Roberto Burle Marx was the Brazillian Modernist landscape architect who worked with architects such as Oscar Niemeyer on projects such as Brasilia and the beachfront of Rio de Janeiro’s Zona Sul. Burle Marx moved the idea of Rio from a replica Paris with ornamental rose gardens to an appreciation of indigenous flora and those from other parts of the tropics. To get to the gardens and studio you must first make an appointment and then catch a bus that doesn’t exist, give up and jump in a taxi that will take you to the outskirts of Rio. The taxi driver will then negotiate your entry to the gardens with the Portuguese-only speaking security guard. What awaits is one of the greatest garden visiting experience. We see the full extent of Burle Marx’s fascination with the flora of the tropics. Amazing landscaped gardens some using old facades from demolished buildings from Rio’s Centro.
