Salvador de Bahia was Brazil's first capital, Rio de Janeiro its second. To move Brazil's capital to the interior had been a long-time idea of several Brazilian governments. In the 1950s, president Juscelino Kubitschek finally got down to business. He contracted urban planner Lúcio Costa, architect Oscar Niemeyer and landscaping architect Roberto Burlo Marx to transform part of Goiás’ cerrado bush into Brazil's symbol of the country's determination and ability to become a great economic power.
Brazil's foundations to establish an inland capital
Tiradentes, leader of the revolt for Brazil's independence in Minas Gerais in 1789, was reportedly the first to suggest bringing Brazil's capital to the interior – to Minas Gerais, of course. The revolt was crushed and Tiradentes died. In 1823 the statesman José Bonifácio, advisor of Emperor Pedro I, presented a plan to establish an inland capital with the goal to catalyse the economic development of the interior.
The idea simmered until 1891, when the first government of the Republic of Brazil decided to establish a new capital in the central state of Goiás. A new capital, far removed from the colonial centres of power along the coast, Salvador de Bahia and Rio de Janeiro, would herald a new era of Brazil.
In the nineteenth century, the Italian priest Don Giovanni Bosco founded the Order of the Salesians. According to the popular story among Brazilians, by no means confirmed in any scripture, Don Bosco had a vision in which he saw a new city in the southern hemisphere that would be of great importance in Brazil’s and South America's history.
The same story also says that Dom Bosco prophesied that in the third millennium a new civilisation would emerge in the centre of Brazil – between the 15th and 20th parallels. It is said that this gave President Juscelino Kubitschek the spiritual reason to relocate the capital to Brazil's interior.
Lúcio Costa's urban planning of Brasília
Lúcio Costa [1902-1998] was contracted as Brasília's urban planner. His primary basis for the new city was the shape of a cross, with the two axes forming the city's two main areas: the Residential Area [horizontal axis] and the Monumental Area [vertical axis]. The cross was laid out on the highest point of Brazil's central high plains and comprised 5800 square metres.
A bird’s-eye view shows that Brasília was designed in the shape of an airplane – although others prefer to call it a bird, or a bow and arrow. The airplane faces the artificial lake Lago do Paranoá, Brasília's largest recreation area. The fuselage is the Eixo Monumental, the vertical axis along which all government buildings and monuments were built.
The cockpit is the Praça dos Três Poderes, from where the country is ruled. It comprises the President's Office, the Congress Building and the Supreme Court. On the horizontal axes – or wings – are the residential areas, divided into blocks.
Some unique features of Brasília's planned design are:
- Modern, austere architecture.
- The construction of flyovers, futuristic at the time.
- The strict division into functional sectors, for example, all banks are located together in one block, all hotels in another. While from an architectural point of view this may be considered futuristic and/or unique, it also raises the argument that Brasília lacks a downtown area – and with it a heart.
- The construction of residential blocks – superblocos or superquadras. Each block has 11 apartment buildings with 6 floors, or 33 apartment buildings with 3 floors. Four blocks share a school, medical centre, post office and shopping centre.
Architectural works of Oscar Niemeyer in Brasília
While Lúcio Costa worked on Brasília's futuristic design, Oscar Niemeyer and Roberto Burlo Marx were contracted to transform this design into a functional and harmonious city. Oscar Niemeyer [1907- ] had already been a long-term partner of Lúcio Costa; they had worked together on various projects throughout Brazil.
Among Oscar Niemeyer's architectural masterpieces in Brasília are:
- Praça dos Três Poderes
- Catedral Metropolitana Nossa Senhora Aparecida
- O Teatro Nacional
- JK Memorial; memorial of Juscelino Kubitschek
- University of Brasília
Brasília's landscaping architecture by Roberto Burlo Marx
Roberto Burle Marx [1909 - 1994] is known for his modernist landscape architecture, which he introduced in Brazil. He worked together with Oscar Niemeyer on various projects, among which Brasília and Belo Horizonte.
Burle Marx's harmonious gardens with large ponds and local flora are a contrast to, yet complement, the stark architecture they surround. Some of Roberto Burlo Marx’s landscape designs in Brasília are:
- Palácio do Itamaraty
- Praça dos Cristais Setor Militar Urbano
- Palácio da Justiça
- O Teatro Nacional
- Gardens of several embassies, among which the United States, Germany and Belgium.
Construction of Capital Federal – the candangos
In 1956, the construction of Brasília began. The majority of the workers, called candangos, came from the northeast. Initially, candango was a derogatory word, meaning something like "the dirty one". The candangos were looked down on and after Brasília had been built there was no place for them to stay.
Over the years, however, a candango has become a person that is respected and they are now considered heroes of Brazil – even though this has not improved their living conditions. As Oscar Niemeyer put it in an interview with Metropolis Observed, "They were poor before, and they were poor after the capital was done". Nowadays, candangos is also used for those who migrated to the city during the first years of its establishment.
On April 21, 1960, after only 41 months of construction, Brasília – or Capital Federal as it is also called – was a fact.
Sources:
- Brasília 50 Anos; Uma Metrópole contemporânéa – Arquitetura e Construção, 2010, ISBN 978-85-364-0924-5
- Marcel Bayer – Brazilië, Dominicus, 2008, ISBN 978-90-257-4298
- Explanatory panel at Praça dos Cristais Setor Militar Urbano, Brasília
- Museo da Cidade [Espacio Lúcio Costa] at Praça dos Três Poderes, Brasilia
Karin-Marijke Vis - Karin-Marijke Vis is a bilingual writer (Dutch-English) who has been traveling in Asia and South America since 2003.
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