In Brasília, the garden was designed too
Before the world spoke of nature and architecture together, Burle Marx was already painting with plants on the Central Plateau. Discover the landscaping that makes the capital as green as it is monumental.
When you think of Brasília, the concrete comes to mind — the Cathedral, the Congress, the palaces. But there is a second Brasília, equally designed: the green one. Before "sustainable architecture" became a buzzword, Roberto Burle Marx already treated the garden as part of the work, not as an ornament. This is the city seen through landscaping.
Burle Marx: the man who painted with plants
Burle Marx discovered Brazilian flora in a greenhouse in Berlin, Germany — there he saw the plants that grew ignored in his own backyard and realised they were a treasure. He returned to Brazil and revolutionised landscaping: instead of copying European geometric gardens, he composed organic masses of tropical species, like brushstrokes on a canvas. In Brasília, his designs converse with Niemeyer's curves — nature and architecture speaking the same modern language. He is one of the names that gave the city its soul →
The Cerrado: beauty that looks dry but is alive
The biome surrounding Brasília is Brazil's second largest — and one of the most misunderstood. At first glance, twisted trees and grass. Up close, one of the richest floras on the planet: the ipê that blooms yellow, pink and purple at the height of the dry season, the native fruits, the buriti wetlands. The Cerrado teaches a landscaping lesson the world is now rediscovering: to work with the climate, not against it.
A garden that withstands the Plateau
Anyone who lives in or stays in Brasília learns quickly: the climate is hot and dry for much of the year, with months without rain. A garden that thrives here is a smart garden — native, adapted species, planned shade, efficient irrigation. Some choices that work:
- Trees: ipês, oitis and the generous shade of the flamboyant.
- Colour all year: bougainvillea (spring), which loves sun and drought.
- Low maintenance: agaves, succulents and ornamental grasses.
- Local identity: Cerrado species that belong to the land.
When the garden is part of the stay
It was this philosophy — integrating green, water and architecture — that guided our houses. The Jardim dos Sentidos takes the idea to its limit: landscaping designed to be lived in, not just admired. Waking to birdsong, having coffee among the plants, diving into a pool surrounded by green. In Brasília, the garden was never an accessory. At Villela Stay, neither is it.
