After finding an insanely amazing airfare deal I was off to visit my friends for a weekend in the capital city Brasilia! Going to Brasilia from Manaus is like entering a new planet. It is shocking how different Brasilia is to any city I have ever seen in Europe or North America or Brazil for that matter. I love concrete, and Brasilia is a lesson in how to use it!
Oscar Niemeyer built this town. The architecture is unlike anything else in the world. Niemeyer envisioned a planned and organized city of the future alongside architect Lucio Costa and President Juscelino Kubitschek. Flying into the city at night is breathtaking because you can see the entire linear structure and layout of the city. The roads are curved and winding in the shape of a handle of scissors, while the neighbourhood blocks are formed into squares each with its own main street of shops to ensure equal access to amenities. Most of the building heights are regulated to a maximum of 6 stories. At age 103 Niemeyer is still working. My favourite sites were the TV Tower, Office of Foreign Affairs, Presidential Palace, the soup bowl of National Congress, the communist style block of Ministries, and the Star Wars like National Museum of the Repbulic. It's hard to believe that the whole city did not even exist 50 years ago.
It was interesting to see a visual representation of futurism through the lens of the historically older international modernist style of architecture, the city looks futuristic and retro at the same time!
WOW! Love the architecture!
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