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Fotos: fotografieSCHAULIN

Der Palacio de Itamaraty (9) mit archetypischen Bögen ... • The Palácio de Itamaraty (9) with archetypal arches ... Die Catedral Metropolitana (11) mit hyperbolischer Form ... • The Catedral Metropolitana (11) ...

... und einer beeindruckenden Freitreppe im Innenraum. • ... and an impressive open staircase in the interior. ... lässt zwischen 16 Betonsäulen den Himmel ins Innere. • ... lets the sky into the interior between 16 columns.

B rasília is located on a high plateau and can actually only be reached by dome- r 9 a.m. - The Praça dos Três Poderes (1) unites the three branches of government at the
stic flight. However, for architecture fans who dream of experiencing the legendary
eastern end of the Eixo Monumental on an imposing open space measuring 120 by 220
“samba modernism” live, there is no way around a weekend in the capital. A stroll metres: the executive in the form of the presidential palace Palácio do Planalto (2), the
through the city is like walking through an architectural guide – iconic buildings in the judiciary in the form of the Supremo Tribunal Federal (3), the building of the Supreme
centre are strung together like pearls on a string. Even more than six decades after their Court, and the legislature, in the form of the Congreso Nacional (4), the seat of the
construction, Oscar Niemeyer’s striking, sometimes organically curved, sometimes maje- Brazilian government. The Palácio do Planalto is characterized by a rather unconventio-
stically sublime and always casual and light-looking concrete buildings have lost none nal transparency for government buildings of the time. The glass cuboid at its centre is
of their fascination. Niemeyer himself, who died in 2012 shortly before his 105 birthday, combined with white columns on its flanks that appear to be fanned out. They have the
th
is known to have said: “You may or may not like this city, but you won’t be able to say effect desired by Niemeyer, who saw the building as “light as a feather landing on the
you’ve ever seen anything like it.” ground”. The almost mirror-like counterpart on the south side of the square, the Supre-
mo Tribunal Federal, repeats the formal language of the presidential palace. Various
Saturday: A walk through the centre of power sculptures and monuments also adorn the Square of the Three Powers, such as Pantéon
y Pira (5), designed by Oscar Niemeyer in 1985.
The history of Brasília began with President Juscelino Kubitschek. When he won the r noon - The Museu Histórico de Brasília (6), also known as the Museu da Cidade, also
elections in 1955, a new capital was finally to be built as a sign of a modern, better by Niemeyer, aims to preserve the history of the capital’s construction. It is well worth
future. Brasília was to give the country a new identity; and Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012) a visit; the historical photographs from the first “hot” construction phase in particular
lived up to this claim with his architecture. The pioneer of Brazilian modernism designed demonstrate the madness with which this built utopia took shape in just five years. Cri-
the most important public buildings for the new capital. Niemeyer made the concrete tical voices describe Brasília as cold and square – and indeed, the strict division into sec-
“dance” and always maintained a balanced relationship between volume and free space tors is not necessarily what is appreciated today in a people-friendly city. Starting from
in a futuristic design language with curved contours, allowing them to come into their the Square of the Three Powers, for example, all the ministries – including the Ministério
own. This can be seen in the most important square in Brasília, where we begin our visit: da Defesa (7) – are lined up along the monumental axis as massive faceless cabinets.

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