An Architect´s Dream

The Municipal Cathedral, Brasilia

Brasilia, the inland capital of this vast country, is an appropriately unique creation. For many, many years, Brazilians dreamed and talked about moving their capital city inland from Rio de Janiero to a more central location, one more appropriate for the country's size and shape, and that would hopefully provide the momentus for the development of the vast untamed areas that Brasil possesses. For years after independence from Portugal this remained merely a dream of the people. It's creation was even prophesised by an Italian monk in 1883. But it wasn't until 1955 that President Juscelino Kubitschek finally took the plunge and committed the country to it. From absolutely nothing, the city was built in three years according to the vision of the Brazilian architect, Oscar Niemeyer. Today, the city is home to over two million people, living and working according to the designs dreamed up by that one man.

Everyone, and everything that we have ever heard about Brasilia has said that it is a love-hate city. You will love it, or you will hate it. Having been there and experienced it, it is clear that author of our Lonely Planet guidebook absolutely hated it. He says: "Brasilia must have looked good on paper, and it still does in photos." We hadn't really planed on visiting the city, mainly because it was out of our way. However, the way that things worked out, we ended up spending two days there exploring Niemeyer's vision of a capital city. The original plan was, from Macapá, to head down the coast through Fortaleza, Natal, Recife, Salvador etc. to Rio, taking a week or more to get down there in time for our flight. Unfortunately, we didn't quite have enough time to start on such an adventure, so we were faced with the choice of a 60hr (!!) bus ride, or taking the plane. We took the plane. But as it worked out, it was the same price to fly from Macapá to Brasilia, have a couple of days touring around there, and then carry on by bus to Rio, as it was to fly direct to Rio. And so, Brasilia, here we are.

So, what's the verdict on this city? Well, inconclusion, we would have to agree with the love-hate prognosis - there are many things that we really like about it, and there are many things that we really don't. From the moment you arrive in Brasilia, Niemeyers overriding vision starts to be revealed. Surrounded by a large artifical lake on three sides, the city takes the form of an aeroplane - yup, that's right, and aeroplane. A very wide, long avenue forms the fusilage, and is mainly filled with monuments and open space. On either side, are the wings of the residential, shopping, and hotel zones - most areas of the town are grouped together according to use. Just in front of the wings (the engines, maybe?) are the embassy sectors. As you move further up towards the front of the plane, along the fusilage, you pass seventeen identical buildings, which contain the individual ministeries. And then, at the very heart of it all, right in the cockpit, is the centre of the Brazilian goverment, the "Plaza of the Three Powers" - a large open square surrounded by the presidential palace, the supreme court, and the congress building. It's an interesting way to lay out a city.

The "JK" Bridge, Brasilia.

I would say that most peoples experiences of Brazilia though come down to what you think of "modern" (ie 1960s) architecture, because if you hate it, you're going to thate Brazilia. It is, after all, an entire city built in that style. Everything, from the fascinating municipal cathedral (see picture) to the hotels, and the ministeries are all built in roughly the same sort of style - lots of concrete pillars curved into very non-traditional lines. Most of these buildings would stick out like a sore thumb in the middle of a normal town, but here, in Brazilia, they blend together beautifully: each of the major buildings was fascinating to explore inside, and walk around the outside, looking at how the perspectives changed as you moved. Particular highlights were the interior of the cathedral, which was only closed in by stained glass, and the exterior of the congress, with its large asymmetric twin towers, shallow reflecting lakes, and two large cuppolas.

The national congress building in Brasilia. Note the reflecting water pools, the two towers, and espeically the two cuppolas on top of the building.

Walking around Brazilia for a couple of days, Niemeyers vision of his city became clear to us. The problem, however, was that as the dream became more apparent, we agreed with it less and less. The work on the city was all done in the late 1950s, and it should be viewed in relation to those times, rather than today. Fuel was cheap (!), cars were big (ok, so that hasn't changed), and people were enamoured by both the car and the aeroplane - they were the future. And this is clearly the future that Niemeyer designed the city for. Distances within the city are vast (its not the most compact beast you'll ever come across), there are magnificant roading systems linking every part of the city via at least two or three lanes, the airport is very central and parking appears to be quite easy. And this is the problem - it feels like the city was built to be inhabited by machines, not people - there are few, or no footpaths, crossing the roads is an absolute nightmare (very few pedestrian crossings), and public transport is both expensive, and bloody difficult to use. And it seems like the city could do with some maintenance as well - footpaths are cracked and broken, there is a lot of graffiti, and even some of the panes of glass in the cathedral were broken.

The You can't help but think that if Brasilia had been built today, it would have been a very different city - one art critic criticised it as being a museum of architectural ideas. This may be a little harsh - after all, it was designed by one man in a short period of time, nearly 50 years ago now. Dorthe and I both loved and hated it. The buildings were beautiful and interesting, but it certaintly was not a city built for people without cars. But for all the criticisms, there is no doubt that exploring a single architects dream of how a capital city should be was a fascinating experience.