Brasília, the city Oscar Niemeyer helped design in the late 1950s, was built in three years with 1 million cubric metres of concrete and 100,00 metric tones of steel. Although it's often cited as a bewildering case of urban planning, the Brazilian city was named a Unesco World Heritage site, namely because of Niemeyer's modernist architecture. In a new parody documentary-style video, "Brasília," hosts Reggie Watts and Carolina Ravassa awkwardly jive through Brasília in futuristic clothing making jokes about telepathy, comparing Brasília to Paris, and claiming the city smells like celery.
The hosts take us through their beloved Brasília using "teleportation kiosks," which require you to step inside and "visualize" where you want to go. In their world, the Niemeyer-designed National Museum is called the "Hall of Memories" and the Cathedral of Brasilia is the "House of Transformation," which according to the video, was "built for the sole purpose of energy concentration." "Always remember to come to Brasilia," they toast at the end, before beginning a jumbled, pseudo-city anthem. Watch below:
Brasilia from Reggie Watts on Vimeo.
· Brasilia [Vimeo]
· All Video Interlude posts [Curbed National]
· All Oscar Niemeyer posts [Curbed National]