4 ms·

Brasilia is a terribly designed city, and this is a very ugly building. Classic "high modernism" (https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300078152/seeing-like-a-st

Brasilia is a terribly designed city, and this is a very ugly building. Classic "high modernism" (https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300078152/seeing-like-a-state/ https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300078152/seeing-like-a-...)

ogogmad 4y ago
Short version (compared to the book): https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/03/16/book-review-seeing-like-a-state/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/03/16/book-review-seeing-lik...
socialismisok 4y ago
I disagree, the discs in that building looks incredible to me? I love the curved spaces, the variety in shape and light, the canted walls, the colors. It's dated now, for sure, but it has a very retro futurist vibe I dig. Eye of the beholder, I suppose.
- rglullis 4y ago
  Looking nice and being a nice place to live are very different things.
nwatson 4y ago
I lived in Brasília three years in my later teens in the early '80s. It was ambitious but fell short. The superblocks were cold and impersonal. There were many strange ideas such as ... all the hotels should be stuffed into two hotel sectors close to the city center. In the almost 40 years since I left I've heard there's more of a local culture and perhaps things have improved. Back then everyone in Brasília was still from elsewhere.
- amrocha 4y ago
  I grew up there in the early 2000s and it was a great city. Lots of kids to play with from your own block, access to local shops within walking distance, safe enough that kids walk around and play by themselves. One of the things I loved the most was going to friends houses and learning what their block was like. There's parts that suck, over reliance on cars, no public transit, lots of things are just a little bit too far to walk to. But overall, Brasília had more easily accessible green space dedicated to people than most cities in the world imo.
  - rglullis 4y ago
    > Lots of kids to play with from your own block (...) safe enough I bet that your part of town was the one that kept the poor plebs away. > over reliance on cars, no public transit, lots of things are just a little bit too far to walk to. That by itself already should be an immediate disqualification to consider a city "nice". > Brasília had more easily accessible green space dedicated to people than most cities in the world imo I guess if you stick only the planned area and exclude the satellite cities, that could be true. Even then, I'd really like to see some data on that.
    - amrocha 4y ago
      Yeah of course I'm excluding the satellite cities, they weren't planned and this is a thread about the planned city. Brazil has a wealth inequality problem, designing a city well was never going to solve that. It's not a perfect city, but it's way better than the vast majority of north American cities, which isn't reflected in all the negative comments here.
  - rbanffy 4y ago
    > over reliance on cars, no public transit, lots of things are just a little bit too far to walk to The city was designed in the 50's. We need to consider the decisions in that context. OTOH, even Disney's original EPCOT concept had mass transit baked in, and it was imagined in the US, land of the automobile.
amrocha 4y ago
Brasília is wonderfully designed dirty, and the building is beautiful. That's a terrible book.
- lostlogin 4y ago
  Do you mean ‘city’? That’s a great typo if so.
Shorel 4y ago
That building doesn't look appealing, I agree, but I was in Brasília a year ago, and it is a wonderfully designed city, far better than many. You can walk to many places, apartment buildings don't block your path, there are plenty of parks, and you don't need cars for everything like in American cities. If that's your criticism, then I wish more cities were designed, and as similar to Brasília as possible.
- rglullis 4y ago
  If you meant to compare with American suburbs, it is a pretty low bar to clear.
forinti 4y ago
Brasília is weird in its lack of sidewalks. Sometimes you can't get to the next building without crossing a street or a parking lot. Also, public transport is awful. Buses don't have air conditioning and the metro comes within 2km of the airport and turns away! Still, people I know who grew up there say it was great to be able to roam and play freely around the residential areas.
- gtirloni 4y ago
  > Also, public transport is awful. Buses don't have air conditioning and the metro comes within 2km of the airport and turns away That's an administration issue, not related to Niemeyer's design.
  - forinti 4y ago
    Actually, you can blame Lúcio Costa for the design of the city. Niemeyer designed the buildings. I hear they are not the best places to work, but I do like the spaces inside the ones I've being to.

ogogmad 4y ago

Short version (compared to the book): https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/03/16/book-review-seeing-like-a-state/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/03/16/book-review-seeing-lik...

socialismisok 4y ago

I disagree, the discs in that building looks incredible to me? I love the curved spaces, the variety in shape and light, the canted walls, the colors. It's dated now, for sure, but it has a very retro futurist vibe I dig. Eye of the beholder, I suppose.

rglullis 4y ago
Looking nice and being a nice place to live are very different things.

nwatson 4y ago

I lived in Brasília three years in my later teens in the early '80s. It was ambitious but fell short. The superblocks were cold and impersonal. There were many strange ideas such as ... all the hotels should be stuffed into two hotel sectors close to the city center. In the almost 40 years since I left I've heard there's more of a local culture and perhaps things have improved. Back then everyone in Brasília was still from elsewhere.

amrocha 4y ago
I grew up there in the early 2000s and it was a great city. Lots of kids to play with from your own block, access to local shops within walking distance, safe enough that kids walk around and play by themselves. One of the things I loved the most was going to friends houses and learning what their block was like. There's parts that suck, over reliance on cars, no public transit, lots of things are just a little bit too far to walk to. But overall, Brasília had more easily accessible green space dedicated to people than most cities in the world imo.
- rglullis 4y ago
  > Lots of kids to play with from your own block (...) safe enough I bet that your part of town was the one that kept the poor plebs away. > over reliance on cars, no public transit, lots of things are just a little bit too far to walk to. That by itself already should be an immediate disqualification to consider a city "nice". > Brasília had more easily accessible green space dedicated to people than most cities in the world imo I guess if you stick only the planned area and exclude the satellite cities, that could be true. Even then, I'd really like to see some data on that.
  - amrocha 4y ago
    Yeah of course I'm excluding the satellite cities, they weren't planned and this is a thread about the planned city. Brazil has a wealth inequality problem, designing a city well was never going to solve that. It's not a perfect city, but it's way better than the vast majority of north American cities, which isn't reflected in all the negative comments here.
- rbanffy 4y ago
  > over reliance on cars, no public transit, lots of things are just a little bit too far to walk to The city was designed in the 50's. We need to consider the decisions in that context. OTOH, even Disney's original EPCOT concept had mass transit baked in, and it was imagined in the US, land of the automobile.

amrocha 4y ago

Brasília is wonderfully designed dirty, and the building is beautiful. That's a terrible book.

lostlogin 4y ago
Do you mean ‘city’? That’s a great typo if so.

Shorel 4y ago

That building doesn't look appealing, I agree, but I was in Brasília a year ago, and it is a wonderfully designed city, far better than many. You can walk to many places, apartment buildings don't block your path, there are plenty of parks, and you don't need cars for everything like in American cities. If that's your criticism, then I wish more cities were designed, and as similar to Brasília as possible.

rglullis 4y ago
If you meant to compare with American suburbs, it is a pretty low bar to clear.

forinti 4y ago

Brasília is weird in its lack of sidewalks. Sometimes you can't get to the next building without crossing a street or a parking lot. Also, public transport is awful. Buses don't have air conditioning and the metro comes within 2km of the airport and turns away! Still, people I know who grew up there say it was great to be able to roam and play freely around the residential areas.

gtirloni 4y ago
> Also, public transport is awful. Buses don't have air conditioning and the metro comes within 2km of the airport and turns away That's an administration issue, not related to Niemeyer's design.
- forinti 4y ago
  Actually, you can blame Lúcio Costa for the design of the city. Niemeyer designed the buildings. I hear they are not the best places to work, but I do like the spaces inside the ones I've being to.