Palácio da Alvorada
Encyclopedia
The Palácio da Alvorada is the official residence
Official residence
An official residence is the residence at which heads of state, heads of government, gubernatorial or other senior figures officially reside...

 of the President of Brazil
President of Brazil
The president of Brazil is both the head of state and head of government of the Federative Republic of Brazil. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the Brazilian Armed Forces...

. The palace
Palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...

 was designed by Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho is a Brazilian architect specializing in international modern architecture...

 and inaugurated on June 30, 1958.

The name comes from the quote of Juscelino Kubitschek:

or, in English:

Architecture

One of the first structures built in the Republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...

's new capital city, the "Alvorada" lies on a peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....

 at the margins of Lake Paranoá
Lake Paranoá
Paranoá Lake, or Lago do Paranoá, is an artificial lake located in Brasília, the capital of Brazil. On the east side of the city, the Paranoá River has been dammed to form this large lake, which has a circumference of...

. The principles of simplicity and modernity
Modernity
Modernity typically refers to a post-traditional, post-medieval historical period, one marked by the move from feudalism toward capitalism, industrialization, secularization, rationalization, the nation-state and its constituent institutions and forms of surveillance...

, that in the past characterized the great works of architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

, oriented Niemeyer's project. The viewer has an impression of looking at a glass box, softly landed on the ground with the support of thin external columns.

The building
Building
In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...

 has an area of 7000 square metre distributed along three floors: basement, landing and second floor. On the basement
Basement
__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...

 level are located the auditorium
Auditorium
An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances at venues such as theatres. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens.- Etymology :...

, kitchen, laundry, medical center, and the building administration. On the landing
Landing
thumb|A [[Mute Swan]] alighting. Note the ruffled feathers on top of the wings indicate that the swan is flying at the [[Stall |stall]]ing speed...

 are located the state rooms used by the presidency
Presidency
The word presidency is often used to describe the administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation...

 for official receptions. The second floor is the residential part of the palace, with the presidential apartment consisting of four suites, two guest apartments and other private rooms. The building also houses a library, a heated Olympic-sized swimming pool, a music room, two dining rooms and various meeting rooms.

Located in adjacent buildings within palace grounds are the chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...

 and the heliport
Heliport
A heliport is a small airport suitable only for use by helicopters. Heliports typically contain one or more helipads and may have limited facilities such as fuel, lighting, a windsock, or even hangars...

.

2004 restoration

In 2004, the First Lady Marisa Letícia
Marisa Letícia
Marisa Letícia Lula da Silva, , is the second wife of former President of Brazil Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva, and thus she was the First Lady of Brazil from 2003 to 2010...

 directed the most extensive and historical restoration of the palace in its history. The project took two years to complete at a cost of $18.4 million dollars
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

. Research was conducted to restore the rooms and décor to their original styles. Furniture and decoration objects were also restored. The electric and central air conditioning systems were replaced, and floor and ceiling work was done. Contrary to popular belief, the restoration was not paid by the government, but was part of an ongoing project of restoration of heritage sites under the direction of the IPHAN (Brazilian Institute for the Historic and Artistic Heritage) with funds donated by private corporations (for tax-deduction).

This restoration was necessary because electric and hydraulic structures had not aged well and because the general appearance of the palace had deteriorated.

Staff and security

There are 72 employees currently working at the Palace, including secretaries, assistants, waiters, cooks, doctors and security personnel. The palace complex is protected by the Presidential Guard Battalion
Presidential Guard Battalion (Brazil)
The Presidential Guard Battalion is a unit of the Brazilian Army and honor guard to the President of Brazil. Two other units, the 1st Guards Cavalry Regiment and the Cayenne Battery, are also part of the presidential honor guard....

.

External links

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