At the end of the 1950s, Brasília was a mass media event. The bold plan of relocating the capital to Brazil’s hinterland captivated not only architectural media outlets but also high-circulation illustrated magazines and photo agencies around the world. This book narrates the material encounter of modern architecture and photojournalism as both converged into an apparatus that framed Brasília as the symbol of Brazil’s postwar modernization project. Supported by the state, media organizations, and new technologies, photojournalism offered the Brazilian and global public a dramatization of the city’s construction and modernity’s expansion into frontier territories. The photographic material produced for illustrated magazines, both published and unpublished, promoted images of an imaginary nation while also conveying violence, dissonance, and microhistories of this massive endeavor.

Ciro Miguel is an architect, photographer, and curator based in Zurich and São Paulo. He holds a professional diploma from the University of São Paulo (FAU USP), a master’s degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, and a doctorate from the Institute for the History and Theory of Architecture (gta) at ETH Zurich. At ETH, he conducted research and design studios with Angelo Bucci and Marc Angélil. Professionally, he has worked internationally as a design architect at Bernard Tschumi Architects in New York and as a partner at SPBR Arquitetos. Miguel cocurated Todo Dia, the 12th International Architecture Biennale of São Paulo, and his work has been exhibited at the Venice and São Paulo Biennales, as well as at Architekturmuseum der TU München, S AM Basel, Center for Architecture (New York), Het Nieuwe Instituut, and Casa da Arquitectura. He received a 2019 Graham Foundation grant; coedited Everyday Matters (Ruby Press, 2022); and gta Papers Amazônia (gta Verlag, 2025).