Fr : version française / En: english version

.mheu, Historical Museum of the Urban Environment

Babel and Babylon

Aztec cities

Heavenly Jerusalem

The Fujian Tulou

Utopia

Romorantin, capital of a kingdom...

The city of brotherly love

Saint Petersburg, Peter's great city

Industry, socialism and utopia

Taking technology to new heights

Home sweet home

A towering challenge...

New towns

Conjuring capitals

Auroville: "divine anarchy"

Private cities

Dubai: miracle or mirage?

All eyes on the horizon

.Babel to Dubai: Urban Utopias

Conjuring capitals

In the sixties, the most innovative urban experiments took place in what Alfred Sauvy had recently dubbed the "Third World". Emerging countries played a key part and gave modern town planners and architects unparalleled opportunities to explore the boldest of ideas.

This led to the appearance of two new capitals at roughly the same time:

Chandigarh: Le Corbusier was invited to help design a new capital for Punjab divided by the India/Pakistan border

Brasilia: this gigantic project by Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer was built in the middle of nowhere in fewer than four years, driven by the ambition of Brazil's president, Juscelino Kubitschek, to refocus the country's economic balance on its interior.

Construction of the Ministries Esplanade

Oscar Niemeyer

Born in 1907, Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer was a proponent of the International Style. He perfected his technique alongside compatriot Lucio Costa, with whom he designed the city of Brasilia in the sixties and gained an international reputation. When the military dictatorship seized power, Niemeyer left Brazil for France, where he designed a number of buildings including La Maison de la Culture in Le Havre, as well as the headquarters of the French Communist Party and the newspaper Humanité.

"In my designs, only concrete makes it possible to master such generous curves. Concrete suggests flexible lines and contrasting shapes, by constantly varying the use of space in contrast to the uniform approach of the repetitive systems of international functionalism."

Even at the age of 102, Oscar Niemeyer continues to explore urban planning while keeping a trained eye on his great-great-great grandchildren!

Brasilia

Brasilia is a masterpiece of modern architecture, built in the space of 1,000 days in the Brazilian savannah. The city was declared a UN World Heritage Site in 1987. Urban planner Lúcio Costa came up with the initial design of a city in the shape of an airplane, set against an artificial lake. The residential districts are functional and self-sufficient, with shopping centers, schools and parks nearby.

The main buildings were designed by the architect Oscar Niemeyer, including the cathedral (with seats for 4,000 people), the National Congress (chambers of parliament), the Foreign Ministry, the High Court and the Presidential Palace.

The judicial, executive and legislative buildings stand around the majestic and aptly named Square of Three Powers.

The city is laid out around two perpendicular thoroughfares: Eixo Monumental and Eixo Rodoviário, or Eixao. The main mass transit terminals lie at the intersection of these roads to meet the needs of the two and a half million people living in the city.

Special report: "Brasilia, 40 years on" (in French)