Gustavo Capanema Palace
Lúcio Costa + Affonso Eduardo Reidy + Carlos Leão + Jorge Moreira + Ernani Vasconcellos + Oscar Niemeyer · Rio de Janeiro, Brazil · 1943
The former Ministry of Education and Health is a foundational work of Brazilian modern architecture. Designed by a team led by Lúcio Costa with Le Corbusier as consultant, the elevated slab combines pilotis, brise-soleil, roof gardens, murals and integrated artworks into a climate-responsive civic building. Its north façade became a celebrated demonstration of large-scale sun control. The project translated international modernism into a specifically Brazilian institutional language and strongly influenced the generation that later created Brasília.