Maison du Brésil (Brazil House)

In 1952 the Brazilian government commissioned Lucio Costa to design the Maison du Brésil, a residence for students from Brazil within the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris. Costa drew a sketch in 1953 and described the 'Brazilian student's house' in detail in correspondence the same year, but he entrusted Le Corbusier with developing the project and directing the construction; Le Corbusier had already built the Swiss Pavilion nearby. While keeping the basic concept, Le Corbusier made so many changes that Costa gradually distanced himself from the project.

The building permit was issued on 22 September 1955 and work began in 1957. The house, paid for by the Brazilian Institute of Educational Studies, was inaugurated on 24 June 1959.

After closing for works in 1997, the building underwent a large-scale rehabilitation under the architects Bernard Bauchet and Hubert Rio, in close liaison with the Fondation Le Corbusier and Benjamin Mouton, chief architect of historic monuments. When it reopened in September 2000, the communal spaces and the rooms were rebuilt identically, and an original room, with its restored 1959 furniture, was refitted at the request of the Fondation Le Corbusier. In 2002, in tribute to the centenary of Lucio Costa, the theatre was given his name. Maintenance work carried out in 2019 by the same architects repaired the spalled concrete and the waterproofing of the upper roof terrace, and repainted the facades identically.

The building has been listed in its entirety as a historic monument since 4 November 1985.

The Maison du Brésil consists of three elements. The main building houses about a hundred units: carried on pilotis of board-marked raw concrete, it has a facade of painted concrete loggias, each extending a studio laid out on rationalist lines in a space of 18 m². The corridors and the floor kitchens face the park, the rooms face the avenue. As for the colours of the facade, Le Corbusier agreed, following an exchange with Lucio Costa, to pair a dark green with the three primary colours he had put forward.

A low rectangular wing, linked to the main building, houses the communal areas: entrance, recreation and exhibition room, library, meeting room, auditorium. It opens outwards through wide glazed bays punctuated by undulating glass panels. The entrance hall combines undulating glass panels, a floor paving designed on the Modulor, a glazed letterbox, a skylight well and concrete furniture; in the theatre, the seats were designed by Jean Prouvé and the ceiling is of board-marked raw concrete. The communal spaces also include a large glazed hall of 330 m², surrounded by patios and gardens.

The director's house is trapezoidal, with a sloping roof, and its facade includes undulating glass panels.

The rooms are fitted out to designs by Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand: a wardrobe that separates the bedroom from the bathroom, a shelf with a slate board, a square table with drawers, and a wooden bed and stool. Lucio Costa advised Charlotte Perriand on this interior fitting.

The Maison du Brésil is a foundation recognised as being of public utility, whose board of directors is chaired by the Brazilian ambassador to France. It has about a hundred units and welcomes Brazilian students, professors and researchers who come to Paris on a university programme, as well as Brazilian artists and professionals on advanced training placements.

The hall, the Lucio Costa room (a multipurpose auditorium) and a classroom and meeting room are public spaces devoted to promoting Brazilian culture, which the house can make available for large events. In the entrance hall, a permanent exhibition installed in 2002 presents, on four panels, Lucio Costa and his preliminary design, Le Corbusier (final plans and the correspondence he exchanged with Costa), the construction of the building and its renovation.

Free visits cover the hall, the Lucio Costa room and the permanent exhibition on the history of the building, every day from 10 am to 12 noon and from 1 pm to 8 pm. The rest is a working residence.

Guided visits are organised by the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, by reservation; they generally include access to other buildings of the site classed as historic monuments, among them the Swiss Foundation.