From the 19th century onwards, with the Industrial Revolution, the growing population, and the ever-more pressing demands for urban space in Europe, the first reflections on the city emerged. More than that, the process of disciplinary structuring of urban design begins as a theory and practice inherent to the new historical moment that was being consolidated and would have its product, concerning cities, as an attribute of the 20th century. Within this disciplinary logic, configured from a social or political demand linked to militaristic pretensions of order and urban control, the 20th century was the stage for the entire development of this industrial society, which had the city as its horizon.
Brasília: the experience of urban thinking and, more than that, urban planning, proposed at that time in Europe, involves several initiatives and propositions that generate a great debate in the northern continent regarding the practice of the city. This discussion would sometimes be more associated with a strong political character, sometimes a more formal one, from a more operational and bureaucratic perspective of what planning means. In this sense, when, in the 1950s, the then president of the republic of Brazil, Juscelino Kubitschek, took on the goal of his government to transfer the country's capital to the Midwest and, above all, build this new city, this whole purposeful debate emerges in Brazil.
It is possible to understand Brasília as a real game of scales in dialogue. Some do not notice the precise way the transition takes place between the great Monumental Axis, linked to Oscar Niemeyer's congress buildings, or the superblocks of the everyday life of the citizen of Brasilia. Instead, they perceive only a city of distant spaces that cannot be traversed or endowed with human value. This type of perception disregards in every way the historical dimension of the city's project and its claim as a modern symbol and a new direction for society. This game created some situations in the city, marked by iconic buildings or landmarks that deserve to be visited and that gain a new perception of the city's image. Below, we have put together a selection of places that make up an architecture guide to the capital of Brazil.
Pilot Plan Bus Station / Lúcio Costa
Location: Brasília Road Axis - Brasília, DF, 70297-400
Year: 1960
Telecom Tower / Lúcio Costa
Location: TV Tower - SDN, Brasília - Brasília, DF,
Year: 1967
Three Powers Plaza / Lúcio Costa (plan) and Oscar Niemeyer (buildings)
Location: Three Powers Plaza - Brasília, DF, 70100-000
Year: 1960
Honestino Guimarães National Museum / Oscar Niemeyer
Location: Southern Cultural Sector, lot 2, near the Pilot Plan Bus Station - Zone 0
Year: 2006
Metropolitan Cathedral Nossa Senhora Aparecida / Oscar Niemeyer
Location: Esplanada dos Ministérios, lot 12 - Brasília, DF, 70050-000
Year: 1970
Alvorada Palace / Oscar Niemeyer
Location: Civic-Administrative Area - Brasília, DF, 70150-903
Year: 1957
JK Memorial / Oscar Niemeyer
Location: Civic-Administrative Area Cruzeiro Square - West Side, Brasília - DF, 70070-300
Year: 1981
Esplanada dos Ministérios (Monumental Axis) / Lúcio Costa (plan) and Oscar Niemeyer (buildings)
Location: Esplanada dos Ministérios - Brasília, DF, 70050-000
Year: 1960
Central Science Institute of the University of Brasilia / Oscar Niemeyer
Location: UnB - Brasília, DF, 70910-900
Year: 1962
Superblock 308 South / Marcelo Campello and Sérgio Rocha, gardens by Roberto Burle Marx
Location: South Wing SQS 308 - South Wing, Brasília - DF, 70390-100
Year: 1956
Sebrae Headquarters / gruposp + Luciano Margotto
Location: Via L2 South, 2488-2548 - Brasília, Brasília - DF, Brazil
Year: 2010
Nossa Senhora de Fátima Church / Oscar Niemeyer
Location: SHCS South 307/308 - South Wing, Brasília - DF, 70354-400
Year: 1958
Cine Brasília / Oscar Niemeyer
Location: SHCS EQS 106/107 - Brasília, DF, 70345-400
Year: 1960
Brasília Palace Hotel / Oscar Niemeyer
Location: SHTN Section 1 Lot 01 - Brasília, DF, 70800-200
Year: 1957
Embassy of Italy / Pier Luigi Nervi
Location: SES - Quadra 807 - Lote 30, South Embassies Sector SES 807 - Asa Sul, Brasília - DF, 70420-900
Year: 1977
Sarah Kubitschek Hospital - Lago Norte / João Filgueiras Lima (Lelé)
Localização: S/N, SHIN EQL 11/13 - Lago Norte, Brasília - DF, 71535-005
Ano: 2003
To keep it simple, here is a list of the 16 places to visit in Brasília:
- Pilot Plan Bus Station / Lúcio Costa
- Telecom Tower / Lúcio Costa
- Three Powers Plaza / Lúcio Costa (plan) and Oscar Niemeyer (buildings)
- Honestino Guimarães National Museum / Oscar Niemeyer
- Metropolitan Cathedral Nossa Senhora Aparecida / Oscar Niemeyer
- Alvorada Palace / Oscar Niemeyer
- JK Memorial / Oscar Niemeyer
- Esplanada dos Ministérios (Monumental Axis) / Lúcio Costa (plan) and Oscar Niemeyer (buildings)
- Central Science Institute of the University of Brasilia / Oscar Niemeyer
- Superblock 308 South / Marcelo Campello and Sérgio Rocha, gardens by Roberto Burle Marx
- Sebrae Headquarters / gruposp + Luciano Margotto
- Nossa Senhora de Fátima Church / Oscar Niemeye
- Cine Brasília / Oscar Niemeyer
- Brasília Palace Hotel / Oscar Niemeyer
- Embassy of Italy / Pier Luigi Nervi
- Sarah Kubitschek Hospital - Lago Norte / João Filgueiras Lima (Lelé)
