Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Creation of a Capital
President Juscelino Kubitschek and his team of
designers, planners, and architects, led by Oscar
Niemeyer, envisaged Brasília not only as a city, but
also as a monument to the national motto - Order and
Progress. In creating this, they turned to European
Modernism, following the doctrine of Charles-Edouard
Jeanneret (1887-1965), or “Le Corbusier,” for their
inspiration. The concept stated that modern cities
should be zoned functionally with separate areas
for housing (in high-rise blocks), recreation, and
administration, broken by green belts and roads.
Juscelino Kubitschek
was the
president of Brazil between
1956 and 1961. He was
responsible for the creation
of Brasília as the new, modern
capital of the country.
The Missão Cruls
was commissioned by President Floriano
Peixoto in 1892 and led by the Belgian scientist Luiz
Cruls. It sought to find a possible site for a new capital in
the Brazilian interior to make a more regionally neutral
federal capital where resources could be equally divided.
Superquadra 309
, a
residential neighborhood,
was built in one of the
“wings” of Brasília.
The candangos
were workers
from the Northeast brought
to Brasília in vast
numbers to build the city.
Homes for their descendants
were not included in the
grand plan and today
Brasília is ringed with the
slum cities of their children.
BRASÍLIA
Located at the heart of the country,
Brazil's capital city is today on
UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites,
and is famous for its innovative urban
planning and daring architecture.
TIMELINE
1960
Brasília inaugurated,
Eisenhower visits
1934
Possibility of
a new capital
formally discussed
1892
Luiz
Cruls sent
to explore
the area
1961-64
Work
on remaining
buildings
continued
1946
Land
demarcated
for a capital
Dom Bosco (1815-88)
1880
1900
1920
1940
1960
Catedral
Metropolitana
1956
Juscelino
Kubitschek
elected as
President; Project
Brasília begins
1883
Dom Bosco predicts a new
civilization arising between 15th
and 20th parallels of latitude
1922
Foundation
stone for a
future city laid
