Brasilia

In this exercise, students will endeavor to analyze the urban morphology of the Brasilia superblock,
and the associated building typologies found within, and reinterpret these forms into the design of a
compatible multi-use, multi-income neighborhood. Diagrams, plans, models and three-dimensional
graphics will be the minimum project requirements. 

The final design exercise of the semester will challenge students to react and adapt to an existing set
of built conditions, constituting an approach to design referred to as urban retrofit. The subject of
the intervention will be two unbuilt Superblocks in Brasilia. This unique city’s inception and built
history is charged with architectural theory. It remains the most complete example of urban
modernism ever built in the world. The complex and rich past that has given Brasilia its form should
be investigated, researched and diagramed graphically prior to ultimately making an urban design
proposal for the two unbuilt superblocks. Students should use the research collectively gathered in
studio to ultimately make their own value assessments – determining what “works” in the plan of
Brasilia and therefore, should be replicated, and where there is room for improvement.