For one of the best bird’s-eye views of Brasília, you don’t go up, you go underground. Amid the great open space of the Praça dos Três Poderes — the Plaza of Three Powers — which is effectively the city’s epicenter, a flight of steps leads down to a subterranean gallery.

At street level, one man dominates the view: Oscar Niemeyer, the great architect whose masterpieces gave Brasília its unique retro-futuristic character. But the mark of another man is also stamped on this city: Lúcio Costa.

Costa planned the city, taking inspiration from the jet age. Key governmental buildings form the fuselage. Commercial and residential areas are arranged within the swept-back wings.

Beneath the Plaza, in the Espaço Cultural Lúcio Costa, a 560-square-foot model of Costa’s pilot plan illustrates the simple elegance of Brasília’s layout.

Designing a capital city is evidently good for you: Lúcio Costa died in 1998, at age 96; Oscar Niemeyer died in 2012, at age 104.