BrasÃlia is situated well into the interior of Brazil, a nation where the vast majority of the population resides near the Atlantic coast. The desire for an interior capital reaches back to the 17th century, the earliest days of the former Portuguese colony, but would only reach fruition in the mid 20th century. Reasoning for an interior capital included providing a catalyst for development away from coastal population centers and safeguarding government offices from the potential of a coastal attack in the event of war. After Brazil won its independence in 1822, the idea of an interior capital gained momentum when it was mandated in the Constitution that such a city would be built.
By 1892, a general location for the federal district had been chosen. However, it would take until the 1950s for significant efforts to be made to move the capital from Rio de Janeiro. The mid 20th century was an era marked by the "developmentalist" movement in Latin America, which held that development directed by the state would be the primary method by which to increase economic growth in under-developed nations (Holston). Building a new capital was not only a way to direct development into the interior, but to provide an economic and development example for the entire nation to follow.
Final site selection occurred in 1954, with Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer named as director of architecture. The design of the city itself was authored by Lucio Costa, another Brazilian architect whose plan won in a 1956 competition. Both architects' design aesthetic were based on Modernism, and both had worked with Le Corbusier, who is well known for his Modernist designs and urban planning theories. The resulting design has been called the "most complete example ever constructed of the architectural and planning tenets" of CIAM, the International Congresses of Modern Architecture (Holston), and the "quintessential experiment in high Modernist capital city design" (Gordon). The plan centers on two primary axes with segregated land uses defining each axis. Echoes of monumental vistas apparent in earlier capital designs are present, but interpreted through the Modernist sensibilities of the time.
The core city is marked by its expansive green space and devotion of acreage to automobile traffic. Costa originally conceived of a city unencumbered by traffic signals; with limited access expressways providing rapid transportation to all destinations. Unlike the Le Corbusier example of tall skyscrapers surrounded by open space, Costa designed the city at relatively low densities, advocating superblocks of buildings generally no higher than six stories. Egalitarian ideals were suggested with conformity of design among the residential structures, no matter the social class.
However, like the planned capital cities preceding it, planning ideals faced challenges when the federal district attracted high rates of population growth. The core city became an underdeveloped and expensive area, while dense, lower income satellite towns surrounded it, growing in a more organic, haphazard manner.
The intentions behind the plan for Brasilia have been called utopian, but the end result has been the implementation of a core city that adheres strongly to the principles of the era in which it was conceived, and a mostly unplanned expanse of urbanization around it. In response, the design has been revisited and regional planning has been introduced in an attempt to connect what has become a segregated core city to the remainder of the metropolitan area.
Final site selection occurred in 1954, with Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer named as director of architecture. The design of the city itself was authored by Lucio Costa, another Brazilian architect whose plan won in a 1956 competition. Both architects' design aesthetic were based on Modernism, and both had worked with Le Corbusier, who is well known for his Modernist designs and urban planning theories. The resulting design has been called the "most complete example ever constructed of the architectural and planning tenets" of CIAM, the International Congresses of Modern Architecture (Holston), and the "quintessential experiment in high Modernist capital city design" (Gordon). The plan centers on two primary axes with segregated land uses defining each axis. Echoes of monumental vistas apparent in earlier capital designs are present, but interpreted through the Modernist sensibilities of the time.
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| Brasilia Pilot Plan by Lucio Costa, 1960. Retrieved from the Center for Research and Documentation on the Contemporary History of Brazil (CPDOC). |
The core city is marked by its expansive green space and devotion of acreage to automobile traffic. Costa originally conceived of a city unencumbered by traffic signals; with limited access expressways providing rapid transportation to all destinations. Unlike the Le Corbusier example of tall skyscrapers surrounded by open space, Costa designed the city at relatively low densities, advocating superblocks of buildings generally no higher than six stories. Egalitarian ideals were suggested with conformity of design among the residential structures, no matter the social class.
However, like the planned capital cities preceding it, planning ideals faced challenges when the federal district attracted high rates of population growth. The core city became an underdeveloped and expensive area, while dense, lower income satellite towns surrounded it, growing in a more organic, haphazard manner.
The intentions behind the plan for Brasilia have been called utopian, but the end result has been the implementation of a core city that adheres strongly to the principles of the era in which it was conceived, and a mostly unplanned expanse of urbanization around it. In response, the design has been revisited and regional planning has been introduced in an attempt to connect what has become a segregated core city to the remainder of the metropolitan area.
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| Aerial of Brasilia, Brazil. While the city is at full build-out, areas immediately adjacent remain under-developed. In the meantime, unplanned satellite cities surround Brasilia with higher density and lower income homes. Retrieved from Google Maps. |
source: http://www.museumofthecity.org
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