Visible Power: Genesis of the Elaboration of Contemporary Capital Cities, 1850-2000 (Based on the Cases of Brasília, Ottawa, and Astana)

This study, based on the archival research in the National Archives in Brasília, aims to research the conception and construction of this city, which became a new capital of Brazil since 1960. More specifically, the investigation focuses on three phases of the elaboration of Brasília: the legislative and executive activities aimed at choosing and promoting its new site; the design competitions for the governmental buildings and district; and the inauguration ceremony that took place in 1960. Through an interdisciplinary and comparative analysis of these moments I propose to rethink intellectual and political projects of Brazilian authorities who established a new capital in order to understand how their aspirations, utopias, and compromises were translated into the form and the architecture of a city. This investigation also aspires to accurately historicize the correlation between urban planning, architecture, and nation-building in the case of Brazil, where the capital city was moved several times since the 18th century.

Faculty Supervisor:

Michèle Dagenais

Student:

Partner:

Universidade de Brasília

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

University:

Université de Montréal

Program:

Globalink Research Award