From dawn to sunset, the light shines. A golden panel, created by the plastic artist Athos Bulcão (1918 – 2008), is in the entrance hall of the Palácio da Alvorada, the first public building in the Brazilian capital. There are, on the panel, dreams inscribed with letters in relief. “From this Central Plateau, from this solitude that will soon become the brain for high national decisions, I cast my eyes once more on the future of my country and I foresee this dawn with unshakable faith and boundless confidence in its great destiny”. The words are those of then-President Juscelino Kubitschek. This place, which has been home to Brazilian presidents and their families for exactly 65 years, is considered by specialists to be a “different palace”, singular and plural at the same time. Fruit of the genius of architect Oscar Niemeyer and ready two years before the capital was inaugurated, Alvorada is recognized by researchers for cultural characteristics of Brazilianness. Construction began in 1957. “In my understanding, Niemeyer was masterful there. It is the most important building he created. It has innovation and everything that was not found in Brazilian architecture until then”, says the director-curator of the Presidential Palaces of Brazil, Rogério Carvalho. He recalls that the French writer André Malraux (1901-1976) stated that palace columns formed the most important architectural element since Greek columns. ALVORADA GALLERY – Palácio do Alvorada 65 years old Carvalho understands that this is a surprising building, both for those who see it from the outside, and for those who visit its interior. “The English architect Norman Foster (88 years old), for example, considered one of the world’s leading professionals in the field, was very impressed with the quality of the architecture and the level of finishing”. The director contextualizes that it was Juscelino’s courage that made the construction possible. “It is a work that still surprises today, it is an excellent representative of modern architecture. It is the synthesis of the Brazilian house”. Reopening Surprises daily even those who live in the place. “Every day I come here is always very impactful. Living here is awesome. It’s living in a historic building like this one, where so many presidents have lived and where so many historic decisions have already taken place”, emphasized the Brazilian first lady, sociologist Rosângela Lula da Silva, Janja. She received the reporting team from Empresa Brasil de Comunicação (EBC) at Palácio da Alvorada, this week, and ratified her and President Lula’s wish that the building receive visitors again, which was suspended in the previous government. The first lady verified and disclosed, at the beginning of the year, that the furniture and equipment of the Palácio da Alvorada were degraded and with maintenance problems. The couple moved to Alvorada in February. In addition to the necessary restoration, special care was taken in planning to open the palace to the public, also in light of the attacks that took place on January 8 against public buildings and against democracy. To Agência Brasil, Janja said that she hopes that Alvorada will reopen to the public later this year or, at the latest, in early 2024. She added that she would like to reopen with an exhibition of contemporary artists, particularly women. “I really like Djanira (1914 – 1979) and Tarsila do Amaral (1886 – 1973). My dream is to reopen Alvorada when we manage to bring Tarsila do Amaral’s main canvas back to Brazil, which is Abaporu ”, she said. The canvas is in a museum in Argentina. 06/28/2023 – Brasília – The first lady of Brazil, Janja Lula da Silva, during an exclusive interview with EBC, at Palácio da Alvorada. – Rafa Neddermeyer/Agência Brasil Janja understands that this would be an important role to be played by the exhibitions at Palácio da Alvorada, that of presenting Brazilian works of art. “We need to renew the concept of culture and show how rich Brazil is, how culture drives the country’s economy, generates jobs. This is very important. Taking care of this heritage here makes me proud,” she said. For the director-curator of the Presidential Palaces, Rogério Carvalho, the occupation of spaces with Brazilian art would generate interest not only in public visitation, but would also guarantee visibility to national works in illustrious events with other heads of state and foreign representatives at the Palácio da Alvorada. “Our intention is to show what Brazil has to offer. There is a very large flow of people who pass by, including representatives from other countries, who would precisely make this art seen by more people”. Carvalho explains that, during the government of Michel Temer, at least 48 works that were in the Palácio da Alvorada ended up being sent to other spaces, such as the National Museum of Fine Arts. These pieces will return to Alvorada. There is even the intention that part of the collection becomes itinerant and is exposed in administrative regions of the Federal District, in order to guarantee access to different cultural expressions, which will not be restricted to palaces. Showing works in other spaces is a way of inviting Brazilian citizens to learn more about the national heritage, as is the case of Palácio da Alvorada, evaluates the architect. Plural Those who already know or come to visit the Palácio da Alvorada have the opportunity, according to the architects interviewed, to have access to a plural and very different work, which is very current, even after 65 years of history. For Professor Maria Fernanda Derntl, from the University of Brasília (UnB), the Palácio da Alvorada proposes a very different concept from the traditional one. “It’s not a fancy palace or one that has a heavy monumentality, as people would think for a Baroque or Renaissance palace”. For her, this “monumentality” comes from the lightness of the architecture, in a plastic expression of reinforced concrete, with proportions and continuity between internal and external spaces. “I also find it interesting how the columns of the Palácio da Alvorada are one of the most expressive elements, which are reproduced and popularly appropriated in other forms of architecture, in advertisements and in images of all nature”. For her, the column of the Palácio da Alvorada thus became the very symbol of Brasília. Professor Frederico Flósculo, also from UnB, recalls that the Alvorada Palace was designed and built before the final result of the urban design competition for the new capital. “Juscelino really wanted this to be moved forward. He wanted an image of what the new capital would be like. This project, being the number one in Brasilia, was an interesting job because Oscar Niemeyer knew the importance of starting well, starting with a palace that was memorable”. GALERIA ALVORADA – Palácio do Alvorada 65 years It wasn’t easy, but they came up with a project. “The decision on the Palácio da Alvorada was the simplest of all. A horizontal palace with that beautiful colonnade, a reinvention of a modernist column, but with the use of curves”. The engineer who calculated the viability of what Niemeyer put on paper was Joaquim Cardoso. “This palace really is extraordinary. It has French palace influences, which is long and horizontal. This idea of lightness and transparency permeates what modernism, in its best moments, manages to provide”. The architect Guilherme Essvein de Almeida, who did research on the Palácio da Alvorada at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), draws attention to an interesting story about the building – is that the government palace (the Planalto) would also be in the place that is Alvorada. “Later, they changed their minds as a matter of urban planning strategy. The city had a whole civic charge and the government palace would have to be more central”. Therefore, Niemeyer would have changed his mind. “Undoubtedly, these palaces have influence from each other.” For him, the columns, which would have the shape of leaves, stems or even dancers, would have been inspired even by nautical sails. The construction would also influence government palaces in the city of Chandigarh, India. “The columns of the Palácio da Alvorada were repeated in other countries. The Palácio da Alvorada will never really age. It is a heritage of humanity and unanimity among architects”. In the preservation of this heritage, the autarchy that operates is the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (IPHAN). One of the agency’s missions is to guide the actions of conservation and maintenance of the place. “One role is also to clarify what this listed modern urban complex represents, which is a reference not only from an architectural point of view, but also from the point of view of democratic values”, said the president of IPHAN, Leandro Grass. He argues that the more accessible the palace is to the population, the more participation and interest society has in participating and defending the historical heritage. Restoration The defense of the heritage at Palácio da Alvorada has a special symbology at this time. In a room attached to the complex’s chapel, 13 works damaged by the January 8 attacks are being restored, explains the director-curator of the Palaces. “It is an absolutely possible space to be used for this. At other times, library books and other pieces were recovered. There we can have control and monitor closely”. Pieces by Di Cavalcanti, by Bruno Giorgi, by Victor Brecheret … are in the process of being restored at Alvorada.
Agência Brasil
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