Cathedral of Brasília
Encyclopedia
The Cathedral of Brasília (Catedral Metropolitana Nossa Senhora Aparecida) is the Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
serving Brasília
Brasília
Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, and serves as the seat of the Archdiocese of Brasília
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brasília
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brasília is an archdiocese located in the city of Brasília in Brazil.-History:* January 16, 1960: Established as Diocese of Brasília from the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Goiânia...
. It was designed by Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho is a Brazilian architect specializing in international modern architecture...
, and was completed and dedicated on May 31, 1970. The cathedral is a hyperboloid structure
Hyperboloid structure
Hyperboloid structures are architectural structures designed with hyperboloid geometry. Often these are tall structures such as towers where the hyperboloid geometry's structural strength is used to support an object high off the ground, but hyperboloid geometry is also often used for decorative...
constructed from 16 concrete columns, weighing 90 tons each.
The exterior of the cathedral resembles the circular plan and ribbed structure of Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral
Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral
The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of Christ the King is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Liverpool and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool. The Metropolitan Cathedral is one of two cathedrals in the city...
, but the latter is clad in solid material, while the Cathedral of Brasília allows light in and out for almost the full height of the ribs.
Artistic interpretation
The Cathedral of Brasilia, officially the Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady Aparecida (Catedral Metropolitana Nossa Senhora Aparecida), dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under her title of Our Lady of AparecidaOur Lady of Aparecida
Our Lady of Aparecida is the patron saint of Brazil, venerated in the Catholic Church. A dark-skinned Marian image, Our Lady of Aparecida is represented by a short, clay statue of the Virgin Mary, currently housed in the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, in the town of...
, proclaimed by the Church as Queen and Patroness of Brazil, is an expression of the architect Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho is a Brazilian architect specializing in international modern architecture...
.
This concrete-framed hyperboloid structure
Hyperboloid structure
Hyperboloid structures are architectural structures designed with hyperboloid geometry. Often these are tall structures such as towers where the hyperboloid geometry's structural strength is used to support an object high off the ground, but hyperboloid geometry is also often used for decorative...
, seems with its glass roof to be reaching up, open, to heaven. On May 31, 1970, the Cathedral’s structure was finished, and only the 70 m diameter of the circular area were visible. Niemeyer's project of Cathedral of Brasília is based in the hyperboloid of revolution which sections are asymmetric. The hyperboloid structure
Hyperboloid structure
Hyperboloid structures are architectural structures designed with hyperboloid geometry. Often these are tall structures such as towers where the hyperboloid geometry's structural strength is used to support an object high off the ground, but hyperboloid geometry is also often used for decorative...
itself is a result of 16 identical assembled concrete columns. These columns, having hyperbolic section and weighing 90 t, represent two hands moving upwards to heaven. The Cathedral was dedicated on May 31, 1970. The architecture was arguably inspired by the design of Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral
Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral
The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of Christ the King is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Liverpool and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool. The Metropolitan Cathedral is one of two cathedrals in the city...
.
Completed 4 years later, the ride Space Mountain (Magic Kingdom)
Space Mountain (Magic Kingdom)
Space Mountain is an indoor outer space-themed steel roller coaster at the Magic Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It opened on January 15, 1975 and is the original version of the iconic attraction that is included in all five of the Disney theme parks...
at Walt Disney World has similar architecture.
History
Projected by an atheist, it took several years for the cathedral to be consecrated. While an awing structure, inducing reverence from its entrance — first an open-air aisle sided by statues of the evangelists, with the synoptics on one side and John on the other, and then a dark, silent tunnel, leading to the main, naturally-iluminated nave dominated by three hanging angels in different sizes, giving a perspective illusion of heavenly profundity — the cathedral has seen relatively little use, as its acoustics echoed, jumbled and made it practically impossible to hear homilies, and the natural illumination in a very sunny city was not offset by proper ventilation. Reforms ongoing during 2010 were planned to fix these issues and allow for full utilisation of the building.See also
- Oscar NiemeyerOscar NiemeyerOscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho is a Brazilian architect specializing in international modern architecture...
- Liverpool Metropolitan CathedralLiverpool Metropolitan CathedralThe Metropolitan Cathedral Church of Christ the King is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Liverpool and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool. The Metropolitan Cathedral is one of two cathedrals in the city...
- Hyperboloid structureHyperboloid structureHyperboloid structures are architectural structures designed with hyperboloid geometry. Often these are tall structures such as towers where the hyperboloid geometry's structural strength is used to support an object high off the ground, but hyperboloid geometry is also often used for decorative...