Oscar Niemeyer and his team are building Brazil's new capital

In 1955, Brazilian President Juscelino Kubitschek decided to build Brasília and entrusted the project to Oscar Niemeyer. The goal was to move the capital from Rio de Janeiro to the country's interior, encouraging the development of that region. People from all over Brazil, especially from the northeast, were hired to construct the city, which was inaugurated in 1960.

In it, Niemeyer signs simply as 'Oscar' and gives instructions to identify the architects who attended a meeting at his house. The recipient of the note is Athos Bulcão, the man who would go on to embed his geometric azulejos into the visual DNA of Brasília.

Here is the list of architects. You can mark those who attended and contributed at the meeting held at my house.

This brief yet direct note reveals much about the collaborative working style of Niemeyer, in an environment where exchanges often went beyond architecture itself. It echoes what his biographers describe: informal conversations in barely completed houses, a camp bed for comfort, but a palpable creative energy.

From this unprecedented collaboration - between Oscar Niemeyer and other prominent figures like Athos Bulcão, Lúcio Costa, and Roberto Burle Marx, along with thousands of anonymous workers - emerged Brasília, arguably one of the most original capitals in the world, with its airplane-shaped layout, modernist architecture, and fully planned construction in the heart of Brazil.