Palácio do Planalto [1960]

Niemeyer’s Palácio do Planalto – the official workplace of Brazil’s President – was designed to project a bold sense of modernity through its architecture in order to create an analogue between a solid physical form and the tenant within. With distinct design cues lifted from the President’s residence (the Palácio da Alvorada), Niemeyer created a rigid longitudinal grid via a series of rigid columns swooping into the structure with a double webbed arch. Much like many of Niemeyer’s works, this Palácio boasts an acutely designed and elevated entry ramp section, this time coupled with a speaking platform for the President and heads of state to address the masses.