Brasilia’s Superquadra
The Brasilia superquadra article explains how the Brasilia superquadra came to be and how unique and different it was from any other city that was in existence. The idea of the quadra or superquadra got its name due to its large size blocks which were three times larger than normal ones. Guinle Park construction idea was put into consideration when building the superquadra. The quadaras were defined in space, not by rampant-like walls that enclosed the space completely, but by continuous rows of trees that later came to demarcate the wall of foliage. 20-meter bands were left between each quadra to expand its domain further, and having fulfilled their framing function and delimited particular areas. The city would surely not run a risk of being divided into two.
The quadras were designed to always house apartment buildings with a limit of six floors for all buildings. Numerous small stand-alone structures with just a single entrance were avoided, and instead, clusters of three-four buildings with the likelihood of taking long continuous structures with several entries were preferred. These were generally referred to as the “slabs” topology. More free and unobstructed space was desired, with lawns meant for use in enjoyment just like green carpets are used, however, urbanization began, and most areas were unnecessarily covered with asphalt. Corbusier’s unite d’habitation in Marseilles, was used concerning building the Brasilia slab in making a neighbourhood that included community services such as movie theatres and churches along access roads, shopping centres in a neighbourhood, schools, health centres, and other social services set to serve about three neighbourhoods.
Intermediary strips of 300 × 80 meters known as inter-strips were located between one quadra and another. The inter-strips were set aside for clubs, recreational areas, and sports facilities. Brasilia city was mainly intended to create a pleasant and meaningful way of life unlike other cities with urbanizations objective of allowing a city to sprout like a plant. Brasilia adopted the neighbourhood unit as its urban fabric base element, with a goal of availing all daily requirements in walking distances, a traditional way of living, but many criticized it. Brasilia was neither hierarchical nor self-sufficient. In English towns like Radburn 1928, Harlow 1947, Cumbernauld 1958, and Milton Kaynes 1964, neighbourhood units were approved as a prime urban design element, a gradual tendency for units to leave an original desire for self- sufficiency, and become generally linked with the city at large.
In functional arrangements, Brasilia city neighbourhoods differ from those of other cities. Its residential facilities are in exclusive areas that are self-sufficient. Its public services are distributed on superquadrat margins, thus connecting the neighborhood unit with the city at large. Relational factors considered for orderly planning included; Preference for linearity, symmetry, modulation and finally, use of building regulations, land occupation standards, and matching environmental conditions in all superquadrats. Brasilia’s functional areas’ division, helped to avoid both compartmentalization and fragmentation, which helped organize the city and gave it integrity unity and urban order.
Questions
Was the uniqueness of the Brasilia city contributed by using unique building materials?
Can anything be done to ensure Brasilia city unique features do not fade with time?