Brasilia - Residential areas

Following on from my previous post, I have now had chance to explore the residential 'super blocks' of Brasilia. I couldn't have imagined the difference in the atmosphere as soon as I stepped out of my taxi, from the bland, oversized urban area I had just been in, to a cultural area with 'people sized' buildings and road systems.

My first stop was a large, beautiful church, Our Lady of Fatima Church, shown above. This simple yet elegant design incorporates traditional aspects, such as stained glass windows, with modern geometric shapes and repeated patterns. I then walked down to another church dedicated to the lady of Fatima, this one designed by the architect Oscar Niemeyer. I really connected to this church, with its sleek, modern outline, and simple beauty. It is a small, intimate church, which can only hold about 30 people, however it connects to the outside through large, open doors, where more chairs can be added. The exterior tiles were the icing on the cake, with dove symbols on the serene blue by Athos Bulcão.

This is in the area of the Brasilia superquadras, which are 280x280m, with buildings that have six floors of residential space, leaving the ground floor free for public circulation. This is a really good way of separating pedestrians from the traffic, and creating space for plants and trees. In the original plan, for every four superblocks, there should be a church, school, cinema, and other social areas for the residents to enjoy as a neighbourhood. This has not been implemented in every area, however there are still a wide range of community buildings. The buildings within the superblocks can vary in style, but have common architectural features, such as cobogós and blind lateral gables (Campos, 2014).

On my last day in Brasilia, I got a special opportunity to visit areas of the city that would have been inaccessible to me on foot. I started the day still in the Monumental Axis, with a view from the top of the TV Tower. This felt very special to me, and I enjoyed getting to know and understand the city from a high vantage point.

From here, we were picked up by Fernanda's parents, and they welcomed me into their home, to try a traditional Brazilian lunch of rice, beans and meat. I learnt about the cities that surround Brasilia, due to the restriction in building in the main centre, so this has led to other communities building up nearby, with people commuting in for work, studying and social events. After lunch, they took us to the lake area, which was incredibly beautiful. This gave me a completely different insight into Brasilia and the enjoyment people can have from living in the city.

http://brasiliaconcreta.com.br/as-superquadras-de-brasilia/