Aerial view of the city's Pilot Plan in construction

Designed by the urban planner Lucio Costa, Brasilia was built to fulfill the Brazilian people’s wish for a great nation with a prosperous future. Starting from two simple axes that meet to form a cross (the first gesture of one taking possession of a new land), Lucio Costa conceived the urban plan of what – along with the buildings designed by Oscar Niemeyer – would become the most modern city in the world.