Built by the Brazilian government, through an agreement with the Spanish government, for the residence of the students of their country in Madrid, this building complex, which recalls the Parisian university residences of Le Corbusier, represented, in the campus of the University City, a current avant-garde of modern architecture, as well as a faithful reflection of the Brazilian architectural trend that Niemeyer and Costa practiced in the city of Brasilia.
Of pronounced horizontality, it is made up of several prismatic volumes joined together by passageways and secondary bodies, and installed on a raised terrace supported on stilts to overcome the irregularities of the terrain, with the general services located on the ground floor, which occupy large double-height spaces communicated by cantilevered stairs.
The exterior aspect is a consequence in part of the location and of the acoustic and lighting needs, so the bedroom block, parallel to the avenue, presents a blind facade with continuous bands of lattice framed by an artificial stone border to protect it from the noise. The rear front, in transparency opposite to the hermeticism of the blind facade, is perforated with the windows of the study rooms, posed as a module capable of indefinite repetition.
- History
The Casa do Brasil emerged at the initiative of Brazilian students who were expanding their studies in Madrid. It was they who more than 50 years ago raised this cultural initiative to the then-president-elect of Brazil, Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, under whose mandate the city of Brasilia was conceived and built.
The land was donated by the Governing Board of the University City in 1959 and to defray the costs of the construction of the building, the Brazilian government donated 1,200 tons of “Brasil Río 5 coffee” to Spain, distributed in 20,000 bags of 60kg each. The Spanish government sold each bag for 60 pesetas. At that time, coffee was the star product of Brazil and this type of device was also used to build many Brazilian embassies in Europe.
Since its inauguration, on June 4, 1962, until today, Casa do Brasil has become a place of coexistence and exchange between Brazilians, Spaniards, and people of any origin. It has devoted itself to spreading Brazilian culture, it is a center for teaching Portuguese, music, and dance, and a diffuser of literature.
The center was conceived as a large college with the capacity to accommodate 120 people. A few years ago the letters of the old Banco do Brasil (which was located on Serrano Street) were transferred and placed at the entrance of the House.
- Building
It is a multifunctional set formed by four interrelated independent blocks. Each building has its foundation on stilts with a platform on which the structure rises to bridge the differences in elevation of the rugged topography.
The buildings are built in artificial stone, concrete, and large empty or opaque spaces, with open floors, following the most avant-garde models.
The treatment of the facades of the main building is different due to use and orientation. The north facade is practically blind, forming horizontal bands of concrete lattices separated into three zones. On the other hand, the opposite opens onto the garden area except in the area that houses the staircase and is made up of a succession of superimposed terraces, currently glazed. The minor facades are completely blind built-in artificial stone.
-Present
Today the Casa do Brasil building, in addition to fulfilling its function as a Residence Hall, serves as a Cultural Diffusion Center, headquarters of the Brazil-Spain Chamber of Commerce, and a language center.
The current director, Cassio Romano, highlights the fact that the building broadens its cultural range and does not serve as a Brazilian cultural ghetto, but rather seeks to be a center open to all nationalities, where to exchange cultural experiences and take advantage of the spaces that the Casa do Brasil offers.
