Esplanade of Ministries

The Esplanade of Ministries is the long ceremonial axis in Brasília lined by identical modernist slab towers that house the federal government's ministries. Laid out by Oscar Niemeyer and Lúcio Costa as part of the planned capital, the matching glass-and-concrete blocks march in ordered rows toward the National Congress at the axis's end. Broad lawns separate the buildings, emphasising the geometric clarity of the city's design. The repetition of the towers signals equality among the branches of administration.