Brasilia in pictures: 50 great buildings, 50 years
You don't have to be an architecture expert to have heard of Brasilia. Contemporary Brazil's renowned capital was purpose-built in 1960, featuring a grand urban plan by Lúcio Costa, Oscar Niemeyer as its iconic principle architect and Roberto Burle Marx as the landscape designer, plus buildings from some of the country's finest architects.
Its urban planning design has been an example and universal reference to architects and urban planners ever since. And it was all beautifully designed in the era's most forward thinking style - the International Style - which Brazil took and made its own.
Today, home to some 2.6 million Brazilians and a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site, Brasilia is marking its 50th anniversary. Photographer Leonardo Finotti visited the Brazilian capital for this celebration and presented us with 50 great Brasilia buildings, one for each year of the city's much celebrated existence.
From famous Niemeyer buildings, to lesser known classic modernist structures like the Sarah Hospital by João Filgueiras Lima (Lelé) and the Nilson Nelson Arena by Ícaro Castro Mello - and even a few distinguished and beautiful private residences - our map of Brasilia has it all.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Looking for a long-range luxury EV that’s a true Tesla alternative? Welcome to the Lucid Air
We drive the Lucid Air, the high-performance Californian EV that’s a welcome leftfield choice in a sea of Musk-mobiles. Vote Lucid!
By Guy Bird Published
-
Umbrian castle hotel Reschio seduces with 1,000 years of history, now explored in a new book
The estate, home to a boutique hotel and rentable houses, is documented in Rizzoli's ‘Reschio: the First Thousand Years’ – and is open for stays
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Light, nature and modernist architecture: welcome to the reimagined Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens and its modernist Roberto Burle Marx-designed greenhouse get a makeover by Weiss/Manfredi and Reed Hildebrand in the US
By Ian Volner Published
-
All aboard Casa Quinta, floating in Brazil’s tropical rainforest
Casa Quinta by Brazilian studio Arquipélago appears to float at canopy level in the heart of the rainforest that flanks the picturesque town of Paraty on the coast between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro
By Rainbow Nelson Published
-
Feel like a movie? The top 50 films of all time according to Marcio Kogan
Marcio Kogan's top 50 films of all time; the architect taps into his passion for the moving image and shares with us his recommendations
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Studio mk27 and Marcio Kogan’s greatest hits: from voluptuous villas to relaxing retreats
Studio mk27, led by Wallpaper* guest editor Marcio Kogan, is behind buildings that make us swoon; here are the best of the best
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2024: meet the practices
In the Wallpaper* Architects Directory 2024, our latest guide to exciting, emerging practices from around the world, 20 young studios show off their projects and passion
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
How guest editor Marcio Kogan, during a visit to the movies, ‘discovered that something else exists in the world, real poetry’
Marcio Kogan is a guest editor of Wallpaper* October 2024. In his dedicated section, we discover how the world of cinema’s loss was architecture’s gain when a feature film failed but a dream space creator rose from the ashes
By Rainbow Nelson Published
-
Brazilian modernism finds its latest expression in Studio Porto’s AG House
Studio Porto, an emerging Brazilian practice, joins the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2024
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A modernist São Paulo apartment finds a new lease of life
A spacious modernist São Paulo apartment in the neighbourhood of Higienópolis gets a thorough renovation by Brazilian architects Bloco Arquitetos
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Explore Bridge House, an immersive island home off the coast of Brazil
Bridge House offers 21st-century minimalism and long sea views on the island of Florianópolis off the southern coast of Brazil
By Ellie Stathaki Published