Aula Magna

The Darcy Ribeiro University Campus of the University of Brasília is situated in the metropolitan region of Brasília, occupying a significant urban area to the east in the so-called North Wing of the city. It hosts a daily population of 50,000 people, larger than most Brazilian municipalities, and supports the complex activities of teaching, research, and extension carried out there. The construction of the Aula Magna aims to revive the original ideals proposed by the urbanistic conception of Lucio Costa and the architectural vision of Oscar Niemeyer, who, in designing and envisioning the city, integrated the construction of the University of Brasília into its design, with its development occurring parallel to the growth and development of the city. These urbanistic elements were considered in the planning of the new Aula Magna auditorium, assuming a central position among the ICC, the Library, and the Rectory.

This proposal aimed to create a convergence space for the university community, encompassing ceremonial, cultural, and recreational activities common to all. This purpose revives the initial vision of the University, which was to equip the Campus with a Magna Plaza that congregates the central activities of university life, an intention present in Lucio Costa’s Pilot Plan and Niemeyer’s project, later complemented by the Living Center proposed by Pedro Paulo Saraiva and Luiz.

The implantation of the building and the urban design were conceived together, starting from the symmetry axis of the ICC. Crossing perpendicularly to the pau-ferro tree-lined alley that connects the Rectory and Library, this axis creates a link between these buildings and the Aula Magna, also organizing the design of the sidewalks, plazas, parking lots, and gardens. In this way, the aim is to constitute a whole, articulating the existing and the new.

The resulting identity allows the recognition of common values, and when the work of architecture is aesthetically qualified, it equally reflects personal and affective values. Through the awareness of the difference between the collective and the particular and the necessary reciprocity of these values, common belonging will be recognized and shared. Distinguishing the collective from the private is the foundational principle of citizenship and gives meaning to beauty, elucidated by Hölderlin: “Identity in difference is the essence of beauty.”

The general sense that constitutes the architectural approach lies in the idea of a “covered plaza.” The project is fundamentally resolved in the relationship between two planes: the roof and, extending beyond its limits, the ground. We chose to emphasize the roof by prioritizing the voids over the solids. The large spans of 45 meters, resulting from the spatial needs of the auditorium, extended by 20-meter overhangs, promote continuity between the internal and external spaces, an intent reiterated by the setback of the supports and the pergolas all around. The ground design defines the internal space of the audience, using the natural slope of the terrain, and the external plaza space, which connects the north and south exits of the ICC.

To enhance the relationship with the landscape, the university, and the space that consecrates the Magna Plaza, it was proposed that the auditorium stage also have an opening to the external area, that is, to the Esplanade formed by the Rectory and Library buildings, to provide for outdoor cultural activities.