Brasilia in pictures: 50 great buildings, 50 years
![Oscar Niemeyer - National Congress](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ZwcNDHpyzLbvre5NgATT4K-415-80.jpg)
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.
Joao Filgueiras Lima (Lele) - Sarah Lago Hospital
Icaro Castro Mello - Nilson Nelson Gymnasium
Jose Galbinski - University restaurant/UnB
Brasil Arquitetura - ANTAQ Building
Oscar Niemeyer - Super Quadra 107/108 South (1959)
Rodrigo Lefevre- DNIT
Oscar Niemeyer - National Theatre (1958)
Ruy Ohtake - Gama Stadium
Bernardes+Jacobsen - LB house
Oscar Niemeyer - Catetinho, the temporary residence of President Juscelino Kubitschek (1956)
Abraham Zabludovsky Kraveski - Mexican embassy
Oscar Niemeyer - Joao Herculino Republic Cultural Complex - Leonel de Moura Brizola National Library (2003)
Joao Filgueiras Lima (Lele) - Roberto Costa Pinho residence
MGS Macedo, Gomes & Sobreira - FHE
Lucio Costa - Pilot Plan
Oscar Niemeyer - Costa e Silva Bridge (1967)
Oscar Niemeyer - Alvorada Palace (1957)
Pier Luigi Nervi - Italian embassy
Eolo Maia - CONIC
Gilson Paranhos - LF House (Condominio Ville de Montagne, cj. 26, casa 40)
Oscar Niemeyer - Itamaraty Palace (1962)
Pedro Paulo de Melo Saraiva - Fazendaria School
Helio Ferreira Pinto - Central Bank (1976-1981)
Joao Filgueiras Lima (Lele) - Camargo Correa and Morro Vermelho Buildings
Paulo Zimbres - UnB Rectory (1972-1975)
Matheus Gorovitz - UnB Gas Station
Oscar Niemeyer - Army Headquarter (1968)
Oscar Niemeyer - University of Brasilia - Central Institute of Sciences (1960)
Oscar Niemeyer - Palace of Justice (1962)
Alexandre Chan - Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge
Isay Weinfeld - Brasilia House
Oscar Niemeyer - Nossa Senhora de Fatima Church (1958)
Oscar Niemeyer - Museum of the Foundation of Brasilia (1960)
Pedro Paulo de Melo Saraiva - Fazendaria School
Joao Filgueiras Lima (Lele) - Sarah Centro Hospital
MMM Roberto - Brasilia Regional Bank
Oscar Niemeyer - National Supreme Court (1958)
Lucio Costa - Bus Station
Maria Clara Batalha (1991) + Aurelio Martinez Flores (2000) - ACL house
Oscar Niemeyer - French School (1978)
Claudio Jose Pinheiro Villar de Queiroz - UnB-Anisio Teixeira and Joao Calmon Pavilions
Sergio Parada - Brasilia Airport
Oscar Niemeyer - Juscelino Kubitschek Memorial (1980)
Burle Marx - Crystal Square
Oscar Niemeyer - Metropolitan Cathedral (1959)
Nauro Esteves - Conjunto Nacional
Oscar Niemeyer - Planalto Palace (1958)
Paulo Mendes da Rocha - Roberto Simonsen Building
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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).
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