Sunday, April 05, 2009

BRASIL, DISTRITO FEDERAL

BRASÍLIA - APRIL 2008

Brasília was built in forty one months, from 1956 through 1960, to become the new federal capital city of Brazil. The idea was to transfer the federal capital from the coast to the midwestern interior of the country and the city was strictly planned and developed with Lúcio Costa, who won a design contest in 1957, as the principal urban planner, and Oscar Niemeyer as the principal architect. The plan of the city looks like an airplane, with the straight Monumental Axis (Eixo Monumental), with most of the federal buildings, running roughly east-west, and the Highway Axis (Eixo Rodoviário), linking the main residential neighbourhoods, curving north-south.

The planning of Brasília, which is the only city created (from scratch) in the twentieth century to be included UNESCO's List of Historical Heritage Sites, has been a theme for discussion since its inception.


"TEN MILE HIGH GOOGLE PHOTO - The head of the airplane is turned to the right of the picture, towards East"


"SCALE MODEL - The head here is turned to the left... Located at the underground «Espaço Lúcio Costa», the model occupies an area of 179 square metres!"

***



"HOTEL ALVORADA PARK - Everything was planned in Brasília. So the hotels were supposed to be concentrated in two of the «superquadras» (superblocks) close to the intersection between the Highway Axis and the Monumental Axis: the SHN (Hotel Sector North) and SHS (Hotel Sector South). With time, new zones were developed and a new Sector for Tourism Hotels (SHTN) saw the light of day near the Lake Paranoá, close to the residence of the President of the Republic, the Palace of Dawn (Palácio da Alvorada). The Alvorada Park (formerly the Blue Tree) is one of those hotels, probably the best of them..."



"LOBBY AND RECEPTION"


"LOBBY, POOL AND LAKE"



"SUITE 3056"


"LAKE PARANOÁ - The artificial lake was created on the east side of the city by building a dam on the Paranoá River. At an altitude of one thousand metres, it has a shore length of eighty kilometres"




"POOL"


"PALMS AND LAKE"



"ALVORADA PARK - LAKESIDE"


"RESIDENTIAL BLOCK"


"LAKE CLUB of the residential block"


"SUNSET - There is always a problem with these pictures..."

51 comments:

Trotter said...

Hi Everybody! After India, we are still in the BRIC countries... ;)
Brasilia is an amazing city. Planned to every detail, built from nothing in the middle of nowhere, it raised controversy from its very inception! Almost fifty years later it seems to be gaining a somehow more human dimension, acknowledged even by its detractors... I always had some mixed feelings, but some of the buildings are absolutely stunning! Enjoy the first part of it... ;)

Venksh said...

GIl,
From India to Brazil wow ALVORADA PARK looks awesome nice color combination....
Hope Brazil keeps the pace as India did, looking forward for some more awesome picx, keep rocking Gil,

Kven,
http://kollywoodmoviereview.blogspot.com/

Tinsie said...

Awww this is lovely! I've always wanted to see Brasilia, I'm intrigued by made-up cities and love modern architecture. I think I'm going to love this series :-)

hitch writer said...

this is fantastic !! lovely captures...

Boss from india to Brasil... now thats actually globtrottin... !!!

lol your having some lovely visits !!!

envy you seriously !!

HalfCrazy said...

One thing I really love about your posts is that you provide information besides photos!

The Hotel Alvarada Park looks really amazing! Just look at those cozy seats and the modern facade - I love it!

I love the last photo, can't wait for the second part! :)

Mariposa said...

wow what a fancy and modern hotel!
(yo siempre recuerdo visitar a Blogtrotter =D)

Jen Laceda | Milk Guides said...

41 months to build a city -- that is an awesome feat! We are undergoing a home renovation for the last 19 months!!! Go figure!

Voegtli said...

Now, another direction to go for me. I have been (because of my origin) been roaming around in Europe; I know (because of my work) Africa very well and soon I will go to Asia for the first time (at 65) in my life. South America is since long on my list. With a predilection for Chile. I am a big amateur of their wines. I drink those delicious elixirs since years. And I would like to visit their wineries. If I do so, a stop in Brazil is a good idea, as it is on the way.

*lynne* said...

Oh wow, what excellent photos! All I know about Brasilia is that it was built from scratch and was (is) an extremely well-planned city. But to SEE it - wow! Very nice! :) Darn it, *another* item on my to-visit list! :D

Cheers,
*lynne*

alicesg said...

The city looked so clean and beautiful. The hotel is so impressive. Beautiful photos.

SusuPetal said...

This looked like a land of make believe, I'm not sure I'd enjoy my stay here. The buildings are amazing but nevertheless, something strange in these kind of places.

lv2scpbk said...

Beautiful pool shots. They have some interesting looking sculptures there too.

Anonymous said...

So fascinating Gil! The blue is just gorgeous. I watched SlumDog last night and went back and read all your India post. :)

april said...

Ah, that looks very modern now and you have taken some interesting architectural photos. Greetings from Cologne.

Joy said...

Wow, that is beautiful! As usual, I am so green with envy. I look forward to more bright and sunny photos of Brazil!

Thanks for visiting Norwich Daily Photo and leaving your comment. Come back tomorrow!


joy
A Pinay In England
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Indrani said...

Lovely shots of Brazil.
What is the problem with sunset shots? It is fantabulous. :)

kyh said...

A cool city! Yet it feels kinda artificial, ain't it? ;)

Baron's Life said...

So are you in Brazil now?
These are great shots
Could be anywhere in the world...lol
But lovely just the same...Thank you for sharing...
Where are the Butts Brazil is known for?

eye in the sky said...

and they say brasilia is middle of nowhere... you give a place its just spotlight. :->

raccoonlover1963/Lisa Myers said...

Hi Gil
I haven't forgotten that Blogtrotter still exists, I've just been dealing with some personal issues all this past week and haven't really been on the computer much at all.
Your pictures are great as always. Looks like a wonderful vacation spot.
Take care and have a great week.
Lisa

A Lady's Life said...

love the aerialshot
Love when cities have a master plan and don't just build.
The hotel shots are great!
Marinas are my favorite hang out places.
Anything to do with water.

Azer Mantessa said...

Dear Sir,

We are in Brazil right? so I scrolled and scrolled and scrolled and scrolled and ??????????

Where are the girls???????

grrrrrrrrrrrrr

Shionge said...

This is so exciting and I've always wanted to soak in the Brazilian culture so glad you are there to represent us ehhehehe...

Enjoy!!

lyliane six said...

Villa ultra moderne, même encore maintenant, mais elle est belle et semble agréable. La suite 3056! le nombre correspond aux mètres carrés de la chambre? car elle semble très grande.

Anonymous said...

amazing collection. it must be a wonderful place. thanks for shared

hpy said...

Je ne vois pas Brasilia comme un avion vu du ciel, mais plutôt comme un de ces dessins curieux qu'on peut voir sur le blog de Lyliane quand elle nous parle de son voyage chez les incas.

Vamsee Modugula said...

Hey gmg,
Sorry for the absence. I was traveling / working hard. Will be more regular from now on.

Lovely images. Didn't realise that globetrotter moved on from India.

Visit my blog to read about Thailand

alice said...

Entre l'Inde et le Brésil, on fait le grand écart! Désolée de n'être pas venue plus régulièrement ici ces dernières semaines, ma fille était en vacances à la maison et nous avons profité à fond de notre mois de mars ensoleillé! Elle est repartie hier en Allemagne et commençait ce matin par un premier cours de portugais!
A bientôt!

MedaM said...

Hi Gil, of course that I didn’t forget that your wonderful blog still exist; it’s just about the lack of the time.
What I have just seen and read in this post of yours I can see that Brasilia really is amazing place. The lake, the pool, the palms and that lovely blue sky is so inviting. Thanks for sharing all this beauty with us.

Thérèse said...

I love the problems you are having with "Sunset pictures"!!! lol
J'ai un penchant certain pour l'architecture Brésilienne qiu laisse sa trace dans le monde entier.

Cergie said...

Brasilia est une ville culte étudiée dans les écoles d'architecture, elle a demandé le déboisement de kilomètres carrés de forêts si mes souvenirs sont exacts.
J'aimerais y aller en souvenir d'Oscar Niemeyer qui a également conçu le siège du parti communiste français à Paris (place du Colonel Fabian).
N'oublions pas Chandigarh également dessinée et créée de toute pièce en Inde par Le Corbusier.

Cergie said...

(Je ne sais ce que tu reproches à ta photo de coucher de soleil, elle est très bien autant que celles des palmiers.
J'adore les palmiers mais pas en région parisienne... Il leur faut du ciel bleu et du soleil.)

Wendy said...

I'm jetlagged--from India to Brasil :^)
Love the pool shots

Ron said...

Very nice pictures. Can't wait to see more.

Light and Voices said...

Looks like a wonderful place to relax especially at LAKE PARANOÁ. Enjoyed all those palm trees, pools and sunsets.
Joyce

Rhonda Hartis Smith said...

How beautiful--what a hotel suite, amazing. Can't wait to see more of this series.

ßrigida ∫chmidt © Copyright said...

Hi Blogtrotter! So nice to see Brasilia, but where is the real Brazil? Where's the Amazon River? Where's Christ the Redeemer? Where are the locals? Haha! I can't wait for your next update. You got a nice hotel ~ as usual :) Buzz me with your latest updates!

magiceye said...

that was a wonderful intro to brazil! thank you.

Irina said...

Looks like a nice place for vacation. I like that 'palms over water' views :)

Cutie said...

Brazil is beautiful. Is it hot? So what's the reason for your visit over there this time? Just leisure?

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Brasilia looks so modern and well planned. I can imagine that it makes it seem a little artifical, however. I bet the food is wonderful!

Have you ever been to Dubai, Gil? I've been seeing and reading so much about that city and I wonder how it would feel to be a visitor to it.

Lakshmi said...

this is one country that I can say Ive been to..though not to this city..

Dorothée said...

Bonjour Gil,
I am back and hopefully I will publish and do my blog tours more often ... I am still quite busy right now with the new house.
Anyhow, this place looks like a paradise! The lobby with its amazing glass ceiling looks like a blimp.
I also like the "suite 3056", It's quite luxious!
A bientot!

Pietro said...

What a comfortable and refined hotel! Thanks for sharing, Gil!

alexander said...

Hi,

Very beautiful photos. Sorry for missing out on your post for quite awhile. I always like your blog post. They are very interesting.

Alexander
Alex's World! - http://www.kakinan.com/alex

Ming the Merciless said...

I have seen photos of the aerial view of Brasilia -- it does look like an aeroplane from above. Totally cool.

The hotel and swimming pool looks so inviting.

Trotter said...

Hi Folks! Brasilia is a surprising city! Even more surprising now when you know that everything was strictly planned; fortunately not everything developed as planned... ;)). Thanks for your comments and keep enjoying... ;)

Kven,
Brazil like India, like all the BRIC countries, is almost a continent. It surely takes time to know them. I’m happy to know at last a bit of it, but I would love to have time to enjoy them fully... ;)

Tintsie,
If you love modern architecture, Brasilia is an open-air classroom. A bit limited on the choice of the architect (basically one), but a tremendous experience of the Niemeyer concept!! Of course, the detractors are always pointing out that the buildings are lovely to see, unbearable to live in; they consume millions in air-conditioning, with all that glass in the tropics... ;)

Hitch Writer,
That was last year, so the globetrotting is already almost forgotten... ;). Don’t envy; it gets you green... ;))

HalfCrazy,
Thanks. It seems to make sense to put some explanation on what you posting, at least for the benefit of those visitors that have no time to make researches... ;)
You love the last photo? Now, I understand why you selected that name... lol!

Mariposa,
Gracias! It’s an amazing place; far from everything, like everything else in Brasilia, but a hotel with a wonderful view of the artificial lake!!

Jen,
Nineteen months for a home renovation? Wow, it must be a palace... Or then, the workers don’t want to lose such a marvellous job... lol

Pete,
Chile is an amazing country with some beautiful landscapes and wonderful wines; much closer to Switzerland, however... Brazil is something different!! But I tell you: it doesn’t make sense to «make a stop» there on your way to Chile. You need «to go» there; like India, it’s a continent... ;)

Lynne,
Thanks for your visit and first time comment here! Built from scratch and planned that’s true that Brasilia was; «extremely well» is at least controversial... ;))

Alice SG,
Clean it is, in particular if you consider the Brazilian patterns; don’t know if it would stand the Singapore standard, however... ;). Beautiful is a matter of taste; I like, but there are much people who find it horrible... ;)

Susu,
You don’t need to live there... ;) But truly, I was a bit surprised when a Portuguese who is now living there started pointing out all the advantages of living in Brasilia... Amazing!

Barb,
They have everything around; it may be artificial (even the lake was artificially created by a dam to make the dry air a bit more breathable...), but it’s there!! ;)

Lynn,
That was a nice morning, when the clouds have not yet developed... ;)
Slumdog is an excellent movie; I liked it very much!!

Ingrid,
It’s amazing, but it’s modern from the 1960’s: almost fifty years old already. Great vision of the people who created it!

Joy,
Don’t get green; it makes you look like a «Martian»... ;)). There will be some more from Brasilia, but not that much... And don’t forget that Brasilia is just the capital... ;)

Indrani,
Fantabulous? Doesn’t look that «fab» to me... ;)

Kyh,
It isn’t even fifty years old and was built from scratch; no wonder it looks a bit artificial; but actually what would be true there? ;)

Baron,
No, I’m not. Blogtrotter is... I was there in April 2008... ;)).
As for the people you wish to see, we need to get Rio and to the beach; in Brasilia there are only ministers, congressmen and public servants; I wasn’t sure you would want me to post their pictures here... ;))

Eye,
It’s in the middle of nowhere, but they created a nice environment... ;)

Lisa,
Hope you have already solved the personal issues! Thanks for visiting and commenting on Blogtrotter anyhow...
I was in Brasilia in April last year; a short visit. Working! Everything a vacation shouldn’t be, and actually isn’t... ;)

Lady,
Agree with you on the water! Also on the other issues; but there a common criticism on the planning of Brasilia; detractors say it lacks human dimension, as it was coldly planned to have «robot» like people living there... ;) Maybe at the beginning; now it’s getting different...

Azer,
I already answered Baron; you’ll need to get to Rio... ;))

Betty,
I don’t know whether a city built from zero some fifty years ago can be described as the best place to soak in a country’s culture... ;) Anyhow, that was last year, so representation is over... ;))

Lyliane,
Ultramoderne, c’est vrai, même aujourd’hui. Je me demande comment ça sera «si» M. Niemeyer, qui a maintenant 101 ans, laisse de créer des nouveaux bâtiments… ;))
La suite n’était pas mal du tout et le lit était vraiment «King-size»… ;))

Vaggelis,
A wonderful place I wouldn’t say; but I wouldn’t classify it, as some do, as awful also… ;))

Hélène,
C’est vrai qu’il y a quelque chose de semblable avec les lignes de Nazca, mais c’est parce que là aussi il y a quelque chose à voir de l’air… Mais, si tu ne veux pas l’avion, on peut rester avec une espèce d’oiseau… ;))

Vamsee,
It seems your Bangkok trip allowed a lot of sightseeing… ;). Look forward to seeing you more often here!!

Alice,
Bienvenue de retour!! J’espère que ta fille se débrouillera bien dans le cours de portugais; si elle aura besoin d’aide, tu as mon email… Elle est où en Allemagne ?

Medam,
I was just kidding with the forgotten blog… ;) It may seem a bit artificial, but it was planned to make life easy to the inhabitants; whether it had reached the aim or not, we had better ask those who leave there… ;))

Thérèse,
Je crois que c’est plutôt Niemeyer qui laisse sa trace dans le monde entier. Aucune surprise; à 101 (cent et un) ans il continue toujours à faire des dessins… ;). C’est comme le portugais Manuel de Oliveira qui, avec cent ans d’âge, continue à faire des films chaque année… avec Cannes et Venise toujours garanties… ;))
Les photos le soir, ce n’est pas Manuel de Oliveira… ;))

Lucie,
Je crois que, du point de vue de la sauvegarde des forêts, le plus grand problème a été le développement de l’agriculture, plutôt que la construction de la ville…
Tu peux y aller, mais pas «en souvenir» ; Niemeyer est toujours là, avec ses 101 ans… ;)). Bon, tout le monde est gentil avec les coucher du soleil; mais les photos ne sont pas tellement bien… ;))

Wendy,
Include Mexico, mountains and nine hour bus trips, no wonder the jet-lag… ;)
Unfortunately it was a bit too cool for the pool… ;)

Ron,
You have them already!!

Joyce,
The place used to be quite dry in summer, that’s why they planned the artificial lake to make life around a bit more bearable… From bearable to wonderful it seems however to be a long way… ;)

Rhonda,
I’ve seen better suites, but this one wasn’t the worst of them… ;))

Bridge,
How many times do you think one needs to get to Brazil to know the «real» thing? A lot, I tell you… ;)). As for the Amazon, the Christ, the Favelas (slums), the people, the girls from Ipanema and elsewhere, you have to get to my older videos from the 90s; too miserable to be «you tubed»... ;)). But you may also find some lousy pictures here. Enjoy, and leave your comments there; you’ll be the first in most of them… LOL!

Magiceye,
Thanks. Unfortunately it won’t be much more than an intro… ;)

Irina,
Welcome back here! Great to read you again!
No, not a nice place for a vacation; Brazil has thousands of nice places for vacations, but I wouldn’t suggest Brasilia for that purpose… unless your friend and host is the Russian Ambassador… ;)). Even so… ;))

Cutie,
Brazil is the hottest place you can find; depending on the spots… ;))
The trip was in April 2008, and it was for work, not leisure… ;)

Pat,
Artificial it seemed the first time we went there in 1993. Nowadays, it’s breathing differently; or it’s probably because we start knowing the nice places to eat, drink and enjoy… ;)
Never been to Dubai; probably «really» artificial… ;)) But planning!!

Lakshmi,
So you have been to the country, you know what I’m talking about!

Dorothée,
Great to see you back! With interesting comments and the wonderful proverb lessons... I wouldn’t call Brasilia a paradise, but the Hotel was nice!

Pietro,
Comfortable it was!

Alex,
Great to see you back to the blogosphere! Look forward to reading you more often: here and at Alex’s World!!

Ming,
Great to see you back here. How I understand those busy times... I just wonder how you manage to keep the commitment to post daily... ;))
It was a bit too cool to get into that pool... ;)

Baron's Life said...

Superb photography...excellent work

Trotter said...

Baron,
Thanks! Too flattering.. ;))

JO said...

AWESOME POOL! I bet you enjoyed that great room!

Trotter said...

Jo,
Didn't have much time, neither for the room, nor for the pool... ;))