Arquitetura do Estado Nacional: o estilo Art Déco e o edifício da Estação Ferroviária Central do Brasil

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to sociologically construct an analysis and interpretation of architecture as a symbolic expression of the Nation State. The genesis and characteristics of the Art Deco style are investigated, as well as its use as an aesthetic form suited to modelling the physiognomy of the machine of state. Art Deco predominated in buildings constructed to house the public administration, which had been reorganised and extended between 1930 and 1945 in Brazil. In particular, this research proposes to formulate a sociological interpretation of the imposing edifice of the Central do Brasil Railway Station, constructed in the city of Rio de Janeiro between 1936 and 1943, which was designed in the Art Deco style. This architectural landmark is analyzed as a reference work of the modernizing thinking of the centralizing and authoritarian state that was emerging at the time.