Invisible Brasilias: 1st place in the Plano Piloto contest
Get to know the winning project of Lucio Costa
The city with wings
Masterplan. Authors’ redesign.Museu de Arte de Brasília - MAB
The "Plano Piloto"
is organized by the intersection of two axes. The curved axis, adapted to the curves of the terrain, houses the residential sectors; the other, straight towards the lake, is used for government functions. The commercial and cultural sectors of the city are located at the meeting point of the axes.
The city designed
by Lucio Costa during the contest was slightly different from the one that was executed and inaugurated in 1960.
The city was built
with some adaptations: the entire Pilot Project was brought closer to the lake shore by about 700m, and new residential blocks were also included, today known as the 400 South and North blocks.
Compare the Brasílias
and notice the similarities and differences between the imagined city and the built city.
View of the connecting building between Conic and the National Complex. Authors’ rendering.Museu de Arte de Brasília - MAB
The bus station platform
marks the city center and the residential and monumental axes at different levels, separating the flow of cars from the flow of pedestrians. Nearby are the commercial, banking, hotel, administrative and cultural sectors.
The entertainment sector
is located at the top of the platform, next to squares and parking lots. A large elevated building with views to both sides of the monumental axis would connect the buildings we know today as the National Complex and Conic. It would house bars and restaurants.
How would it look like
if this great building was built as designed?
Tap to explore
360°
You are on the central platform.
Tap to explore
Compare
the original project with the Brasília of today.
View of the National Congress from the Three Powers Square. Authors’ rendering.Museu de Arte de Brasília - MAB
The esplanade of ministries
comprises the entire length of the monumental axis, from the bus station platform to the Three Powers Square, located at the eastern end. In addition to the ministries, the esplanade would also have a cultural park that would house the cathedral, the library, the opera and museums.
The Three Powers Square
houses the palaces of the Legislative, Executive and Judiciary powers, each arranged at the vertices of a triangle. The National Congress stands out for occupying the central vertex, which connects the Square to the rest of the esplanade.
Visit the square
and see the project proposed by Lúcio Costa. In sketches not submitted in the contest, the National Congress would be different from the one designed by Oscar Niemeyer.
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360°
You are in the Three Powers Square.
Tap to explore
Compare
the original project with the Brasília of today.
View of the residential sector. Authors’ rendering.Museu de Arte de Brasília - MAB
The neighborhood units
are made up of a set of four so-called superblocks and their respective local commerce and community facilities, such as schools, cinemas, healthcare units and churches.
The superblocks
are composed of six-storey residential buildings supported on pylons, which allow pedestrians to walk freely between the buildings and gardens. Each block is surrounded by a tree-lined belt and has a strip of local commerce providing everyday services.
Did you know?
The local commercial areas were to have their store fronts facing the interior of the superblocks, while the streets were to be used for parking and loading and unloading activities.
Come and see
the wooded area located between the residential buildings and local commerce.
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360°
You are in the residential sector.
Tap to explore
Compare
the original project with the Brasília of today.
To find out more about the contest, click here: Introduction
Get to know the other finalist projects:
2° - Boruch Milman and team
3°/4° - Rino Levi and team
3°/4° - MM Roberto and team
5° - Milton Ghiraldini and team
5° - Henrique Mindlin and Giancarlo Palanti
5° - Vilanova Artigas and team
Datasheet:
Sponsorship: Fundo de Apoio à Cultura - FAC
Realization: Museu de Arte de Brasília - MAB
Authorship and Idealization: Danilo Fleury and Maíra Guimarães
Curatorship: Danilo Fleury, Maíra Guimarães and Rogério Carvalho
Expography: Coarquitetos , Danilo Fleury and Maíra Guimarães
Production: Curatorship of Cultural Projects, Leonardo Gois
Graphic Design: Coarquitetos, Danilo Fleury and Maíra Guimarães
Collaborators: Giovana Martins, Marcela Budó, Marcos Paulo Cruz and Lucas Patriota
Bibliographic references:
BRAGA, Milton. O concurso de Brasília: sete projetos para uma capital. Museu da Casa Brasileira, 2010.
FICHER, Sylvia; BATISTA, Geraldo Nogueira; LEITÃO, Francisco; FRANÇA, Dionísio Alves de. Brasília: uma história de planejamento In RODRÍGUEZ, Eduard, e FIGUEIRA, Cibele Vieira A (Brasilia 1956 - 2006, de la fundación de una ciudad capita l al ca pital de la ciudad) Lleida: Milenio, 2006. pp. 55-97.
GUIMARÃES, Maíra Oliveira. Uma capital para um lago, um palácio e um hotel. In: VI Encontro da Associação Nacional de Pesquisa e Pós-graduação em Arquitetura e Urbanismo. 2020.
SILVA, Elcio Gomes da. Os palácios originais de Brasília Tese (Universidade de Brasília). Brasília, 2012.
TAVARES, Jeferson. Projetos para Brasília 1927-1957. IPHAN, 2014.
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