Brasília is heaven for the modernism-obsessed. Beton brut as far as the eye can see, without any sort of colonial influence obstructing the view. I traveled to Brasília on a personal pilgrimage – spending three days there among modernist monoliths and brutalist babes before continuing my journey onward to Paraguay. Staying with a couchsurfing host in the relative outskirts of the city in Águas Claras, I rejoiced in my morning commute to the concrete giants with my camera bag full of gear I would eventually not use and a fresh maracuja juice from the bakery around the corner. My time in Brasília was utter perfection – but first, let’s talk a little bit of history.
Brasília is a city that wouldn’t exist if not for divinity and irrational planning. The city was selected due to a vision by Dom Bosco, an Italian saint who predicted the birth of a great city in Brazil between the latitudes of 15 and 20 degrees (I am not linking to his name because he was a real racist SOB). This prophecy, along with the desire to populate the interior of Brazil, led the government to move the capital from Rio de Janeiro (the capital of Brazil from 1763), to Brasilia in 1960.
Tasked with making the move more, ahem, monumental, was Oscar Niemeyer (or Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho if you’re nasty). Leading up to the move, Niemeyer had been prolific in designing buildings in Brazil’s most populous cities, especially São Paulo. Brasília at the time was a vast expanse of nothing, much like the rest of Brazil’s interior would be today if not for massive deforestation (a topic for another day, to be sure), and Niemeyer was tasked by then-President Juscelino Kubitschek to build the city per an 1891 decree stating that the vast nation’s capital should be in the center of the country rather than on the coast.
Construction of the capital and its modernist vision was completed primarily over the 1960s, but many of Niemeyer’s most iconic works along the Monumental Axis (henceforth referred to as Eixo Monumental) weren’t completed until much later. I spent my time in Brasília exploring its concrete nooks and crannies, and have compiled the following list of my personal favorite buildings.
Eixo Monumental:
National Museum (Museo Nacional); Niemeyer, 2006
The greatest concentration of Niemeyer works avail themselves to the concrete tourist walking southeast from Brasília’s Central Station. Walking along the south side of the grand thoroughfare, one of the first eye catching buildings is without a doubt the National Museum of Brasília. Not to be confused with the National Museum of Brazil in Rio, which tragically burned to the ground in late 2018, the Brasília branch of the museum is most noteworthy for its architecture. Or, rather, that’s my point of view as I didn’t actually enter the building. A half moon of concrete with a curving outdoor walkway, the building seems impossible, and is a great place to mingle with local vendors and domestic tourists over a fresh coconut.
Cathedral of Brasilia (Catedral Metropolitana Nossa Senhora Aparecida); Niemeyer, 1970
The Cathedral of Brasília is located right next door to the National Museum, and is almost equally impressive. The outer concrete of the structure is almost entirely visible, but disguises the vast network of facilities beneath it. Once entering, the various hues of blue and blue green stained glass make quite an impression, especially on the carpeted floor, which looks like it hasn’t been replaced in quite a while. Outside the building is a great little lineup of souvenir vendors selling miniature stone replicas of Brasília’s most famous architectural wonders.
National Congress (Congreso Nacional); Niemeyer, 1960
So I buried this one in the middle just like I did my favorite building in Asmara to keep you attention. The National Congress of Brazil was built to house both of the nation’s two legislative divisions – one housed under the dome of the structure, the other under the cupola. I took a tour of the building (you can book a tour here) and was party to its Dario Argento phantasmagorical modernist acid trip. Seriously – go inside, and note the amazing muted threadbare carpeting next to bare naked concrete elements. It was almost too much for this concrete nerd to handle.
National Library (Biblioteca Nacional de Brasília); Niemeyer, 2008 comp.
Another Niemeyer lovely, I mostly include the National Library because, well, I’m a sucker for a good library. This is the first building you will encounter as you walk from Brasília Central Station west toward the National Congress.
Esplanade of Ministries (Esplanada dos ministérios); Niemeyer, 1960s
You’ll walk by these along the Eixo Monumental west of Central Station. My favorite thing about these series of brutalist complexes was the various shades of green windows from level to level. Niemeyer, though designing a modernist city seemingly at odds with the vast nature around it, definitely did his best to incorporate the native color palette in his giant concrete structures.
This little gem is on the east side of Brasília’s Central Station, in the shadow of the TV Tower. I found myself there after a heavy dose of shopping at the TV Tower Hippie Fair, and did not regret it. With concrete angles and a perfectly cylindrical auditorium building, it was the perfect place to spend a half hour shooting photos while waiting for the day’s downpour to pass.
Elsewhere:
Nossa Senhora de Fatima Church (Igreja Nossa Senhora de Fátima); Niemeyer, 1958
OK, so this one is my favorite. The “Little Church of Our Lady Fatima” is perfectly tucked away between concrete apartment blocks and jungle, and is host to the most wonderful tiles adoring its outside walls. The church itself is minuscule in scale compared to Niemeyer’s other works in the city, but is a perfect respite from the traffic jams of the Eixo Monumental. Don’t neglect the souvenir shop in the back.
Banco Centro do Brasil; Hélio Ferreira Pinto, 1971
I only caught a glimpse of this building from a moving car – but maybe that was enough. Of the preeminent Bond-villain architectural style (one of my favorites), it towers high over the city with glass clad rectangular cylinders jutting from a moldy concrete base.
My couchsurfing host, Walnei, and I spent a good time here taking photos for good reason. A cube shaped building with a reinforced concrete frame, the interior is dominated by dancing blue, fuchsia, and purple fluorescent light from stained glass. Confession boxes are 100% transparent fiberglass, giving the repentant a fully transparent Catholic guilt experience. The ginormous chandelier suspended from a solid cement roof gave me some pause, but no more than when riding in a developing world taxi without seat belts. Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em, I suppose!
Cláudio Santoro National Theater (Teatro Nacional Cláudio Santoro); Niemeyer, 1966
Nearly on the Eixo Monumental, but just barely not is the National Theater. Closed and under renovation for more than three years, you won’t find any productions of Carmen or Cats there at the moment, but the building itself is spectacular. A sort of isosceles pyramid, the sides of the building have nearly climbable concrete nodes jutting out from it at regular intervals. The National Theater is in my top three favorite buildings in Brasília – but be forewarned, as it sits currently unused, the area is known to host some drug activity. Wear closed toe shoes and only get out your DSLR when it is clear you are alone.
There is a LOT I did not see in Brasília. I barely walked by Itamaraty (The Palace of Justice), and my tweets to various embassies (namely Mexico, Portugal, and Russia) went unanswered as I looked for permission to visit and photograph them. Truly, anywhere you go in Brasília will have concrete gems in spades; It’s just a matter of looking up.