Friday, April 10, 2009

JK & NIEMEYER

BRASILIA - APRIL 2008

Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira (JK), then President of the Republic, and Oscar Niemeyer, architect, are definitely - with Lúcio Costa, urban planner - the three names more closely linked to the building of Brasilia.

Elected in late 1955 for a five year term under the slogan «Fifty years of progress in five», JK ordered the construction of Brasilia, fulfilling an article of the Constitution dating back to 1891 and stating that the capital should be moved from Rio de Janeiro to a place close to the centre of the country. The idea was originally conceived in 1827 when a plan for a new city called Brasilia was presented to the Chamber. The bill was not enacted because Emperor Pedro I dissolved the Assembly. So, Brazil had to wait until 1956 to see the move to start...

Oscar Niemeyer, who is currently 101 years old (born on December 15, 1907), uses to say: «When someone goes to Brasilia, I always say: you may like it or deslike it, but you have never seen something similar... And that's architecture: invention!».


"JK MEMORIAL - Seen from behind, waving to the people in a very familiar way... Designed by Niemeyer"


"FORD GALAXIE used by JK"



"JK BRIDGE - According to Wikipedia, «the main span structure has four supporting pillars submerged under Lake Paranoá, and the deck weight is supported by three 200-foot tall asymmetrical steel arches that crisscross diagonally». The 1200m structure was designed by architect Alexandre Chan and engineer Mário Vila Verde"


"NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE REPUBLIC - mainly used for temporary exhibitions"


"NIEMEYER AT THE MUSEUM - Scale model of Niemeyer's works on display at the National Museum of the Republic""


"MUSEU DE ARTE CONTEMPORÂNEA - Photo of Niemeyer's Museum of Contemporary Art in Niteroi, with view to Rio de Janeiro's Sugar Loaf Hill"


"NATIONAL LIBRARY LEONEL BRIZOLA"



"CATHEDRAL - Niemeyer's cathedral is a concrete-framed hyperboloid structure dedicated on 31 May 1970 to Our Lady of the Aparecida. The columns represent hands moving upwards to heaven. The four evangelists are a work by Alfredo Ceschiatti"


"CATHEDRAL - Inside, the Angels are also by Ceschiatti"


"PIETÁ"



"DON BOSCO SANCTUARY - Don Bosco, fouder of the Salesian Society, made a profecy: «Between parallels 15 and 20, around a lake which shall be formed; A great civilization will thrive, and that will be the Promised Land». Brasília is located between the parallels 15º and 20º South, where the artificial lake Paranoá was cerated; no wonder that Don Bosco became Brasilia's patron saint"


"MASONRY - In Brasilia everything was planned, even the Sector for temples. The Grande Oriente do Brasil, the oldest association of Masonic lodges in Brazil, moved its seat to Brasilia in 1978. The triangular building has an area of more than 7,800 square metres"


"TEMPLE OF GOOD WILL - On October 21, 1989, the journalist and President of the Legion of Good Will, José de Paiva Netto, founded in Brasília the Temple of Good Will — also known as the Temple of Peace or the Pyramid of the Luminous Spirits"


"INTERIOR"


"LIBRARY"



"ECUMENIC PARLIAMENT of the Legion of Good Will"

49 comments:

Trotter said...

Hi Everybody! This is the last post of my short-time trip to Brasilia in 2008. I didn’t have much time to stroll around, so the pictures I got were mainly from the public buildings, and these are an astonishing experience. Of course, we don’t see many people around those places at around 11:00 a.m. They’re supposed to be working inside... ;)). And the ones Baron and Azer were looking forward to seeing, were certainly somewhere around Ipanema, the Barra da Tijuca or the Ilha Grande; not in Brasilia... ;))

Baron's Life said...

Great job...excellent pics and sory. Thank u for sharing

PeterParis said...

Thanks for this! Have often seen these buildings from the outside (on photos only, unfortunately), but it was really nice to discover also the interiors!

leo said...

Hi Gil
Havent been here for sooo long and am so glad to be now. Funny thing is even as I was looking at Brasilia pics my mind was still at ur photos of India (yes, I backtracked from where I last visited Jaipur- Agra- n of cos the masterpiece).
I like the way u've said it after posting one or two first glimpses of Taj Mahal and you said -no comment :) I felt that way. It just took my breath away. I've seen countless photos of it but it still has the same effect everytime. Not to mention ur shots were incredible. It's like the Eifel tower for Parisian lovers. Im sure nothing beats the feeling of seeing it with ur own eyes. Oh how I wish! Thanx for being there for me even thou in a form of leaving comments in my blog. Appreciate it very much. Hv a good weekend.

Ron said...

Wow, an American car in Brazil! I am really liking that bridge. I truly enjoy bridges of all kinds and that has to be the most unique bridge I've seen.

Love the pics!!!

Happy Easter.

alicesg said...

Wow very beautiful bridge. The arches are so unique. Love your photos in here. Have a nice weekend and happy easter.

Jen Laceda | Milk Guides said...

The wonderful architecture there came quite as a surprise to me! Didn't know that had so many "greatest hits".

HalfCrazy said...

I adore Oscar Niemeyer! I can't believe he's already 101 years old and living his dream, of showing Brasilia to the world!

Damn it, why is everything so beautiful and modern LOL. This is like my ideal place! Thanks for showing us Brasilia through your lens! Some of us might not even make it there!

Sad that this is the last of the Brasilia series! I was looking forward for more LOL.

Ash said...

Interesting images. I loved the angels :-)

Happy Easter to you and your loved ones, Gil!

Rhonda Hartis Smith said...

Very interesting city, I would love to see the art galleries!

eye in the sky said...

its like stepping into another world, one thats not in this planet. lol... beautiful images...

Venksh said...

Gil, really very superb picx... thankx to u getting to know much abt Brazil..
y no picx of u n ur family in this post give a finishing touch of every post of showin ur family....

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

Marie said...

Thank you gmg, I am surprised. I did not imagine it was so beautiful!

Nikon said...

Beautiful,Gil - I love the bridge!

Mariposa said...

interesting architecture~ I love the sanctuary pic the most. love the colours =)
Happy Easter!

P.N. Subramanian said...

Brasilia looks beautiful. The architecture is superb. Your pictures are spledid. The cathedral was great.

Beefybob7 said...

Thanks for info on Brasilia,Gil.
Wonderful architecture.
Almost over but happy Easter.

Bob

ßrigida ∫chmidt © Copyright said...

Hi trotter! Now I'm looking at the grandeur of Brasilia. Sooo spectacular. I esoecially love the JK memorial. Thanks for blogging this. My feet beg me to go to Brazil!

april said...

Wow, yes, really spectacular. Greetings from Cologne.

Ms.N said...

hey GMG,

some lovely photos here. I love the ones of the cathedral as well as don bosco sanctuary. The blue and purple are very vibrant!

Azer Mantessa said...

interesting Masonic architecture.

Shionge said...

Like a big open museum there and a great way to appreciate all the lovely architecture :)

Thank you Gil and Happy Easter to you.

lyliane six said...

J'espère que vous avez passé de bonnes fêtes de Pâques, avec un temps identique au notre, doux et mi ensoleillé.
Vraiment impressionnant cette architecture quand on pense à l'époque de sa construction!
A Berlin une église a été reconstruite avec des vitraux bleus et de façon identique, de même que j'y ai cru reconnaitre la forme du monument aux morts à Belem.Les architectes se sont surement inspirés de Brazilia.

hpy said...

Je n'aime pas toujours les villes modernes, mais je pense que Brasilia pourrait me plaire, car tout semble être à une échelle acceptable. Pas trop grand, pas trop haut.

Indrani said...

Amazing structures. So different from the ones I have ever seen. The last shot is so artistically taken.

MedaM said...

This is another interesting and impressive post. All those modern and colossal buildings and its architectural style with all small and big details look just amazing.

Daniela Valdez said...

Hello Blogtrotter!!!

Thanks for your comments :)

How interesting, I've heard of Brasilia's architecture but I've never seen pics as amazing as yours!!

See you on your next trip!

Dick said...

Great things there, nice pictures

Dsole said...

I love the blue sky of your pics, Gil!
How's Lisbon? Madrid is cold and grey again... hope nice weather is coming soon! I miss it ;)

Anonymous said...

Wonderful photos! I'd love to visit here one day.

Paz

Cutie said...

Wow, i had never see such beautiful building. The museum looks so modern. Amazing picture.

Light and Voices said...

I am blown away by the architecture in Brazil. Amazing photographs!
Joyce

Gennaro said...

Very impressive architecture. Modern and interesting. Haven't made it to Brazil yet. High on the list.

Chuckeroon said...

Well, Trotter...I'm still trying to analyse my reactions to this. Lack of poeple (for whatever reason as you have said)is strangly disturbing. The buildings seem to be like mushrooms that have suddenly appeared. They don't fit the tropical atmosphere. The ground is flat and there seems to be a lack of "excellence in horticulture and garden planning".

"Startrek" comes to mind. Now a thought.....what did the Mughal palaces of India look like when they were in their "Brasilia" stage? Were they just as alien and disconnected?

Great show......thanks!

Vamsee Modugula said...

love the pictures of JK bridge. Nice post.

Olivier said...

une architecture vraiment moderne, c'est magnifique. j'aime bien les silhouettes devant les immeubles, cela rend tres bien. bonne semaine

Gattina said...

What an amazing architecture ! The church too is very special ! Looks like one century further !

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Hi Gil,
great to be here in Brasil and I enjoy your trips , I like the exibitions but also the architecture, next countrie will be? Mine is still here in NL.

Yes lets fly away, (the TH are still teasing me)

JoAnn/Holland

Anonymous said...

Hi Gil, Just popped over to see what wonders I am traveling to today and I am never disappointed. Amazing architecture. I especially loved the church. I am wondering what that green thing is in the last photo. ~ Lynn

Joy said...

Fantastic photos, Gil! I loved all those with the blue sky as the background. Brasilia has so much history.

Thanks for visiting Norwich Daily Photo and leaving your comment. Enjoy the weekend and come back tomorrow!


joy
A Pinay In EnglandYour Love CoachI, Woman

Tinsie said...

The more pictures I see, the more I realise I *have* to visit Brasilia!

[G@ttoGiallo] said...

Thanks for this beautiful series about Brasilia (and for yr comments).

Dina said...

Wow, so much beauty.
The cathedral is magnificent.

lv2scpbk said...

Love the JK bridge and the cathedral is amazing.

bindu said...

The purple interior of the cathedral is so pretty!

Unknown said...

Beautiful place and structures, very different from what I am used to seeing, thank you Gil.

Trotter said...

Hi Folks! Thanks for your comments. It’s amazing that almost one quarter of the people following this blog have never ever posted a comment on it... So you’re truly the best visitors one could envisage to a blog!! Ended Brasilia 2008, there will be some post on Lithuania following; hope you enjoy!

Baron,
I’m glad to see you here, always trying to be Number One! Thanks!

Peter,
Sometimes the inside doesn’t match; not the case here...

Leo,
Great to have you back to blogosphere; hope things are healing a little bit now...
The Taj is unbeatable; it actually leaves you speechless; but on the 20th century, Niemeyer’s Brasilia is also awesome!!

Ron,
That was the famous Ford Galaxie JK used to travel with on the visits to the camp where Brasilia was to be built... ;). Amazing bridge, indeed!

Alice SG,
So, you’re also a bridge lover; amazing that one...

Jen,
You’re right: Brasilia is full of «greatest hits»; an Author’s town... Exceptional and wonderful!!

HalfCrazy,
I’m happy to see that you enjoyed Niemeyer’s architecture; you’ll have a lot to see of him in Brasilia, should you get there...

Ash,
That «subterranean» cathedral has an inside look I thought would please you! I didn’t get it wrong... ;)

Rhonda,
I don’t think there is a «superquadra» for art galleries, but as everything was planned, you may find it... ;)

Eye,
Agreed! Furthermore, built in the late 50s, last century!!

Kven,
I went alone on a short professional trip; no leisure, no family... ;)

Marie,
That’s the amazing thing with Niemeyer’s architecture: you’re always surprised. Never seen before...

Paul,
That bridge is somehow recent and an extraordinary construction!

Mariposa,
There are twelve different patterns of blue on Don Bosco’s sanctuary!

Subramanian,
It’s an interesting town; not aged as the ones I saw in India, but also interesting!

Bob,
Brasilia could also be in Australia: a new town in a young country!

Bridge,
From Brazil to the Philippines, that’s how Magellan made it... But first he had to find the way in the Strait! Not a problem for you... ;))

Ingrid,
Cologne looks renewed after Brasilia; buildings look different after having paid attention to Oscar Niemeyer’s architecture festival...

Ms.N,
The Cathedral is awesome, the sanctuary is impressive...

Azer,
I couldn’t get it from above to see the triangle... ;)

Betty,
It’s the most impressive open-air museum of architecture I’ve ever seen...

Lyliane,
Mi-ensoleillé, en effet...
Je connais l’église de Berlin au K-dam avec les vitraux bleus; à Brasilia il y en a douze sortes de bleu chez Don Bosco… Incroyable!

Hélène,
Pas trop haut, c’est vrai; mais trop grand… Le plus grand problème de Brasilia est de n’être pas une ville amie des piétons… Impossible de se rendre d’une place à l’autre à pied… ;)

Indrani,
Quite different from what I’ve seen in India… I also loved that last one; it took me some time, but then the cell phone antennas appeared in the window… ;))

Medam,
Thanks!

Dana,
You’re not that far from Brasilia… ;)

Dick,
Great to read you here!!!

Dsole,
We had a miserable Saturday but now it’s improving… Hope things also improves in Madrid…

Paz,
It’s not that far from NYC; but you may do a nice trip NYC-Lisbon-Brasilia to get there… ;)

Cutie,
Everything is incredibly modern in Brasilia; starting with the city that is less than 50 (fifty) years old… ;))

Joyce,
Brasilia is not Brazil… You won’t find all that architecture just around the corner anywhere else in Brazil… ;)

Gennaro,
It’s almost a continent; it takes time to visit it. Better start it now… ;)

Chuckeroon,
You’re putting an interesting and exciting question? How does it look like a city at its inception? But this one was different from the very beginning, because it was planned to the smallest detail and had an extraordinary architect to create the most important buildings… Controversial, anyhow!!

Vamsee,
Join the bridge lovers… ;)

Olivier,
Les silhouettes, qui sont des sculptures; sont merveilleuses…

Gattina,
I would say that almost everything looks one century further ahead in Brasilia… ;)

JoAnn,
OK, come back to see: Lithuania!!

Lynn,
Thanks! That was an amazing cactus of a quite peculiar form…

Joy,
I’m glad that you loved the pictures (the blue sky is not my fault… ;)) ). But as far as history is concerned, Brasilia is younger than me… ;))

Tinsie,
From Lisbon you have an Air Portugal direct flight there; the best connection you could find!! ;)

G@tto,
My Pleasure!!

Dina,
The cathedral, to which you descend to avoid the building getting too high in the sky, is an amazing building!!

Barb,
The bridge is also a new favourite here, taking the comments into consideration!!

Bindu,
Twelve different patterns of blue, they say... ;)

M.Kate,
I’m afraid you see this only in Brasilia; at least in this quantity!!

indicaspecies said...

Better late than never!
Glad to have caught up on your Brazilian posts - one of the places I'd love to visit. Thank you for these lovely pictures, and have a nice day Gil.

- celine

Trotter said...

Celine,
Great to read you here! I always thought you would love to see the architecture in Brasilia...