Brasília

Brasília was developed as Brazil's new capital between 1956 and 1960, combining Lúcio Costa's urban plan with Oscar Niemeyer's architecture. Its monumental east–west axis intersects a curving transport axis, organising administrative buildings, public spaces and residential districts within a coordinated modernist scheme. The National Congress, Three Powers Square and the Esplanade of the Ministries give architectural form to the capital's governmental role. Residential superblocks introduced another part of the experiment, placing housing above open ground and within landscaped neighbourhoods. Recognised by UNESCO as a major work of twentieth-century urbanism, Brasília is distinguished by the relationship between individual buildings and the design of the city as a whole.