niemeyer and

Costa designed the Brazilian
pavilion at the New York World
Fair. The series of buildings
Oscar Niemeyer created till
1942 were heavily influenced by
the Brazilian baroque style in
architecture.
• Niemeyer organized a
competition for the lay-out of
Brasília, the new capital, and the
winner was the project of his old
master and great friend, Lúcio
Costa. Niemeyer would design
the buildings and Lucio the plan
of the city
BRASILIA THE CAPITAL OF
BRAZIL
 BRASILIA THE CAPITAL OF
BRAZIL
• The plan of the central city has been likened to a
bird, a bow and arrow, or an airplane i.e.The
Pilot Plan. The basis of the city is a Monumental
Axis, or fuselage of an airplane, intersecting in
the center of the city with a Residential axis, or
the wings of an airplane.
• A monumental scale, a residential scale
• A gregarious scale (living in groups)
• And a bucolic scale (Relating to- countryside)
Oscar Niemeyer intended that every element –
from the layout of the residential and
administrative districts (often compared to the
shape of a bird in flight) to the symmetry of the
buildings.
 BRASILIA THE CAPITAL OF BRAZIL

• The Constitution of Brazil has always contained a provision for the

establishment of a new Capital in the center of the country, but But it was
not until 1956, after eight years of surveying, that the actual design and
construction of the new Capital began under President Juscelino
Kubitschek.
• In the space of a few months, Niemeyer designed a large number of
residential, commercial and government buildings. Among them were the
residence of the President (Palácio da Alvorada), the House of the
deputy, the National Congress of Brazil, the Cathedral of Brasília (a
hyperboloid structure), diverse ministries.
• Viewed from above, the city can be seen to have elements that repeat
themselves in every building, giving it a formal unity.
• The site chosen for Brasilia is located in the Federal District and
comprises 2,245 sq.miles (5,814 sq. km) of a sparsely inhabited plateau
carved out of the State of Goias, 3,609 feet (1,100 meters) above sea
level and 746 miles (1,200 km) from Rio de Janeiro
 THE CATHEDRAL OF BRASÍLIA
• For the city's cathedral, Niemeyer wanted a clear space with natural
lighting, so he designed a circled building composed of abstract
elements suggesting the shape of hands pointing to the skies and
connected by a group of vitraux, window panes with images composed
of differently shaped and coloured pieces of glass.
• The cathedral of Brasília is especially beautiful, with diverse modern
symbolism.
• Its entrance is a dimly-lit corridor that contrasts with the bright,
naturally illuminated hall.
THE CATHEDRAL OF BRASÍLIA
BRAZIL'S NATIONAL MUSEUM
 BRAZIL'S NATIONAL MUSEUM

• Sometimes Niemeyer's instant buildings can veer towards the glib, or the
vacuous, as with the brand new National Museum at Brasilia, a white 80-
metre concrete dome wrapped around, inside and out, with a twisting,
elevated walkway.

• It's a fine conceit, but with nothing to show inside - no collection, only one
gallery - the building is an exhibition of itself.

• "What’s missing, however, is the lightness of touch that could draw you
deeper into the work. The concrete surfaces are crude and unfinished; the
structure lacks the careful refinement that gave his early buildings a textured
significance and signaled that the architect cared deeply about the people
who would inhabit them."

The ramp of Brasilia"s National

Museum, designed by Brazilian
architect Oscar Niemeyer