Futurist Architecture in Brazil

Spend your arrival afternoon getting to know your guide and enjoying the atmosphere of Brazil’s capital city. Visit the Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge, which crosses Lake Paranoa, to get a feel for the modernist/futurist architecture you’ll be visiting this week. 

Along with other designers and architects, Oscar Niemeyer helped plan and develop the city of Brasilia in 1956 as part of an effort to provide a more centralized location for the capital, which previously had been in Rio de Janeiro. In 2017, Brasilia was named “City of Design” by UNESCO.

You’ll get right into the work of Oscar Neimeyer by visiting the famous Cathedral of Brasilia. Completed in 1970, it resembles a crown and has a stained glass ceiling and sculptures in the interior. Niemeyer’s signature stark white buildings and sculptural forms provide a complementary contrast to the colorful Brazilian landscape.  

You’ll also pay a visit to the Itamaraty Palace, or Palace of the Arches. It was completed in 1970 and is the headquarters of Brazil’s Ministry of External Relations. Surrounding pools of water reflect the graceful arches and abundant glass.

Today, you’ll take a tour of the National Congress Building. The building was completed in 1960, and the complex features a dome, an inverted saucer-like dome and a tall rectangle that splices the two sides of the complex. You’ll also visit the graceful colonnades, floating platform and arches of the glass-covered Supreme Federal Court and Presidential Palace

This morning, you’ll visit the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi. Completed in 1943, it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site and features four parabolas and outdoor mosaics. You’ll also stop by the Pampulha Art Museum. Originally designed as a casino, it’s now home to Brazilian art and engravings, landscaped gardens and Niemeyer’s modernist architecture.  

The Inhotim Institute is home to an incredible collection of outdoor sculpture and art installations. More than two dozen pavilions feature work by international and Brazilian artists. There’s a botanical garden with more than 1,300 types of palms and rare plants such as the carrion flower.

Today brings you to Niemeyer’s hometown of Rio de Janeiro. The Niteroi Contemporary Art Museum, completed in 1996, projects an alien-like UFO presence against the Rio landscape. The saucer-shaped structure overlooks Bon Voyage Beach and a reflecting pool. While in Rio, you’ll visit the world-famous Christ the Redeemer statue and take a cable car ride to Sugarloaf Mountain.    

Up first up on today’s agenda is the Latin American Memorial, which opened in 1989. The complex features indoor and outdoor works of art as well as music, images and a library, and preserves the cultural, social and economic issues of Latin America. Outside, check out Mao, a hand-shaped concrete sculpture with a map of Latin American on the palm.

Next up is the wave-like Edificio Triangulo. Designed in the “Manhattan style,” a variation of art deco, its unique triangular shape stands out against the urban cityscape. 

The Ibirapuera Auditorium in Ibirapuera Park is next on the list. Niemeyer’s unique triangle-shaped structure has hosted the Latin American Music Awards and America’s Next Top Model. You’ll spend time walking around the park and touring the auditorium. The park is one of the largest in Latin America and features beautifully landscaped English gardens, pathways and green spaces. It plays host to cultural events, trade shows and live music.

On your last morning in Brazil, enjoy breakfast and a stroll by the wave-like facade of the Edificio Copan before heading out to catch your flight.