view towards pedestrian crossing
priorities
brasilia is a built utopia that today pays the price for that. the modernist logic that prioritizes automobile transportation created a city that sets many difficulties to pedestrian traffic. it is time to choose between continue pursuing utopias or face the reality in a realistic way. the reoccurring improvements in these pedestrian underpasses, although valid in a short term, are only a palliative solution. one should make a deeper reflection among the real problem. we are facing an architectural problem, allowing pedestrians to walk from one side to another, not attempting to adapt a solution that, through the years, clearly has not worked as part of the city life.
the proposal presented here responds to the primitive instinct of always trying to walk the shortest path to reach a certain goal. through the recognition of pedestrian crossing on top of the motorway, the current solution, oriented towards car traffic, is substituted by the natural tendency of prioritizing pedestrian and bicycle transportation, more sustainable and healthy. the proposal
the simplest, cheapest and most natural way of pedestrian pass was chosen: pedestrian zebra crossing with traffic lights. by keeping pedestrian crossing in the same level as the walkways, access to both sides of the eixão is democratized. pedestrians, people on wheelchairs and people on bikes can cross without any interruption and without changing levels at all, reducing crossing time and ensuring everyone’s safety.
urban mobility
this proposals aims at encouraging sustainable transportation in all its forms, either through bike paths located in the ‘eixinhos’ central islands, spanning across all the south and north wings or by facilitating access to the bus stops located just next to these crossings. brasilia was designed in order to have uninterrupted car traffic along the eixão. by taking this into account, this proposal has a series of synchronized traffic lights that allows a constant flow of vehicles.
the city we want
lucio costa wrote, in the conclusion of his plano piloto, that ground should be left for pedestrians.
half a century after groundbreaking, brasilia shows clear signs of the pedestrian’s desire to reclaim this ground for themselves. around every bus stop, one can see countless alternative routes traced by pedestrians, product of the everlasting desire to walk the shorter path. the city we present here frees pedestrians from the shackles of paths traced a priori, ensuring free will and increasing everyone’s security.
priority in the cities pedestrians and bicycle traffic should always be held in first place, prioritizing sustainable urban mobility. by elevating pedestrians to the street level, public transportation is recognized as a possible and desirable alternative. the ideal kind of crossing pedestrians and vehicles should, for everyone’s safety, divide the same space. pedestrian crossings, either underneath or over roads, are clear obstacles for the interaction between the different means of transportation and discourage the pedestrian, taking them to alternative and mostly unsafe crossings.
the ground left for the people prioritizing pedestrian traffic means to give back the ground to people, just like envisioned by lucio costa in his original project. it means, as well, to elevate the status of walking to another level.
security and sunlight tunnels are, in most cases, dark places. although underpasses can be safe in places where investment in maintenance and energy consumption is not a problem, they will never be the first choice to people. the experience of walking in an open space, under sunlight will never be substituted by potentially unsafe underground corridors.
freedom to the pedestrian including pedestrians to the city’s everyday life results in the growth of mutual respect among the different means of transportation. by allowing underground pedestrian traffic only, one not only reduces security but also pedestrian dignity, ignoring the fact that a city should serve, in first place, to people.
modularity: the project’s rational design, facilitates construction and reduces waste related to material disposal or development of different pieces.
pre fabricated concrete elements: by working with out-of-the-shelf units, construction time and price is reduced, resulting in a clearer and more precise assembly.
steel structure: long and thin pieces allow great spans without causing any visual disturbance or obstruction.
pre cast concrete: the 7,20m modulation is perfectly adapted to a car’s dimension, optimizing physical and financial resources.
view of the shaded area
view of the bus stop
axonometric view of the overall design
cycleways across south and north wings
ground floor plan
underground floor plan
diagrams for uses on top of the plaza
strategies
section cut
section cut
designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions’ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here
Dec 08, 2025
Dec 07, 2025
Dec 06, 2025