Brasilia Architecture Essay

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The capital city of Brasilia and its primary edifices were all state-commissioned in the middle of the twentieth century. President Juscelino Kubitschek’s vision depended on working with Oscar Niemeyer to create a unified, symbolic, modernist vision that encapsulated Brazil’s social, economic, and political progress. The centerpiece of Brasilia architecturally and symbolically is the Plaza of the Three Powers (Praça dos Três Podores), which includes the emblematic National Congress of Brazil. The National Congress of Brazil also forms the eastern end of what is known as Brasilia’s monumental axis. The term monumental axis refers to the grandeur of the scope and sheer size of the complex, as well as to the fact that this area of the capital is home to its most important political monuments. Moreover, the term monumental axis denotes the linearity of the layout: the strict horizontal and vertical lines that intersect at the National Congress. Roadways were designed with the National Congress in mind, with pathways for vehicles running both parallel and perpendicular to the main plaza as well as beneath the building itself to lead vehicles to parkades. In keeping with the vision of promoting a future-oriented Brazil, Nieymeyer understood the importance of creating infrastructure and public spaces that facilitated automobile, and to a lesser degree, foot traffic. More than any other Niemeyer work in Brasilia, the National Congress most represents the dichotomies and paradoxes inherent in the nation and its manufactured capital.

As a public complex, the National Congress represents the intent of the Brazilian government to create an open forum: an egalitarian space evocative of the agora and forums of ancient Greece. To achieve this goal, Niemeyer included a colonnade and porticoed walkway that extends the full length of the raised platform that houses the National Congress. Niemeyer also intentionally created a space that is accessible on the roof: as if to indicate that the general public is welcome anywhere and the government is truly democratic and representative. The open lawns surrounding the National Congress serve the same function: to encourage public debate and foster political activism, demonstration, and even dissent. Although Brasilia lacks the pedestrian infrastructure it needs to allow a natural, organic flow of individuals on foot or by bicycle, the city was constructed in the era that worshipped the automobile and thus it makes sense that the National Congress is surrounded and intercepted by major thoroughfares. All are indeed welcome at the National Congress, so long as they have a vehicle to reach the facility.

The National Congress is constructed on a raised, rectangular platform. Almost all of the building materials are finished with either white concrete or white marble, to offer a uniform visual aesthetic that belies the contrasts inherent in its formal design. Built into the raised concrete platform are the two houses of Brazilian congress: the convex dome where the Senate sits, and the concave one for the Chamber of Deputies. Each one is a mirror of the other, showing that they share their powers with each other as they do with other branches of government.

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One is inward-facing, the other outward, showing how different aspects of government can focus on different issues such as domestic versus foreign policy.

The curvilinear nature of the hemispheric houses of congress offers ideal counterpoint to both the rectangular lines of the raised platform and also the large twin towers that sit aside the National Congress main platform. The twin towers are set aside from the domes, but their height and their footprint are large enough to compete with the power of the two white hemispheres. Thus, Niemeyer combines form and function, masculinity and femininity, hardness and softness, rigidity and flexibility, capitalism and socialism all within this one public space. The National Congress is curvaceous and whimsical on the one hand, and formal and functional on the other.

As a public space that welcomes the flow of foot and car traffic, the National Congress is also a discursive space where public debates are designed to take place. Those debates are formal, as those that occur within the legislative chambers housed inside the two hemispheres. The political debates are also informal, grassroots-driven when the people of Brazil gather on the front lawn or crowd the colonnade to protest unjust policies or demand social justice. Niemeyer also constructed several pathways that connect each public space with the next, to encourage a flow of traffic and the symbolic flow of ideas. For example, there is a long white ramp leading from ground level to the rooftop space, and there is likewise a tunnel on the interior of the structure that links together the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. Communication, collaboration, and discursive action are the main messages being communicated by these different pathways that link one part of the structure to the other.

Just as the two hemispheres mirror each other, one yin and the other yang, Niemeyer also included reflecting pools that surround the main complex. The waterscape creates an interactive, ever-changing experience at the National Congress, where each moment of the day reveals changes in the political climate as well as the weather. Furthermore, the water serves to balance the harshness of the white stone that could otherwise have become oppressively heavy. Balancing the stone’s mass, the formless water evokes nature and flow, whereas the National Congress buildings send the message of resolutions, bills, and laws. The mirroring effect from the reflecting pools also corresponds to the long line or windows that spans the extent of the rectangle and which are protected by the colonnade. Those windows are also offered the finishing touch of a rectangular grid, which echoes the shape of the raised platform. Likewise, the public walkway under the portico is paved in white marble,….....

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