Palácio do Planalto
Oscar Niemeyer · Brasília, Brazil · 1960
The Palácio do Planalto forms one side of Brasília’s Praça dos Três Poderes and houses Brazil’s executive branch. Niemeyer gives the rectilinear glazed volume a ceremonial identity through a perimeter of slender curved columns and a broad entrance ramp. The apparent simplicity depends on precise proportion and a deliberate contrast between transparent façades and sculptural supports. Together with the National Congress and Supreme Court, the palace defines the civic heart of Lúcio Costa’s modern capital.