The Cathedral of Brasília (Portuguese: Catedral Metropolitana de Brasília, "Metropolitan Cathedral of Brasília") is the Roman Catholic cathedral serving Brasília, Brazil, and serves as the seat of the Archdiocese of Brasília. It was designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer and engineered by Brazilian structural engineer Joaquim Cardozo and was completed and dedicated on May 31, 1970.
The cathedral is a hyperboloid structure constructed from 16 concrete columns weighing 90 tons each.
Thanks to Google Earth Studio for this amazing aerial view.
The cathedral is a hyperboloid structure constructed from 16 concrete columns weighing 90 tons each.
Thanks to Google Earth Studio for this amazing aerial view.
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00:00The Metropolitan Cathedral, Our Lady of Aparecida or simply Cathedral of Brasilia, is a Brazilian
00:12Catholic temple, in which the chair of the Archdiocese of Brasilia is located.
00:17Located in the federal capital, south of S1, on the Aixo Monumental, region of the Esplanada
00:23dos Ministérios.
00:25Metropolitan Cathedral of Brasilia The Cathedral and the Statues of the Four Evangelists.
00:31Architect Oscar Niemeyer Engineer Joaquim Cardoso beginning of construction September
00:3512, 1958 opening May 31.
00:391970 Its architecture was designed by Oscar Niemeyer and is sometimes considered his masterpiece,
00:45and it was thanks to it that the architect won the Pritzker Prize.
00:49Considered equivalent to the Nobel Prize for his profession, in 1988.
00:53The architect's regular collaborators also contributed to the project.
00:57The complex structural design was designed by engineer Joaquim Cardoso, who also designed
01:02other challenging projects in the new city, such as the National Congress Palace.
01:07Sixteen concrete columns weighing 90 tons each, parabolic pillars, rise from an area
01:12measuring 70 meters in diameter, in a hyperboloid shape.
01:17Cardoso's structural design reduced the number of columns and allowed the bases of the pillars
01:21to be thin, barely touching the ground.
01:24In addition to replacing what would have been a concrete belt joining the columns at the
01:28top with a slab placed somewhat lower than expected.
01:32The structural part was completed in 1960, two years after the cornerstone was laid on
01:37September 12, 1958.
01:40Marianne Peretti, a visual artist who also participated in several of Niemeyer's projects,
01:46was responsible for the current stained-glass windows.
01:49The work was fully completed and dedicated on May 31, 1970.
01:54The location of the cathedral was planned by Lucio Costa in his project for the pilot
01:58plan.
02:00According to Lucio, it should be located in an autonomous square for protocol reasons,
02:04physically symbolizing the secularity of the state and the separation between government
02:09and religion.
02:10Therefore outside the Procedos Tres Poderes, and also for reasons of scale, to enhance
02:15the monument and architectural order, keeping the perspective clear up to Marko Zero.
02:21At the intersection of the axes, therefore outside the central flowerbed of the Aixo
02:26Monumental.
02:27Once the location was decided, architect Oskar Niemeyer, according to himself, was inspired
02:33by the ancient masters who built cathedrals with giant domes using the structural resources
02:37available at the time.
02:39With reinforced concrete at his disposal, he designed a work in which the structure
02:44seems to ascend to the heavens, being formally simple, and compact and making the structural
02:48pillars the protagonists.
02:51He based the design of the cathedral on a hyperboloid structure.
02:55On a circular base three meters below ground, 21 boomerang-shaped columns would rise.
03:01With a concrete band joining them almost at the top.
03:03On top of it, an expressive metal cross.
03:06The enclosures would be made of curved glass, complementing the spaces between the pillars.
03:11The structural design by engineer Joaquim Cardozo reduced the number of pillars to 16,
03:17with thin bases and, on top, a slab placed somewhat lower than expected.
03:22The engineer also calculated the effect of wind loads on the stained glass windows and
03:26columns, an advanced calculation for the time.
03:29Structurally, the reinforced concrete belt at the top, approximately 6.8 meters in diameter,
03:36absorbs compression forces and is located on the pillars, not visible to visitors, the
03:40roof slab has no structural function, serving only as a seal.
03:45A second concrete belt is located on the ground, 60 meters in diameter.
03:50This belt is visible inside the building and serves to absorb tensile forces, acting as
03:55a tie and ensuring that the foundations receive only the vertical forces coming from the pillars.
04:01That is all.
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