I visited Brazilian National Congress building in 2019 (October 1st). Brasilia was founded in 1960 and built in just 3 years to be the new capital of Brazil. Named World Heritage Site (by UNESCO) for its modernist architecture and urban planning. Designed by Oscar Niemeyer, the building is divided by an imaginary line. (In this picture the line would be at 1/3 from the left). Everything on the left to that line is the Federal Senate (81 seats). Everything on the right belongs to the Chamber of Deputies (513 seats) . The line represents the balance of legislative power, rather than physical space. Each chamber is aesthetically represented for a cupola (concave for the senate, convex for the chamber of deputies) resting on top of a big base designed to be a public plaza. Never used for this purpose, due to security concerns, the square remains closed to the public. In my opinion, having the square on top the “public servants” building, is a reminder of how democracy works, and how the people has the last say. (In 2013 during a national protest the plaza was taken by the people! - See more pictures of the protest here: shorturl.at/euBNP ) The interior is impressive. The buildings are connected by a series of underground and elevated tunnels, that reinforce the security inside the complex.
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AuthorArchitect and traveler. Archives
November 2019
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