Now that I'm back in the saddle again, I've finally read two books that I got more than a year ago when I began seriously planning my next book project.Lee got me the gorgeous biography and appreciation of the long-lived Brazilian architect: Oscar Niemeyer: Curves of Irreverence by Styliane Phillippou. I picked up Building Brasilia by Marcel Gautherot some time ago, but had never sat down to look at it carefully.
Both are the kind of books that weigh a ton because of the excellent coated paper they're printed on. The reproduction of photos is very good too. And both give a lot of information about the mythic construction of the Brazilian capital. The Niemeyer book goes farther, of course, because it also talks about his many projects both before and after Brasilia.
The heart of the matter, though, is the dream of creating a modernist city in the middle of nowhere in an impossibly short time. The idea was to make a new sort of city, somewhat inspired by Le Corbusier's idea, that would house 250,000 people governing Brazil.
The reality, as I found out on my recent trip, is not what was hoped for. Sure, 250,000 people now live in the heart of the capital, but an order of magnitude more live in satellite cities just beyond a green belt. The Superquadras, elegantly landscaped six story apartment blocks place artfully around courtyards and served by nearby shopping streets, are probably great places to live. But to live elsewhere means being dependent on chaotic public transport and/or a private automobile that will spend most of its time stuck in traffic. And should you want to cross a street--well, good luck! I almost got hit four times.
The photo is of Niemeyer's cathedral, one of the first buildings constructed in the capital. It is an impressive bulding, but I think the pigeons roosting on a nearby structure plus the grass growing between the paving stones give a hint of how Brasilia has aged badly.
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