FIG.6.)Panoramic view of Brasilia
Brasilia
Was Brasilia designed specifically to centralized the power of Brazil, or were the intentions of the architects misrepresented?
Brasilia’s intial vision of conception was centered around moving Brazil’s city
capital inward. This would produce national integration that would generate economic growth. With this idea of change and interiorazation this inversion would revitalize the entire with economic and social growth. Some keys ideas consisted of superquadra that would diminish social status, implications of political districts that would center the country’s power status, and innovations in technology and circulation patterns. The common idea was to recreate, repopulate, and revitalize Brazil’s desolate landscape.
Oscar Niemeyer
FIG.1.)Brasilia Mater plan
FIG.1.)Idealist concept of Brasilia found in an Social Studies textbook for elementary school children. The national development of Brasilia will link the capital to all regions of Brazil by great highways.
Lucio Costa Costa’s design was awarded first prize in March 1957 which would enable his idea of the “New City” to manifest itself within the central desolate planes of Brazil. His master plan for Brasilia was mainly chosen for its unity of artistic conception, being that it was simple, elegant and clear. Costa claims his idea was not of his own cynical contribution. He attributed his idea to a muse that merely uses him as an unworthy messenger. This spontaneous conception didn’t derive from prior influences of Brazil’s domestic urban planning techniques. As a result its dehistorialized presence would give a pure identity to Brazil’s desolate landscape. Through architectural-spatial organization and social-functional organization he creates a complete picture that includes: 2 crossing axes (most important), 2 terraced embankments and a platform. Physical characteristics such as a general axis running N, S, E & W would generate arterial roads for fast on-way traffic. The general axis resonates itself as an index that identifies the presence of a civilization, and an icon that has a strong resemblance of associated forms(nature of Christianity ).The Plaza of the Three Powers even implies the autonomous nature of fundamental government power which formulaically explains it form as a equilateral triangle. Costa’s hidden agenda couldn’t be more evident. Social change was drastically enforce within the design of the superquadra, a modernist way of living with the reduction in private property carries a transformation of social interaction. Costa describes this organization as “ the modern concept of the unit of habitation conceived and constructed not in function of real estate profit, but in function of harmonious and better life of man and his family” (Holston p. 76) . Brasilia’s development if successful would construct a transformative idea that was aimed at the Brazilian society; idealistically, creating an exemplary society of the future. In place
FIG.8.)Panorama of Brasilia from the TV tower
Oscar brought in by President Kubittschek under key elements to keep in mind: 1.Economic development in central west Brazil 2. Shifting from the coast to the center, (network communication) highways, teleways, national integration and 3. Innovative Inversion .Oscar claims that he disassociated political issues from architecture, “…solutions to social problems escape the drafting board, requiring, outside of the profession [architecture], a coherent attitude in support of progressive movements” (Holston p. 88), but his role as project architect on the design of Brasilia proves different. Brazil lacked societal preconditions that would allow modernist architecture to serve as social transformation, but given the persistent optimism from President Kubittschek, Niemeyer’s own ambitions became optimistic. “Oscar , this time we are going to build the capital of Brazil. A modern capital, the most beautiful capital in the world.”(The Curves of Timep. 70 ) Niemeyer merely implied that Brazil’s technique for urban design held on to the idea that architectural innovations could create a exemplar center. Oscar is given an unlimited amount of freedom within a design scheme due to the governmental control of all free standing structure in the “New City”. He stresses”.. almost unlimited plastic freedom, freedom that is not servilely subordinate to the demands of the technical determinants or of functionalism.” Holston p.90) Niemeyer uses those freedoms to focus on sculptural expressions to distinguish the modern architectural language of Brasilia. Despite what may seem as a regimented design, the superquadras were thought of as “collective residents”. These standardized volumes were supposed to project the image of “harmony of the whole”, which is consistent with ” the sculptures in the open field motif”. Furthermore, the architectural innovations implemented by Niemeyer were meant to shock visitors which in turn alienated them. Through these poetic, suggestive, shocking and innovations Niemeyer perpetuated an architectural language that was social, political and economically transformative. This conscious decision along with Luico endorsed the modernist inversion of Brasilia.
Divide and Conquer
FIG.7.)Satelite image of Brasilia
FIG.1.)Ocsar Niemeyer and Lucio Costa
FIG.1.) Lucio Costa competion sketches of 1957 for mater plan of Brasilia These sketches present the three essentialelemnts of the plan: the crossing of two highway axes on which is a super imposed equilateral triangle to definethe area of the city, two terraced embarkments , and a platform
FIG.1.)President Kubittschek and Ocsar Niemeyer
Major problems within Brasília’s contrived utopian design were the massive separation associated with the dominating axes of configuration. The lack of streets, furthermore, street corners disassociates traditional urban living with that of a rural landscape. The rise of the automobile’s modern approach contributed to the well-known failure of Brasília’s society. Brasilia’s super one-way highways were the antithesis to a walkable sustainable society. The ideal conception of the superquadras may have seemed as a social innovation but was negatively interpreted by the people of Brasilia. Brasilia was successful in the executing a new physical manifestation of social equality, but was rejected for its defamiliarizing intentions towards society. Monotony within the design of the superblocks caused social classes to clash. A social deficit begins to propagate because of the alienated urban sectors of the “New City”. By segregating residential and commerce the city becomes an alienated place, (Niemeyer’s intention?). This also doesn’t promote successful population density, or street life. “[Brasilia]… had a interiorizing effect, it forced people to remain in their apartments and replaced spontaneity of street encounters with the formality of visits,”(Holston p.97)In terms of figure-ground plans, Brasilia’s overall image and identity is anything but deceptive in its plan to project a modernist inversion. Major power dominance is ensued by the monumental sculptural synthesis of Niemeyer’s architecture. These isolated buildings in a disproportionate open space create competition amongst the structures that immortalizes the creator. The general axis that has been filled with the superhighway only allows inhabitants to experience the city in a segmented way. This overall image of the city objectifies the perception of Brasilia that seems to divide and conquer its inhabitants. There is limited connectivity to the main pieces of the city; a common city’s design would likely resemble an interconnected network of streets that distribute inhabitants efficiently through the common fabric of the city. Due to the Le Corbusierian tactics being instilled in the minds of Ocsar and Lucio the vision of social interaction dies. This ultimately creates an idea synonymous with a communist utopian society. Successes consisted of the increase in population density; the employment an income went up. One of Brasilia biggest successes was the major centralizing effect within Brazil’s desolate location, and also created peripheral satellite cities. The idea super highways where thought to bring Brazil image from the past into the future, and made major connections the rest of the country.
FIG.5.)National Congress of Brazil, Brasília sktech
The Vision explained... The intention of the architects in the face of a cultural transformative society has, in my eyes, successfully accomplished their conceptual idea for a “New City.” Controversy behind this utopian vision has not only been scrutinized but has shined light on modern Brazilian architecture. The construction of Brasilia resulted in a debt of over 2 million dollars that created a massive inflation. This series of events lead Brasilia to the shift its political power from the government to the military. Undoubtedly, this has developed an iconic image of Niemeyer for his signature innovative organic architecture. His designs are fused with unprecedented curves engineered with reinforced concrete that can be poetic and sculptural in the presence of its surrounding context.
FIG.5.)National Congress of Brazil, Brasília FIG.5.)
Sources
FIG.5.)Cathedral of Brasília
FIG.1.)Holston, James. “The Modernist City”: an anthropological critique of Brasília. The University of Chicago Press. Chicago, Ill. 1989 FIG.2.)Niemeyer, Oscar. The Curves of Time : the memoirs of Oscar Niemeyer. London: Phaidon Press Limited , 2000. FIG.3.)n.d. 29 November 2011 <http://www.arcoweb.com.br/arquitetura/oscar-niemeyersuperquadras-brasilia-08-02-2008.html>. FIG.4.)n.d. 29 November 2011 <http://urbandemographics.blogspot.com/2011/01/death-ofmodern-architecture.html>. FIG.5.)n.d. 29 November 2011 <http://abduzeedo.com/architecture-history-50-years-brasilia>. n.d. 29 November 2011 FIG.6.)<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Bras%C3%ADlia_Panorama.jpg>. FIG.7.)n.d. 29 November 2011 <aboutbrasillia.com>. FIG.8.)n.d. 29 November 2011 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Brazil/Selected_panorama/2>.
FIG.3.)Superquadras
FIG.1.) Firgure ground plan comparsion
FIG.4.)Residential block of Brasilia
Joshua Smith Arch 4062 Urban Design and Planning
FIG.7.)Brasilia Super Highway