Capitol Complex,Chandigarh Case Study

1. CASE STUDY
CAPITOL COMPLEX
INDO GLOBAL COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
Submitted by:
Saurav Chaudhary (11034)
Sidharth Thepra (11056)
Section B
Semester 9th
B.Architecture

2. LOCATION CAPITOL COMPLEX

3. SITE LAYOUT 1- Parliament(assembly)
2- Secretariat
3- Governor Palace
4- Justice Court
6- The Basins
7- Open Hand

4. THE CAPITOL COMPLEX
• Area of great symbolic significance in Chandigarh is CAPITOL COMPLEX, which
in its final form was based on the design of great cross axis.
• The site is situated b/w city and shivalik hills and is 100 acres in area.
• Master plan is asymmetrical – symbol of democrative nature of state.
• Most important group of buildings constituting the capitol complex are:
1. THE HIGH COURT
2. THE ASSEMBLY HALL
3. THE SECRETARIAT
4. RAJ BHAWAN AS IN GOVERNOR PALACE OR MUSEUM OF
KNOWLEDGE: YET NOT CONSTRUCTED.
5. OPEN HAND MONUMENT
6. TOWER OF SHADOW

5. ASSEMBLY BUILDING
On March, 1961 the present building known as “Vidhan Bhawan” became the permanent home
where all legislative proceedings are conducted. It is located opposite the high court across the
400m wide capitol plaza.

6. THE OPEN HAND MONUMENT
• Prominent monument 12.5 x 9.0 m and weighs ten
tones.
• Defines northern fringe of capitol complex shows
man made sculptural form against the back drop of
shivalik hills.
• “ Open to give and open to receive” also signifies
openness of planning of Chandigarh and blessing
hand of almighty.
• It rises 27 m from a sunken pavilion with seating
arrangement around it.
• Rotates according to the wind movement.
• Surface is covered with polished steel grey metal.

7. PLANNING OF THE BUILDING
THE GROUND FLOOR PLAN OF
THE ASSEMBLY
• The assembly hall has a square plan.
• The assembly chamber is in the form of a
hyperbolic shell, surrounded by a
ceremonial space.
• This circulation space which is a triple
height columned hall is dimly lit.
• Members of assembly use various side
entrances to get into impressive but
rather dark hall.
• The hall leads to main rooms which
follow the British model.
AERIAL VIEW OF THE ASSEMBLY
Offices are arranged on the periphery of the
three sides of the approximately square
building.
The offices are open plan and can be
subdivided.

8. • The upper and the lower house are inserted into the
buildings interior as independent volumes.
• The smaller chamber is lit by a skylight in the shape
of a tetrahedron, while the lower house widens at the
top in a shape of reminiscent of a cooling tower.
• Cooling towers are not the only influence, the
chimney of Jura farmhouse near la Chaux de fonds,
Corbusier's birth place, contributed as well.
• The beveled line of this tower is provided with
mechanical lighting which provides natural lighting.
THE TETRAHEDRON SKYLIGHT OVER
THE SMALLER CHAMBER
ANOTHER SKYLIGHT OVER
THE LARGER CHAMBER
• The space is circular, countering the square outline of
the building around it.
• Two “ears”, called “ladies galleries” in the ground plan
provide banks of seats and are appended as rooms
with free forms.
• All ground plan figurations are right angled and the
wall slabs of the outer façade described above are
placed diagonally. The journalist area is separated
from the areas used by members.

9. WATER CANOPY
THE GREAT PORTICO FACING THE HIGH COURT
THE GOVERNOR’S ENTRANCE
DOOR (OUTSIDE)
THE GOVERNOR’S ENTRANCE
DOOR (INSIDE)

10. • A rich range of images that convey multiple
meanings are painted on the interior and exterior
surfaces of door. All the doors were painted by
Corbusier himself, with his own hands, working
continuously for 14 days. The 110 square meter
door consists of 110 panels, 55 on each side. These
were arranged in 5 rows and 11 vertically.
• The main entrance is 25’ square, and contains a
pivoting enamel door which was fabricated in
France according to a design by Corbusier.
• The assembly chamber itself is hyperbolic with an
average thickness of 15 cm, constant throughout its
surface resulting in a very low cost and a minimum
of weight.
• The form is direct image of spontaneous design.
even though the curvature may obey geometrical.
INTERIORS
Interiors

11. GEOMETRY OF THE
BUILDING
• The geometry of parliament is based
on a square of defined size. The
dimensions of the parliament relate
directly to the measurements that lie
behind the site as a whole, two times
800 m, and then arising from this two
times 400m, with its proportional
derivations.
• A second larger square of a defined
size is assigned to the initial square
with its axis at the center. Its right hand
outer trace lies on the right hand side
of the first square. These primaries
setting provide position of the
subsequent plan figures. The position
of the round section of the building for
the chamber can be determined by
establishing the outer lines produced
by the two squares.

12. • The placing of the chamber circle arises directly
from the two squares. The golden section
divisions of the two squares are crucially
important. A small strip is produced between
these divisions, and its central axis defines the
position of the circle horizontally.
• A diagonal of the square combines the squares
that establish the outline: the axis of the mediator
between the two golden section divisions meets
the outer line of the larger square, at the bottom,
and from this intersection the diagonal meets the
smaller square on its left hand outer line.
• It is possible to add a horizontal line that
intersects with the vertical axis of the circle,
forming its horizontal axis thus defining the
position of the circle exactly.

13. • Another square of defined size is inscribed
within the lines of this new square define
the line of the office area on the outer
periphery, peripheral zones are created by
overlapping with the second square.
•
• Differently shaped access areas are
separated off on the three sides. This ring
encloses an inner square zone with a
corridor system, thus producing a hall with
the body of chamber inserted into it.
• A grid of defined size is inscribed in the
inner hall zone; its position depends on the
geometry of the circle. The grid consists of
8 by 7 patterns of fields with access ramps
placed on the left hand edge. The result is
a square grid separated by a ramp zone.
Square access zones are developed at
corners of the office zones so that each of
the three sides is independent. The portico
is at the southern edge of the ring.

14. HIGH COURT
FUNCTION
• The high court was the first structure to be built in the capitol complex. It was
opened in 1956. Corbusier envisaged the building as vaulted structure,
monumental in scale set against the backdrop of Shivalik hills.
• Its structure symbolizes
three ideas: “THE
MAJESTY OF LAW AND
THE POWER AND FEAR
OF LAW”.

15. PLANNING
The building has an l shaped plan and houses eight double height courtrooms and
a triple height high court on the ground floor with offices above each court.
The courtrooms are identically expressed on the main façade and are separated
from the high court by a great entrance portico.
It contains a row of eight court rooms on ground floor level and a main courtroom
separated from the others by a large entrance hall. A restaurant, a library and other
side rooms are accommodated in a rear, lower part of the building.

16. • The significance of the high court is
underscored by its isolation from the rest
by a giant portico meant for lawyers and
judges.
• Each courtroom is individually assessable
to the public from outside.
• On the south eastern side is a public
entrance and car park at a lower level.
• In contrast with the deep walls there is a
barrier: the ramps as a transverse
pedestrian access element it is a dividing
element within the depths of space,
referring functionally it to access level of
courtrooms and finally it is simply a free
standing sculpture.
• The continuity of the surface of the
esplanade with the entrance portico on
north western side sustains the unity of the
external and internal spaces.
• The floor of the entrance area is finished
with stone which is set in rows of varying
widths.

17. • An emphatic color scheme has been used to
enhance visual delight of the building across the
plaza three pylons of portico rising 18.3 m from the
ground express the majesty of law. They are
cemented rendered and painted green yellow and
pinkish red respectively.
• The flanking walls are painted black. The
predominant character of the building is created by
a double effect: the first impression is of a
dominant box frame, establishing a rectangular
block as a figure.
• The space between the two roofs is left open to
enable currents of air to move between the flat
roof of the office block and the underside of the
parasol roof with slopes towards the center in the
form of a row of arches.
• The building rises directly from the earth, the main
façade defined by full height concrete brise soleil
and the arch forms restricted to the underside of
the parasol roof.
ELEVATION
ELEVATION

18. • The parasol roof which slopes towards the center
provides a trough from which rain water gushes out
through heavy spouts at either ends. The space
between the upper and lower roofs is left open to
allow free movement of air, cooling the interiors
considerably.
• The orientation of the high court is such that the
main façade faces northwest, and thus does not
receive direct sunlight until late in the day, long
after the hours during which the court is normally in
session. The light which enters the court rooms
during the morning and early afternoon is
essentially reflected glare which is diffused by sun
breakers and also by curtains within the chambers.
• The real façade of thy building, houses most of the
offices and has a south eastern exposure, the brise
soleil is put to a severe functional test. The rough
concrete of the building is treated in a variety of
manners. Marks of sheet metal formwork
characterize the surface of the external walls. The
entrance lobby is paved with whitish flag stones set
in rows of varying widths.

19. • Because the exposed concrete surfaces inside the
court rooms produced a problem in acoustics, it
was found necessary to introduce a sounder
absorptive surface, and the solution was the
creation of a series of large tapestries to cover the
interior walls behind the judges benches.
• On the other hand, a tapestry is like a wall made
of wool w3hich can be removed , rolled together,
and taken away to be hung on another wall that’s
why he called them “ MURALNOMAD.”
• The tapestries also served the purpose of
satisfactory acoustics. It was a good occasion to
blend the architecture of armed concrete (a
sounding material) with the craft of wool (a
substance absorbing sounds).
• Though these tapestries were created for acoustic
refining, yet they enhance the quality of spaces
with their polychrome tones and the intellectual
presence and poetry of certain symbols.
INTERIOR

20. LIGHTING
• The main façade of the high court is oriented towards the North West, it therefore does not receive
direct sunlight until late in the day, long after the hours during which the high court is normally in
session.
• The light which enters the courtroom during the morning and the early afternoon is essentially
reflected glare.
• Moreover because of the open character of the stairways ramps and corridors; people cannot move
around the building during the rainy seasons without getting drenched. Nevertheless, it is a building
with one of the most beautiful facades, with an exceptionally inviting and alluring.
• The following analysis shows that
Corbusier designed the ground
plan on the basis of ordering
principles that refer symbolically
to transcendental connections.
• The influence of the insights
gained from the modular about
golden section as a result of
linking single and double squares
as in the site plan.
• The entrance hall to the high
court consists of Double Square
of a defined size. This is the
determining initial figure for the
analysis of geometry and scale.
Geometry

21. THE SECRETARIAT

22. SECRETARIAT BUILDING
FUNCTION
• The ten-storey secretariat
building houses the
administrative offices of ministers
and of all ministerial agencies.
Corbusier was pleased to take the opportunity to plan a building as large as this but
this was also too small to fulfill its function properly. Dividing the state into Punjab
and Haryana meant that twice the amount of administration was needed. The
building now houses three times the number of employees that was planned; some
of whom were forced out on to the balconies, which have been converted into
offices.

23. • The largest building within the capitol complex is the secretariat, an administrative complex
254 m long and 41 m high. Corbusier's intension was to build tower modeled on his
skyscraper design for Algeria in 1941.
• The horizontal block consists of six eight-storey sections for different administrative
functions. One part is intended for office space for ministers and the governor. With a view
to accommodate the ever-changing needs of the government, the floor area is arranged into
the required space units by removable partitions, which define and redefine space
demarcations.
• A typical floor plan is a simple pattern of offices that can be subdivided as wished arranged
symmetrically on both sides of the corridor. Large open plan offices are formed at each end.
PLANNING

24. • Blocks 1 & 2 rise directly from the
ground. Blocks 3, 4 & part of 5 and
all of block 6, the ground level
returns to the plaza height, lower
portions of these blocks are left open
to a height of two storeys.
•
• For supplementary communication
within the building, each of the six
blocks is equipped with interior
staircase and limited elevator service
for most of the floor levels a uniform
bay system is employed.
• Horizontal circulation is by a central
corridor, the office areas defined by
the partitions standing free if the
columns the secretariat is topped by
a roof garden which has been
designed not only to insulate the
building against the direct rays of the
sun but also to provide an excellent
recreational space.

25. • A cafeteria has been built on the tenth
floor to ensure that the smell and
fumes from the kitchen do not pollute
the interiors of the building. Also it
offers the panoramic view of the
Shivalik hills and the whole complex.
For a quick vertical circulation, the
building is equipped with nine lifts and
staircases.
• Two great ramps grow out of the
building at a rakish angle. Their
sidewalls have small openings to permit
the entry of light and air. The majority
of employees are using these ramps.
• The architect was of the opinion that
the system of elevators would be too
costly. It will have very little utility, as it
will be used in the morning and the
evening only. Corbusier also considered
the facts that Indians like walking.
• The ramps offer interesting
perspectives of landscape and the
architectural designs of this complex.

26. • Corbusier marks the ministers
section with a brise soleil
composition.
• Corbusier also used this uniform
façade structure of floor slabs with
external supports and detached
balcony walls in central buildings in
the city.
• The building is oriented to obtain
the maximum benefit of the wind
direction for effective cross
ventilation and provide an
unobstructed view of the Shivalik
hills as well of the perspectives of
the city.
• It is a reinforced concrete frame structure, separated by five expansion joints into six distinct bays. Five
of the bays are almost identical where as the one containing. The double height offices of ministers, has
been designed to provide a background benefiting the dignity of the elected representatives of the
people.

27. • The height of the basic office style was
determined by the Modular to be 3.66 m
under the transoms; with a doubling of
proportions in ministerial chambers in the
center of the building is an excavation one
storey deep where the main entrance is
placed.
• Climate control in this building, with its
enormous bands of glazing, is achieved by
the provision of adjustable aerators set
behind wire mesh. The undulatory glass
panels are well protected against the sun and
rain by a grill of brise soleil on the two main
facades. Corbusier's system of louvers to
protect windows from inclement weather has
not provided to be very effective. During the
summer months, they absorb the suns heat
and transmit it to the interiors.
• As a result of shortage of space, every
conceivable area on the balconies has been
converted into offices. The fixed concrete
brise soleil appeared visually not as an
applied screen but as a part of building
fabric itself, & the pattern of the sun breakers
was altered to emphasize the varying uses
within the building.

28. • The secretariat building seems to be too large, absolutely gigantic, in comparison wit the architecture
of the other buildings at the capitol complex. The basic form of the secretariat is predetermined as a
long rectangle. The length of the building was largely determined by the quality of space needed.
• Six parts of the rectangle form the individual administrative sections. Their dimensions are
predetermined sections 1, 2 and 6 are the same lengths, 3 and 5 are larger units and four has its own
special dimensions as part of the accommodation for ministers. A double square, projected over the
central axis on to the rectangle, is now derived from the length of the rectangle.
• The construction of the double square from the single square and the resultant pattern of golden
section divisions, as already described in the Modular, are transferred to the figure of the rectangle.
RAMP CONNECTING THE CANTEEN WITH THE LOWER STOREY EXTERNALLY
GEOMETRY

29. THE VIEWING GALLERY AT THE ROOF TOP LEVEL WITH AN INTRERESTING
ROOF PROFILE
PICTURE SHOWING THE STRUCTURE AT THE ROOF TOP
BEING USED AS SECURITY REST ROOMS

30. CAPITOL COMPLEX OF BRASILIA

32. MASTER PLAN OF BRASILIA

33. INTRODUCTION
• Brasília is the capital of Brazil and the seat of government of
the Federal District. The city is located along the Brazilian
Highlands on the country's Central-West region.
• It was founded on April 21, 1960, to serve as the new national
capital. Brasília had an estimated population of 2,789,761 in
2013, making it the 4th most populous city in Brazil.
• Brasília was planned and developed by Lúcio Costa and Oscar
Niemeyer in 1956 in order to move the capital from Rio de
Janeiro to a more central position.
• The city's design divides it into numbered blocks as well as
sectors for specified activities, such as the Hotel Sector, the
Banking Sector and the Embassy Sector. Brasília was chosen as
a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its modernist
architecture. The city has a unique status in Brazil, as it is an
administrative division rather than a legal municipality like
other cities in Brazil.
• The centers of all three branches of the federal government of
Brazil are in Brasília, including the Congress, President, and
Supreme Court.
BRASILIA
BRAZIL MAP

34. From upper left:
•National Congress of the
Federative Republic of Brazil,
• Juscelino Kubitschek bridge,
•Monumental Axis,
•Palácio da Alvorada and
•Cathedral of Brasília.

35. BRASILIA FEDERAL CAPITOL COMPLEX
• Oscar Niemeyer designed the National Congress during the late 1950s and early 1960s while he
served as chief architect for Brazil's new capital city, Brasília. The complex is composed of several
buildings.
• The free and vigorous forms of Oscar Niemeyer's works, such as Pampulha (1943) and Canoas
House (1954), were already internationally recognized when he visited Europe in 1954.
• Adopting the main principles of modern urbanism, Lucio Costa's plan for Brasilia achieved an
appropriate expression of a capital with two axes crossing each other in right angles.
• The Federal Legislative Power in Brazil is exercized by two chambers: the Federal Senate and the
Chamber of Deputies. Members of the Senate are called Senadores (Senators) and members of the
Chamber are called Deputados Federais (Federal Deputies).
• The composition, resembling a plane, is very simple, unified, clear, and elegant. In the curved wings
of the north-south axis (road axis), Costa placed the residential areas. The east-west axis
(monumental axis) is a sort of dorsal spine that organizes the entire plan. At the east end of the
monumental axis, Costa located the governmental center, Three Powers Square, as a focus of the
composition

36. SCULPTURAL ARCHITECTURE
• The Brazilian Congress in Brasilia designed by Oscar Niemeyer is an artistic composition of
forms. The juxtaposition of a bowl and a dome atop the plateau of main body of the
building create a powerful piece of SCULPTURAL ARCHITECTURE that is as much a
monument to Brazilian politics as a building to house it.
• Niemeyer’s composition for the Brazilian Congress consists of a dome to house the Senate
and a bowl to house the Chamber of Deputies, both sitting atop a plateau that houses the
congressional administration offices.
VISUAL AND FUNCTIONAL RELATION OF FORMS
• The low concrete dome is visually and structurally sound, and as a building form it is
precedent throughout history to Roman times – giving the dome a sense of stability.
• The bowl, on the other hand, appears to be balancing on a single point, and one feels
that even the slightest nudge would cause the bowl to wobble and teeter on its point –
the bowl is a decidedly uncertain form. Niemeyer’s juxtaposition of two similar forms –
one inverted – conveys senses of stability and uncertainty, but the composition is well
balanced.
• The fact that the bowl and domes have similar forms, albeit inverted, and their proximity
to each other assists in conveying the significance of each form
• The bowl and dome of Niemeyer’s Brazilian Congress are individually unspectacular – it is
as an artistic composition that the two elements, together, become a powerful piece of
sculptural architecture

37. BRASILIA FEDERAL CAPITOL COMPLEX

38. SPACES
• The spaces between the bowl and
dome in Niemeyer’s composition for
the Brazilian Congress were treated
with great skill by the architect. An
area has been defined by the
boundaries of the plateau, and the
two forms are proportioned
according to these parameters.
• Much of the internal space of the
dome is below podium level.
SCALE AND PROPORTION
• Niemeyer has sunk the dome so that only a
percentage of the form is visible – so as not
to allow the dome to dominate the
composition. Niemeyer was attentive to scale
and proportions when designing the Brazilian
Congress, and as a result he achieved a
beautifully balanced sculptural composition.

39. LANDSCAPING

40. THREE POWERS SQUARE
• The Three Powers Square, or Praça dos Três Poderes in Portuguese, is named
after its surroundings being the three governmental powers of Brazil: the
Executive, represented by the presidential office (Palácio do Planalto); the
Legislative, represented by the National Congress (Congresso Nacional); and the
Judiciary, represented by the Federal Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal
Federal).
• The Three Powers Square is a great esplanade for public ceremonies and
provides an aesthetic and symbolic space for all the city houses. Following
Costa's triangular scheme, Niemeyer placed in each vertex a building
representing the three main powers: Planalto Palace (executive), National
Congress (legislative), and Supreme Court (judiciary).
• Niemeyer concentrated his major efforts on the creation of this ensemble.
Niemeyer conceived these palaces as an entity, conferring formal unity and a
general classical monumentality on them.
LOCATION
• The center of Brasilia was outlined with a wide corridor of gardens bordered by
two wide avenues that separate the city into two areas like the north and south.
The corridor ends at the Plaza of Three Powers, where the Federal Supreme
Court, the National Congress with its two twin towers and domes, and the
Planalto Palace where the president or executive.

41. CONCEPT
• The Plaza of the Three Powers (Praça dos Três Portuguese Powers) is a place
whose name derives from the meeting of the three governmental powers around
it: the Executive, represented by the Planalto Palace, the Legislative, represented by
Congress National and the judiciary, represented by the Supreme Federal Court.
One of the biggest attractions in Brasilia.
SPACES
• The set is arranged around a square which completes the monumental axis of the
city of Brasilia. According to approaching us for the high street and are the first
thing that marks the distance from the Congress building. Behind him the square,
and each side of the Planalto Palace and the Supreme Court. At the center of the
square, just behind the building of the congress is the Museum of the Foundation
of Brasilia as the only added element to the whole project from the beginning

42. PLANALTO PALACE
• Construction of the Palácio do Planalto, whose
official name is' Palace of the Despachos' began
to be built on July 10.
• As the seat of government, the words "or
Planalto" is often used as a metonym for the
executive branch of government.
• The idea was to project an image of modernity
and simplicity, consisting of a rectangular glass
box between two slabs supported by a
colonnade perimeter. This definition is still some
way to remind us of Greek temple, with its
colonnade and central cela.
• The generous flat roof above the line of fences
to protect the facades of the direct sun, while
the elements that form the perimeter colonnade
are Alagoas in a direction perpendicular to the
facade creating visual maps that section, giving
a sense of privacy in an area which, moreover, is
very open and transparent in its interior.
• The Palace is four stories high and covers an
area of 36,000 m². Four other adjacent buildings
are also part of the complex.

45. SUPREME COURT
• The lines that define the court are very similar to the Planalto Palace, with an air of modern
temple placed on a platform that seems to float above the ground.
• Not surprisingly, both buildings are similar since they were designed in conjunction with
the project of the square of the three branches and are placed symmetrically with respect
to the axis, not just the plaza, but the entire city of Brasilia.
• These two "temples" face of the square through which the building is the Congress, as
happened with the Roman temples located around a plaza shared for their sacrifices.

46. CONGRESS
• From far away, the powerful National
Congress (1958–60) appears, announcing
the termination of the axis.
• Niemeyer placed two domes on a vast
platform that emphasizes the horizontality
of the complex. Based on a play of volumes,
the complex was intended to express
formally the duality of the two assemblies.
• According to Bruand, the inverted dome, the
Chamber of Deputies, symbolizes the more
democratic facet of this assembly, whereas
the smaller dome, the Senate, appears to be
more reclusive.
• Between the domes, two high thin slabs are
placed, housing the secretariat. The balance
of the final composition is also achieved by
contrasts between vertical and horizontal
lines, between curves and straight lines, and
between the pure forms of platform, twin
towers, and domes.
• It was designed in order to preserve the
openness of the mall while maintaining its
symbolical importance.

48. COMPARISON OF CHANDIGARH AND BRASILIA

49. • Brasilia and Chandigarh differ in many respects, on both at global and local
levels.
• Brasilia displays two distinctive and clearly identifiable linear morphological
units: the Road Axis, along which the rows of residential superblocks are located,
and the Monumental Axis, which constitutes the main symbolic space of the
Brazilian capital.
• The main buildings of the Federal Administration are situated. These two
structural elements intersect at the city centre. They are the most integrated
axes in the city.
• Chandigarh, by contrast, presents a uniform street grid that marks out similar
sectors measuring approximately 800m x1,200m, housing all kinds of activities –
commercial, institutional, residential etc. –
• The Capitol, where the Secretariat, the National Assembly and the High Court
are located.
• However, the Capitol is highly segregated from the rest of the city, in both
expressive and instrumental terms. It is not visible from any major vantage point
and the buildings are situated in the final sections of dead‐end streets

50. THE CAPITOL COMPLEX CHANDIGARH
• It is invisible from the rest of the city being tucked away in a segregated piece of
it -this is in “Sector 1”, outside the grid mentioned above, in the northeast tip of
the city.
• Perhaps from a distance, outside the city in the surrounding countryside, one
might identify the Secretariat,
• The tallest building of the set. From inside the urban grid, however, the set is
invisible, as far as we could make out, driving along many of the streets in
between sectors. Wide strips of vegetation surrounding the buildings of the
Capitol prevent them being noticed from any point, be it near or far from the
site.
• The sector also includes other elements, more classifiable as urban “furniture” or
objects rather than buildings, given their sculptural as opposed to their spatial
attributes (they have no internal spaces designed for activities)
• An “Open Hand”, a belvedere in a fairly central position
• A “Wind House” (a large sculpture purportedly representing the main principles
of modern architecture) and a small artificial hill.

51. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS
• The astounding view of the Ministries Esplanade, with the twin towers of Congress
crowning the composition, visually perceptible from three of the four levels of the
Platform
• In the Brazilian Capital the monumental group of buildings is seen from many
viewpoints from within the city – not only from its immediate surroundings
• It is in the centre of the city, not on its periphery
• It is directly accessible and visible from the Road Platform, at the intersection of the
two main macro‐structural elements comprising Brasilia – the Road Axis and the
Monumental Axis.

52. The Capitol viewed from the top floor of the Secretariat (left) and the Three Powers
Plaza viewed from the top of an outbuilding (right)