I had a dream once;

00:03:00.14\00:03:02.19
I dreamt that Rio de Janeiro
hadn't been occupied.
00:03:02.19\00:03:06.04
That the town had grown
nearer to the mountains,
00:03:06.04\00:03:08.22
going inland.
00:03:08.22\00:03:10.22
And then, I went to the window
and I saw the same panorama
00:03:11.27\00:03:16.21
that Cabral had
seen when he arrived here.
00:03:16.21\00:03:19.11
That fantastic nature,
all of it, the birds,
00:03:19.11\00:03:22.14
the animals.
00:03:22.14\00:03:24.05
And the city looking
at everything from far away.
00:03:24.05\00:03:27.20
It would be like a paradise
kept throughout the times.
00:03:27.20\00:03:31.03
That is the reason why once
Sartre said
00:03:32.01\00:03:35.08
that perhaps the world would
have been better without men.
00:03:35.08\00:03:38.29
LIFE IS A BREATH OF AIR
00:03:49.05\00:03:56.15
I enjoyed drawing.
00:04:20.20\00:04:22.24
I remember
that when I was a child,
00:04:22.24\00:04:24.28
I used to draw with my finger
on the air
00:04:24.28\00:04:27.22
and my mother used to ask:
'What are you doing'?
00:04:27.22\00:04:30.07

I answered: I'm drawing.

00:04:30.07\00:04:32.07
Drawing has led
me into architecture.
00:04:32.07\00:04:36.04
A very important moment
in architecture
00:05:07.13\00:05:09.25
is when
a idea comes to mind.
00:05:09.25\00:05:12.10
For example,
I work in a very peculiar way.
00:05:12.10\00:05:16.21
Whenever I have an idea,
I start to study a problem,
00:05:16.21\00:05:19.22
first I check what the local
conditions are,
00:05:19.22\00:05:23.11
the economical possibilities.
00:05:23.11\00:05:26.04
Then, I begin drawing.
00:05:26.04\00:05:29.13
When I get to an idea,
to a solution that pleases me,
00:05:29.13\00:05:33.08
I write an explanatory text.
00:05:33.08\00:05:37.16
If I don't find good arguments
in that text,
00:05:37.16\00:05:40.16
I go back to my table.
00:05:40.16\00:05:43.00
Once, in Brasilia,
the "Alvorada" structure
00:05:54.26\00:05:58.29
had been concluded and we went
to see it late at night.
00:05:58.29\00:06:03.12
And when we arrived
there we were overwhelmed,
00:06:03.12\00:06:06.20
because of how
beautiful it was.
00:06:06.20\00:06:09.29

It looked like a sculpture,

something with no other
00:06:09.29\00:06:12.12
purpose than beauty itself.
00:06:12.12\00:06:14.07
I told them: "Take a look,
because that is the moment
00:06:14.07\00:06:16.17
when architecture is born.
00:06:16.17\00:06:18.04
It's the new, different form,
which is supposed
00:06:18.04\00:06:20.12
to be a surprise,
that's architecture.
00:06:20.12\00:06:24.27
To us, freedom
is the most important thing.
00:06:30.28\00:06:35.04
There must be imagination;
00:06:35.29\00:06:37.14
there must
be a different solution.
00:06:37.14\00:06:39.14
That is what is important
when it comes to architecture.
00:06:39.14\00:06:41.19
What will stay forever
of architecture,
00:06:41.19\00:06:43.26
what has lived on, is not the
very well prepared small houses
00:06:43.26\00:06:47.06
What has lived
on are the cathedrals,
00:06:47.06\00:06:49.11
the domes,
the great balances, isn't it?
00:06:49.11\00:06:51.27
<up15>Beauty is important
00:06:56.29\00:06:58.18
Take the pyramids,
for example.
00:06:58.18\00:07:00.16
Something
that has no sense at all,

00:07:00.16\00:07:02.25
but they are so beautiful,
00:07:02.25\00:07:04.21
so monumental, that one forgets
the reason for the pyramids
00:07:04.21\00:07:08.03
and is overwhelmed by them.
00:07:08.03\00:07:10.05
If you are only worried
about its function,
00:07:12.10\00:07:15.08
the result sucks.
00:07:15.08\00:07:16.23
It's very usual to see very
colorful children's drawings.
00:07:23.01\00:07:26.07
So beautiful
they could be panels.
00:07:26.07\00:07:28.06
Because they are creative,
spontaneous.
00:07:28.06\00:07:30.20
Later, once the child learns how
to draw, it can't do them anymore.
00:07:30.20\00:07:33.04
I believe the architect
must know how to draw,
00:07:37.07\00:07:39.15
to work
with figurative drawing,
00:07:39.15\00:07:41.21
to loosen
the hand in order to work.
00:07:41.21\00:07:44.23
Whenever I am invited to do
a public building project,
00:07:46.01\00:07:48.19
for example, like the ones
I have just done, in Brasilia,
00:07:48.19\00:07:50.25
I try to do something nice,
different,
00:07:50.25\00:07:53.02
something
that creates surprise.
00:07:53.02\00:07:54.25

Because I know that

the poor people
00:07:54.25\00:07:56.15
won't benefit
anything from that.
00:07:56.15\00:07:58.08
But they are able to stop
and have a moment
00:07:58.08\00:08:00.15
of pleasure, of surprise,
when they see something new.
00:08:00.15\00:08:03.26
And that is the way
architecture can be useful.
00:08:03.26\00:08:06.23
Otherwise, only when there
is a human, social program,
00:08:06.23\00:08:09.28
will architecture
fulfill its destiny.
00:08:09.28\00:08:13.00
For now, only those who have
money benefit from architecture.
00:08:13.00\00:08:16.03
The others are fucked
up in the slums.
00:08:16.03\00:08:19.13
Here, take a look...
that's my motto.
00:08:21.12\00:08:25.10
Have you seen
the little man up there?
00:08:25.10\00:08:28.06
That red thing...
00:08:28.06\00:08:30.18
"The fucked up have no rights",
that's what is written there.
00:08:30.18\00:08:35.09
I used to live in Laranjeiras,
in Passos Manoel Street.
00:08:38.20\00:08:41.25
It was a quiet childhood.
I went to a catholic school.
00:08:41.25\00:08:47.00
Afterwards, there was a time
of lots of euphoria,

00:08:47.00\00:08:49.21
youth, bohemia, soccer...
00:08:49.21\00:08:52.27
It was as if we had come
to life only to have fun,
00:08:52.27\00:08:55.24
to walk around.
00:08:55.24\00:08:57.15
Later, I got married and
along came the commitments.
00:08:57.15\00:09:00.18
My life has nothing special.
00:09:00.18\00:09:03.11
It's just a meaningless human
being going through life,
00:09:03.11\00:09:07.14
that is nothing but a breath
of air, isn't it?
00:09:07.14\00:09:10.17
I come from a catholic family
and my grandfather,
00:09:13.01\00:09:15.26
who wasa magistrate
of the Supreme Court,
00:09:15.26\00:09:17.17
had the privilege of attending
mass at home.
00:09:17.17\00:09:20.00
That was his only privilege,
him being an honest man.
00:09:20.00\00:09:21.22
He was a Supreme Court
judge for a long time
00:09:21.22\00:09:23.11
and that had
an influence over me.
00:09:23.11\00:09:25.20
When he died, the only thing
00:09:26.27\00:09:28.20
that he left was
the house we lived in.
00:09:28.20\00:09:30.28
The first house I projected,
I was still a student.
00:09:31.26\00:09:36.07
It was for a doctor

that was a relative of mine,

00:09:36.07\00:09:38.21
I did it for free.
00:09:38.21\00:09:41.01
The guy laughed a lot.
00:09:41.01\00:09:43.02
He thought the house
was ludicrous.
00:09:43.02\00:09:46.03
It was a modern house,
very organized.
00:09:46.03\00:09:48.12
Sometimes, you have to try and
please a person
00:09:48.12\00:09:50.17
that cannot be pleased.
00:09:50.17\00:09:52.19
The Obra do Bero
was my first project.
00:09:56.09\00:09:58.27
A director of Obra do Bero
was a relative of mine,
00:09:58.27\00:10:02.07
I had just finished school,
and she asked me the project.
00:10:02.07\00:10:05.00
I remember that that project
made a difference
00:10:05.00\00:10:07.26
in my position in architecture.
00:10:07.26\00:10:10.04
I created a protection
with brise-soleil,
00:10:10.04\00:10:13.08
with some boxes whose
verticals where inclined.
00:10:13.08\00:10:16.17
Then, I went to Europe
and when I came back
00:10:16.17\00:10:18.11
the building was finished,
00:10:18.11\00:10:19.22
but they thought
it had been a mistake,
00:10:19.22\00:10:21.06
that the faade

should be normal.
00:10:21.06\00:10:23.17
And the sun
entered the building.
00:10:23.17\00:10:26.00
I remember
that I did the project
00:10:26.00\00:10:28.00
for free
and I ended up paying
00:10:28.00\00:10:29.15
for the new faade,
with those vertical elements.
00:10:29.15\00:10:32.18
It is of no importance,
00:10:32.18\00:10:34.09
but it shows that
I was an idealist,
00:10:34.09\00:10:36.08
that I wanted to create
architecture,
00:10:36.08\00:10:38.00
that I felt responsible
00:10:38.00\00:10:39.20
for what I did regarding
the Brazilian architecture.
00:10:39.20\00:10:44.27
<up15>"The city of Rio de Janeiro,
the capital of Brazil.
00:10:48.15\00:10:51.15
Founded in 1565,
next to the Sugar Loaf
00:10:51.15\00:10:55.01
it grew at the shore
of the Guanabara Bay.
00:10:55.01\00:10:57.24
Nowadays, it has a population
of two million people
00:10:57.24\00:11:00.16
and it has
all the characteristics
00:11:00.16\00:11:02.03
of a modern city.
00:11:02.03\00:11:04.04
Where there used to be the
historical Castelo Hill,

00:11:04.04\00:11:06.24
starting point of the city,
demolished twenty years ago,
00:11:06.24\00:11:10.00
nowadays there is the new
downtown of Rio de Janeiro,
00:11:10.00\00:11:13.01
the Esplanada do Castelo,
00:11:13.01\00:11:14.21
with modern streets
and new constructions."
00:11:14.21\00:11:17.18
I learned through life,
00:11:18.22\00:11:20.05
I learned
at the Lucio Costa's studio...
00:11:20.05\00:11:22.09
Back then,
when we were studying,
00:11:22.09\00:11:26.12
everybody wanted to work
in a construction firm.
00:11:26.12\00:11:30.15
But, even though
I was unemployed, married
00:11:31.26\00:11:34.28
and was short of money,
00:11:34.28\00:11:37.23
I chose to work
with Lucio for free.
00:11:37.23\00:11:40.27
I chose that because I wanted
to create good architecture.
00:11:40.27\00:11:43.17
And I learned it there.
00:11:43.17\00:11:46.01
I wouldn't
admit doing anything
00:11:49.02\00:11:50.27
<up15>that wasn't part
of the renovation.
00:11:50.27\00:11:54.04
<up15>So, for almost five years
00:11:54.04\00:11:56.20
I lived in an almost
miserable situation.

00:11:56.20\00:11:58.23
Because clients
00:11:58.23\00:12:00.22
came to me because
they wanted houses
00:12:00.22\00:12:02.19
in specific styles:
renaissance,
00:12:02.19\00:12:04.15
English style, French style,
those were my former clients.
00:12:04.15\00:12:07.25
Once, a lady even told me:
00:12:07.25\00:12:11.12
"I hired you
to create a carriage
00:12:11.12\00:12:13.24
and you are trying
to sell me an automobile".
00:12:13.24\00:12:16.20
I remember that once,
when he won the contest
00:12:26.07\00:12:29.21
for the Brazil Pavilion
in New York,
00:12:29.21\00:12:31.14
he liked my project.
00:12:31.14\00:12:33.06
He then invited me
to go along.
00:12:33.06\00:12:34.27
And there we went.
00:12:34.27\00:12:36.07
I spent more than a year
over there, we did the project.
00:12:36.07\00:12:39.17
Back then, there were two
different trends
00:12:45.21\00:12:49.01
in Brazilian architecture:
00:12:49.01\00:12:50.19
one trend was
to make a modern architecture,
00:12:50.19\00:12:53.13
using all
the techniques available,

00:12:53.13\00:12:55.01
without any restraints.
00:12:55.01\00:12:57.16
The other one tried to find
an in-between solution.
00:12:57.16\00:13:00.14
It didn't make any sense.
00:13:00.14\00:13:02.09
They intended
to make a building
00:13:02.09\00:13:04.01
and then
put a small colonial window
00:13:04.01\00:13:07.28
as decoration,
stuff like that.
00:13:07.28\00:13:10.03
An in-between architecture.
00:13:10.03\00:13:12.23
Gilberto Freyre,
00:13:15.14\00:13:16.21
who didn't know
anything about architecture,
00:13:16.21\00:13:18.20
sometimes would say
something about it
00:13:18.20\00:13:20.13
a more
Brazilian architecture.
00:13:20.13\00:13:22.01
That was complete rubbish.
00:13:22.01\00:13:23.27
When they started talking about
the first Ouro Preto hotel,
00:13:25.05\00:13:28.05
a study was made and it
resembled the old architecture,
00:13:28.05\00:13:32.12
the same windows, modern,
but with old influences.
00:13:32.12\00:13:35.25
And then they decided
that was not the case,
00:13:35.25\00:13:39.20
that it should be something
to draw a contrast.

00:13:39.20\00:13:43.00
And that is what I did.
I projected the hotel using
00:13:43.00\00:13:45.02
modern elements, nothing else.
00:13:45.02\00:13:48.19
The technique to protect
the monuments
00:13:54.27\00:13:57.05
is not to copy them,
but to draw a contrast.
00:13:57.05\00:14:00.16
Everybody likes
colonial architecture.
00:14:06.05\00:14:09.00
But we know perfectly
well that it is much more
00:14:09.00\00:14:11.10
Portuguese than Brazilian.
00:14:11.10\00:14:13.13
When I go to Europe
and visit an old town,
00:14:13.13\00:14:16.06
I feel better.
00:14:16.06\00:14:18.00
When we are in Portugal,
in those old villages,
00:14:18.00\00:14:20.14
it seems like we are
in Brazil, isn't it?
00:14:20.14\00:14:23.04
I remember that in Europe,
sometimes they said:
00:14:23.04\00:14:26.17
"Your architectural past
is very poor,
00:14:26.17\00:14:30.03
more Portuguese
than Brazilian".
00:14:30.03\00:14:32.24
And I answered:
"That's very good for us,
00:14:32.24\00:14:35.03
because while you live among
monuments,
00:14:35.03\00:14:38.11

we are free to create

today tomorrow's past?.
00:14:38.11\00:14:41.23
The National Educational
Movie Institute,
00:14:41.29\00:14:44.23
documenting the laying
of the foundation stone
00:14:44.23\00:14:48.13
of the future building
of the Education
00:14:48.13\00:14:51.00
and Health Ministry.
00:14:51.00\00:14:52.16
The event is promising.
00:14:52.16\00:14:55.14
First of all,
because there is going to be
00:14:55.14\00:14:58.17
in this beautiful city
a great architectural monument,
00:14:58.17\00:15:02.24
whose project
has been conscientiously,
00:15:02.24\00:15:05.26
persistently
and thoroughly studied.
00:15:05.26\00:15:09.12
Because, with the construction
of this building,
00:15:09.12\00:15:13.10
we will take the final step
00:15:13.10\00:15:15.10
in an effort
that has been going
00:15:15.10\00:15:17.27
on for a long time,
the effort to organize
00:15:17.27\00:15:20.15
the ministry that is in charge
of the solution
00:15:20.15\00:15:23.03
of many difficult
problems of Brazil.
00:15:23.03\00:15:25.19
The time of Capanema

was something like

00:15:25.19\00:15:27.29
the Modern Art Week
of So Paulo.
00:15:27.29\00:15:30.18
He took care
of our historical heritage.
00:15:30.18\00:15:33.06
He invited Rodrigo,
who was a wonderful person;
00:15:33.06\00:15:36.08
he spent his life taking care
of our artistic heritage,
00:15:36.08\00:15:39.22
of Minas
and of all those states.
00:15:39.22\00:15:42.07
And he took care
of the culture;
00:15:42.07\00:15:43.23
he created the
"Ministry of Education".
00:15:43.23\00:15:45.14
It is a time
of young ministers
00:15:45.14\00:15:47.03
and of brilliant chiefs
of staff.
00:15:47.03\00:15:48.23
We have Rodrigo
in the education department,
00:15:48.23\00:15:51.23
than he is substituted
by Capanema,
00:15:51.23\00:15:53.07
who changes the chief
of staff.
00:15:53.07\00:15:54.23
Rodrigo is out and Carlos
Drummond de Andrade is in.
00:15:54.23\00:15:56.19
It is a privileged time.
00:15:56.19\00:15:58.07
We will never meet chiefs
of staff like those.
00:15:58.07\00:16:01.09

The ministries knew how

to write and the chiefs
00:16:01.09\00:16:03.01
of staff were revolutionary.
00:16:03.01\00:16:05.11
Ministry of Education and
Health Rio de Janeiro 1936.
00:16:10.08\00:16:15.06
Oscar Niemeyer, Afonso Reidy,
Jorge Moreira,
00:16:18.23\00:16:21.27
Carlos Leo, Lucio Costa
00:16:21.27\00:16:23.27
and Ernani Vasconcellos project,
original idea from Le Corbusier
00:16:23.27\00:16:26.23
Le Corbusier project
for the Ministry of Education
00:16:29.12\00:16:32.01
was very important.
00:16:32.01\00:16:33.20
He showed the people
and the rulers
00:16:33.20\00:16:36.20
what contemporary
architecture was.
00:16:36.20\00:16:39.06
The reason that explained
why the piles,
00:16:39.06\00:16:41.16
the brise-soleil, and the glass
faade were necessary.
00:16:41.16\00:16:44.17
The project for the Ministry,
00:16:45.23\00:16:47.07
most probably
Carlos Drummond de Andrade
00:16:47.07\00:16:49.27
convinced Capanema to invite
Lucio Costa to do the project.
00:16:49.27\00:16:53.01
And what does Lucio Costa do.
00:16:53.01\00:16:54.09
He invites
other modern competitors.
00:16:54.09\00:16:57.12

None of them knew exactly

how to do that Ministry
00:16:57.12\00:16:59.19
in a real modern way.
00:16:59.19\00:17:01.08
All of them were convinced
of modernity,
00:17:01.08\00:17:03.12
but they didn't manage
its language.
00:17:03.12\00:17:05.07
And Lucio insists
on the coming of Le Corbusier.
00:17:10.20\00:17:14.27
He was here for fifteen
or twenty days,
00:17:18.21\00:17:20.21
no more than that.
It's very little time.
00:17:20.21\00:17:22.14
During that time,
not even Christ in any
00:17:22.14\00:17:24.14
of the Jerusalem provinces
did so many miracles,
00:17:24.14\00:17:26.27
because he changed
the Brazilian architecture,
00:17:26.27\00:17:28.23
he created the most important
building of the world,
00:17:28.23\00:17:30.18
and Oscar became a genius,
which he was not before,
00:17:30.18\00:17:33.00
so much so that Lucio
didn't know it.
00:17:33.00\00:17:34.14
Corbusier arrived with that
"boss attitude",
00:17:34.14\00:17:37.07
he saw the project
Lucio had done
00:17:37.07\00:17:40.03
and decided to do a new one.
00:17:40.03\00:17:42.03

He presented a solution,
Lucio accepted it.
00:17:42.03\00:17:45.26
On that occasion, Lucio
made me work with him,
00:17:45.26\00:17:48.28
to help him with the drawings.
00:17:48.28\00:17:51.04
Corbusier changed the project,
and did it low and long,
00:17:54.15\00:17:58.14
with the minister's office
facing the Sugar Loaf.
00:17:58.14\00:18:01.17
That was not possible,
because Capanema was
00:18:01.17\00:18:03.29
in such a hurry that he asked
00:18:03.29\00:18:05.10
Corbusier to change the project,
because the first one
00:18:05.10\00:18:07.14
was to be done on mayoralty's
land and the other piece
00:18:07.14\00:18:09.18
of land belonged
to the Ministry.
00:18:09.18\00:18:11.10
The day before flying away,
Le Corbusier did a sketch
00:18:11.10\00:18:14.18
for the building on
its nowadays location.
00:18:14.18\00:18:16.28
He did it unwillingly
and wrote a letter saying that
00:18:16.28\00:18:18.23
it was not a good idea
and that the project was
00:18:18.23\00:18:20.18
going to be damaged.
And then he goes away.
00:18:20.18\00:18:22.26
The team coordinated
by Lucio works
00:18:22.26\00:18:26.18

for a year and a half and

then the paper story happens.
00:18:26.18\00:18:30.24
I thought
the first one was better.
00:18:30.24\00:18:33.13
And one day,
I don't know why,
00:18:33.13\00:18:34.28
I made an outline using
the first Corbusier project.
00:18:34.28\00:18:39.03
I changed the building direction
on the piece of land,
00:18:39.03\00:18:41.06
so that the street would
be below it.
00:18:41.06\00:18:44.08
And Leo liked the idea.
00:18:44.08\00:18:46.22
When Lucio arrived,
Leo said:
00:18:46.22\00:18:48.13
"Oscar did a project
and I believe it's good".
00:18:48.13\00:18:52.15
He asked to see it and I had
thrown it through the window,
00:18:52.15\00:18:55.10
because I didn't think
it would matter.
00:18:55.10\00:18:57.29
He sent me for it.
00:18:57.29\00:18:59.20
That was the first thing
that impressed me about Lucio,
00:18:59.20\00:19:02.20
his generosity.
00:19:02.20\00:19:05.23
He saw it, believed it
was good and decided:
00:19:05.23\00:19:07.02
"we are going to do that one".
00:19:07.02\00:19:08.29
Now, our architecture
is very different

00:19:13.00\00:19:15.16
from Corbusier's architecture.
00:19:15.16\00:19:17.11
We have evolved
to an architecture
00:19:17.11\00:19:19.04
that has more
to do with our weather,
00:19:19.04\00:19:21.00
it's lighter, it's emptier,
it conquers the space.
00:19:21.00\00:19:24.21
And we gave him the same
contribution he had given us.
00:19:24.21\00:19:28.01
We were influenced by him,
but his last works were also
00:19:28.01\00:19:31.04
influenced
by our architecture.
00:19:31.04\00:19:34.02
I am not the one who says it.
00:19:34.02\00:19:36.01
Ozoenfant, who was his partner,
mentioned it in his biography:
00:19:36.01\00:19:42.18
Le Corbusier,
that for many years
00:19:42.18\00:19:45.11
had praised the virtues
of the right angle,
00:19:45.11\00:19:48.06
suddenly began
to think differently,
00:19:48.06\00:19:51.07
following a very talented
00:19:51.07\00:19:53.11
architecture that
came from overseas.
00:19:53.11\00:19:55.25
And there is no doubt
that Oscar's architecture
00:20:00.18\00:20:03.27
is born from Le Corbusier's
architecture
00:20:03.27\00:20:07.29

in its basic elements.

00:20:07.29\00:20:10.10
Nobody invents anything
from scratch.
00:20:10.10\00:20:13.20
That is not true.
00:20:13.20\00:20:15.03
Culture is heritage
and transformation.
00:20:15.03\00:20:18.20
What is extraordinary
is that he learns the lesson
00:20:18.20\00:20:26.07
from Le Corbusier and
soon after he is already
00:20:26.07\00:20:30.23
creating something
00:20:30.23\00:20:32.24
that is the denial
of the fundamental
00:20:32.24\00:20:36.03
data of that architecture.
00:20:36.03\00:20:38.11
And everybody knows
the story of the UN building.
00:20:38.11\00:20:43.15
Who really won the
contest for the UN
00:20:43.15\00:20:46.29
was Niemeyer,
not Le Corbusier.
00:20:46.29\00:20:49.02
The head office of the UN
in New York, Oscar won it.
00:20:49.02\00:20:53.03
The building
is an Oscar project.
00:20:53.03\00:20:55.03
That doesn't mean anything;
00:20:55.03\00:20:56.20
it does not diminish
Le Corbusier.
00:20:56.20\00:20:58.06
It only shows Oscar's talent.
00:20:58.06\00:21:00.05
He didn't travel there with

a project of his own;

00:21:00.05\00:21:02.00
he did at the hotel,
because the president
00:21:02.00\00:21:04.11
of the committee
for the project asked him to.
00:21:04.11\00:21:07.05
He said:
"You must present a project.
00:21:07.05\00:21:09.20
We won't accept that you
come here without a project."
00:21:09.20\00:21:13.04
Then, he went to the
hotel and did a project.
00:21:13.04\00:21:15.19
UN head office
in New York 1947.
00:21:16.05\00:21:20.15
The UN building,
they chose my project.
00:21:29.01\00:21:32.17
In my book,
there is a photograph
00:21:32.17\00:21:34.07
of all of them hugging me.
00:21:34.07\00:21:36.23
The project was like that:
00:21:36.23\00:21:38.22
Corbusier project had
a block over here,
00:21:43.22\00:21:46.24
very high,
and the building was here
00:21:46.24\00:21:49.24
and parted
the space in two.
00:21:50.15\00:21:52.26
In my project,
I put the block here,
00:21:52.26\00:21:57.29
I separated the councils
from the General Assembly,
00:21:59.11\00:22:03.29
I put the councils here

and the General Assembly here.

00:22:03.29\00:22:08.03
My intention was to create
the United Nations square.
00:22:08.03\00:22:13.09
My project was the chosen one,
but the next day,
00:22:13.09\00:22:16.23
Le Corbusier came to talk
to me and asked me
00:22:16.23\00:22:19.20
to put that building here.
00:22:19.20\00:22:21.24
That way,
there was no square.
00:22:22.13\00:22:24.21
I realized he wanted
to do his own project.
00:22:24.21\00:22:28.09
And he was the master.
00:22:28.09\00:22:30.02
I said: "No problem".
And I don't regret it.
00:22:30.02\00:22:33.11
His project was number 23,
mine was 32
00:22:33.11\00:22:38.03
and we presented the
23-32 project.
00:22:38.03\00:22:42.05
I mean,
that is what is built there.
00:22:42.05\00:22:45.02
Later,
there were small changes,
00:22:45.02\00:22:47.24
but if you look
at the ground plan,
00:22:47.24\00:22:49.28
the adopted solution was
my project
00:22:49.28\00:22:53.25
with the change proposed
by Le Corbusier.
00:22:53.25\00:22:56.16
For the first time

since a historical period,

00:22:56.16\00:23:00.08
we are gathered together
00:23:00.08\00:23:02.04
around a project
whose execution
00:23:02.04\00:23:03.29
will allow us to
present the world with
00:23:03.29\00:23:07.05
an optimistic and clear
architectonical solution.
00:23:07.05\00:23:11.01
We are of different ages.
00:23:11.01\00:23:13.00
The younger ones
from the drawing studio
00:23:13.00\00:23:15.13
and their masters form
an exceptional
00:23:15.13\00:23:17.18
and unique association.
00:23:17.18\00:23:20.10
But I look at the past
and I think that was good,
00:23:20.10\00:23:22.25
I was young and
I was generous.
00:23:22.25\00:23:25.02
Sometime later,
I had lunch with him
00:23:25.02\00:23:27.12
in his flat and he kept
looking at me and finally said:
00:23:27.12\00:23:29.28
"You are generous".
00:23:29.28\00:23:31.22
And I thought:
00:23:31.22\00:23:32.25
"This guy is thinking about
that morning when
00:23:32.25\00:23:35.06
I agreed to change
the position of the block".
00:23:35.06\00:23:38.13
When I went there

to do Pampulha,
00:23:52.08\00:23:54.27
I went to speak to JK.
00:23:54.27\00:23:57.00
And he told me that he
was going to build
00:23:57.00\00:23:59.00
a new neighborhood
in Belo Horizonte.
00:23:59.00\00:24:00.24
An area with a church,
a casino,
00:24:00.24\00:24:03.05
a club and a restaurant.
00:24:03.05\00:24:06.11
When we finished
talking he told me:
00:24:13.17\00:24:15.18
"I need the casino
project for tomorrow".
00:24:15.18\00:24:18.25
I was young; it was kind
of my first assignment.
00:24:18.25\00:24:23.19
I had to accept it.
00:24:23.19\00:24:25.03
I went back to the hotel
and I did it.
00:24:25.03\00:24:26.24
I worked all night long
and the next day I was there.
00:24:26.24\00:24:29.13
And he realized then he
could go fast with me.
00:24:40.16\00:24:43.06
And that's why we worked
together.
00:24:43.06\00:24:44.26
Pampulha was the beginning
of Brasilia.
00:24:44.26\00:24:46.23
And my intention
in Pampulha
00:24:46.23\00:24:48.29
was to create
a different architecture.

00:24:48.29\00:24:51.08
Back then,
architecture was very...
00:24:51.08\00:24:53.16
it did not understand
00:24:53.16\00:24:54.27
very well
the reinforced concrete.
00:24:54.27\00:24:57.11
Architecture was rigid,
as if it were done
00:24:57.11\00:24:59.28
with metallic structure.
00:24:59.28\00:25:01.19
And the concrete
was just the opposite;
00:25:01.19\00:25:03.27
it suggested a new field
of experience and invention.
00:25:03.27\00:25:07.22
I tried to introduce
the curve into architecture.
00:25:07.22\00:25:11.14
We wanted to impose the curve,
00:25:22.19\00:25:24.13
which is the natural
solution of concrete.
00:25:24.13\00:25:26.10
Whenever one has a big space
like that,
00:25:26.10\00:25:29.02
the natural solution
is the curve,
00:25:29.02\00:25:31.17
not the straight line.
00:25:31.17\00:25:33.09
So, I covered the
church with curves.
00:25:33.09\00:25:36.01
And architecture became
something different.
00:25:53.21\00:25:55.19
Something more connected
to our country,
00:25:55.19\00:25:57.08
something lighter,

00:25:57.08\00:25:58.12
that resembled the old
churches of Minas Gerais.
00:25:58.12\00:26:03.02
In the Dancing House,
which was a construction,
00:26:03.22\00:26:06.18
I did the marquee
in a curved shape as well.
00:26:06.18\00:26:09.22
So, I made architecture
become more aesthetic,
00:26:09.22\00:26:13.06
an invention,
like Le Corbusier used to say.
00:26:13.06\00:26:17.02
This architecture
generated lots
00:26:19.05\00:26:20.28
of doubts and discussions.
00:26:20.28\00:26:24.18
But a short while after
00:26:24.18\00:26:26.11
that they had
already understood
00:26:26.11\00:26:27.22
that the reinforced concrete
was the building material
00:26:27.22\00:26:29.27
of that time
and we should use it.
00:26:29.27\00:26:32.27
At that same time,
a very intelligent Frenchman,
00:26:32.27\00:26:36.19
who worked with
Le Corbusier said:
00:26:36.19\00:26:39.15
"Il faut fair chanter
les points d'apui".
00:26:39.15\00:26:42.16
That is, it is necessary to make
the supporting points sing.
00:26:42.16\00:26:46.06
And I gave more
emphasis to the structures.

00:26:46.06\00:26:49.00
The casino has a slight
resemblance of Le Corbusier,
00:27:22.02\00:27:24.26
the church
is completely Brazilian
00:27:24.26\00:27:27.26
and the most important thing
00:27:27.26\00:27:30.27
is the space
for the popular ball.
00:27:30.27\00:27:33.17
Oscar decided that
in the Juscelino program,
00:27:33.17\00:27:35.22
the casino was for rich people,
the church is a church
00:27:35.22\00:27:38.00
and they would not accept
it in many years,
00:27:38.00\00:27:39.20
the club
was for the bourgeoisie.
00:27:39.20\00:27:41.08
So, he wanted to create a ball,
a small island,
00:27:41.08\00:27:43.10
it resembled a streamer
you throw up in the air,
00:27:43.10\00:27:45.25
which goes like that...
00:27:45.25\00:27:47.14
So it became something
Brazilian, carnival,
00:27:47.14\00:27:49.02
people, baroque,
00:27:49.02\00:27:50.19
and that small building
has changed the image
00:27:50.19\00:27:54.22
of the Brazilian architecture
around the world.
00:27:54.22\00:27:57.11
The small one.
00:27:57.11\00:27:58.28
A house made by Oscar

was the family dream.

00:28:04.11\00:28:07.24
There was this piece
of land near Iguatemi,
00:28:07.24\00:28:10.17
there was the sketch,
a gift from Oscar.
00:28:10.17\00:28:13.10
There was the promise
that one day we would go
00:28:13.10\00:28:15.22
and live in Oscar's house.
00:28:15.22\00:28:18.11
I grew up full of impatience,
because my father,
00:28:18.11\00:28:21.04
although he was the owner
of the Ipiranga museum,
00:28:21.04\00:28:23.23
never had savings
enough to build Oscar's house.
00:28:23.23\00:28:27.21
Well, later I went to
a boarding school in Cataguases,
00:28:27.21\00:28:31.14
which had been
an Oscar project.
00:28:31.14\00:28:33.17
I lived for six months
in that big house from Oscar,
00:28:33.17\00:28:36.13
I thought it was not enough
00:28:36.13\00:28:37.24
and I decided
to become Oscar myself.
00:28:37.24\00:28:40.11
Later, I dropped architecture
00:28:41.15\00:28:43.14
and I became
a Tom Jobim apprentice.
00:28:43.14\00:28:45.20
When I create a good song,
00:28:45.20\00:28:47.14
I think it looks
like a Tom Jobim song.
00:28:47.14\00:28:50.01

To me, Tom's music

is an Oscar's house.
00:28:50.01\00:28:54.05
"It is not the right angle
that attracts me,
00:28:58.19\00:29:02.04
or the straight, hard,
inflexible line created by man.
00:29:02.04\00:29:09.04
What attracts me
is the free, sensual curve.
00:29:09.04\00:29:13.15
The curve I find
in the mountains
00:29:13.15\00:29:17.19
and the rivers of my country,
in the clouds of the sky,
00:29:17.19\00:29:20.11
in the body
of my favorite woman.
00:29:20.11\00:29:23.11
The universe is entirely
made of curves.
00:29:23.11\00:29:26.16
The curved
universe of Einstein".
00:29:26.16\00:29:29.20
My architecture is not
a solution for all architecture,
00:29:42.26\00:29:45.24
it's my architecture.
00:29:45.24\00:29:47.12
If we agree that there
is not modern painting
00:29:47.12\00:29:51.22
and ancient painting,
there's just good painting
00:29:51.22\00:29:53.26
and bad painting, the same
happens with architecture.
00:29:53.26\00:29:55.28
I believe every person
should find their own
00:29:55.28\00:29:58.00
way and do what
he or she likes.

00:29:58.00\00:30:00.15
I must confess that
00:30:01.08\00:30:02.20
I'm tired of talking
about architecture.
00:30:02.20\00:30:05.19
Because it is the same
conversation over and over,
00:30:05.19\00:30:08.27
the questions are the same.
00:30:08.27\00:30:10.22
But what is more important
than architecture
00:30:10.22\00:30:11.24
is to be ready to protest
and to gather along the streets.
00:30:11.24\00:30:14.14
That is the important stuff,
what makes one feel good.
00:30:14.14\00:30:17.27
It makes one believe
that one is not a piece
00:30:17.27\00:30:20.02
of shit,
that one can be useful.
00:30:20.02\00:30:22.13
A guy must think about politics,
politics are important,
00:30:25.01\00:30:28.01
it is life itself.
00:30:28.01\00:30:29.16
One must think about poverty,
try to help and,
00:30:29.16\00:30:31.24
when one feels that everything
is too horrible
00:30:31.24\00:30:35.04
and that hope has faded away,
then it's time for revolution.
00:30:35.04\00:30:40.17
The architect Oscar Niemeyer
receives the Lenin Peace Prize,
00:30:45.18\00:30:49.24
awarded by
the Soviet Government.
00:30:49.24\00:30:52.29

The Russian Ambassador

delivered the prize
00:30:57.17\00:30:59.29
and praised Niemeyer's work.
00:30:59.29\00:31:02.19
The artist receives
the medal from the hands
00:31:02.19\00:31:05.05
of a Russian representative,
00:31:05.05\00:31:06.26
a tribute to the culture
of our country.
00:31:06.26\00:31:09.29
I joined the Party
in 1945.
00:31:12.21\00:31:15.12
When the guys were released
from prison,
00:31:15.12\00:31:17.20
Prestes went to my office,
some comrades.
00:31:17.20\00:31:21.17
I put fifteen of them in
my office and I stood there,
00:31:21.17\00:31:26.24
listening to that conversation,
that struggle,
00:31:26.24\00:31:29.12
that enthusiasm,
that abnegation.
00:31:29.12\00:31:35.03
I lent the house to Prestes,
00:31:35.03\00:31:37.12
he created there
the Metropolitan Committee.
00:31:37.12\00:31:41.15
And things went on.
00:31:41.15\00:31:42.27
I remember that when
I went to Moscow once,
00:31:45.19\00:31:48.07
many years ago,
it was the time of Stalinism,
00:31:48.07\00:31:51.10
and a teacher asked me:
00:31:51.10\00:31:52.27

"Dr. Niemeyer,
what is your opinion
00:31:52.27\00:31:55.04
about
the Soviet architecture"?
00:31:55.04\00:31:56.25
I answered: "I am on your side
in the political aspects,
00:31:56.25\00:32:00.08
peace and everything.
00:32:00.08\00:32:02.20
But I don't have an answer
for that, I find it very bad.
00:32:02.20\00:32:08.02
"So, show us your criticisms".
00:32:08.02\00:32:10.08
I said: "I did not
come here to criticize,
00:32:10.08\00:32:12.22
but if you ask me,
00:32:12.22\00:32:14.09
the columns here are too close
to each other,
00:32:14.09\00:32:16.27
too thick for the space
that exists between them,
00:32:16.27\00:32:20.05
circulation is bad,
and ventilation is bad.
00:32:20.05\00:32:23.02
So, in our relationship with the
Left, we had to be fraternal,
00:32:23.02\00:32:27.22
but we had to tell the truth.
00:32:27.22\00:32:29.29
Ibirapuera Park marquise
So Paulo 1951
00:32:36.29\00:32:41.20
Bienal Pavillion So Paulo 1951
00:32:49.18\00:32:53.10
It is well known that
Oscar Niemeyer hates
00:33:07.19\00:33:12.25
capitalism
and hates the right angle.
00:33:12.25\00:33:17.12

Against the right angle,

that offends the space,
00:33:17.12\00:33:23.08
he has been doing
00:33:23.08\00:33:25.07
an architecture
as light as the clouds,
00:33:25.07\00:33:30.16
free, sensual,
00:33:30.16\00:33:34.14
that looks
a lot like the landscape
00:33:38.06\00:33:42.15
of the mountains
of Rio de Janeiro,
00:33:42.15\00:33:45.08
mountains that look
like women's bodies lying down,
00:33:45.08\00:33:51.16
drawn by God
in the day God
00:33:51.16\00:33:57.06
thought himself
to be Niemeyer.
00:33:57.06\00:34:00.14
Afterwards,
I projected that house.
00:34:12.19\00:34:14.25
I looked for a piece
of land with a view,
00:34:14.25\00:34:18.12
I wanted a simple house,
small, fully adapted to nature.
00:34:18.12\00:34:23.16
I projected the house
the way I wanted to,
00:34:23.16\00:34:25.07
as simple as my way of life.
00:34:25.07\00:34:27.12
And it is well integrated
to the space.
00:34:29.07\00:34:31.15
I did not touch the land.
00:34:31.15\00:34:33.22
The rooms are downstairs.
00:34:41.19\00:34:44.01

Upstairs there
is the living room, the kitchen.
00:34:44.01\00:34:47.03
A friend of mine gave
me some seedlings
00:34:49.23\00:34:52.16
and the plants started
growing in a natural way,
00:34:52.16\00:34:56.24
without a strict control.
00:34:56.24\00:34:58.27
When the house was finished,
one day Gropius showed up
00:34:59.24\00:35:03.19
and I showed him the house.
00:35:03.19\00:35:05.11
When he was going
away, he told me:
00:35:05.11\00:35:07.14
"It is a beautiful house,
but it is not multipliable".
00:35:07.14\00:35:10.25
I thought it was funny,
such a rubbish in the lips
00:35:10.25\00:35:13.14
of such a great man, isn't it?
00:35:13.14\00:35:15.11
There was nothing
to be multiplied there.
00:35:15.11\00:35:17.11
It's a different piece of land.
00:35:17.11\00:35:19.10
The house was made
to that land,
00:35:19.10\00:35:20.28
it adapts itself to the space,
and how can it be multiplied?
00:35:20.28\00:35:23.26
But I thought it was funny,
00:35:23.26\00:35:25.17
because people
always say stupid things.
00:35:25.17\00:35:27.29
We didn't invent rubbish,
did we?
00:35:27.29\00:35:31.20

It has always been there.

00:35:31.20\00:35:34.09
Bauhaus was the paradise
of mediocrity,
00:35:37.10\00:35:40.10
like Le Corbusier said.
00:35:40.10\00:35:42.04
A guy learned how to draw
a dinner service,
00:35:42.04\00:35:45.07
for example and that was used
00:35:45.07\00:35:47.23
to establish rules
they had to follow.
00:35:47.23\00:35:53.18
And architecture has
nothing to do with that,
00:35:53.18\00:35:56.01
architecture is invention.
00:35:56.01\00:35:57.17
Of everything I got from
00:35:57.17\00:35:59.08
Le Corbusier,
the most important
00:35:59.08\00:36:01.05
was something
he told me one day.
00:36:01.05\00:36:02.14
He said:
"Architecture is invention".
00:36:02.14\00:36:04.04
I understood that later
reading various books.
00:36:04.04\00:36:06.28
When I first read
that French poet...
00:36:06.28\00:36:10.26
I don't remember
his name now...
00:36:11.23\00:36:13.07
He used to say that invention,
the overwhelming
00:36:13.07\00:36:16.20
is the main characteristic
of a work of art.
00:36:16.20\00:36:19.18

In my architecture,
in what I do, the first worry
00:36:19.18\00:36:22.22
is that it needs to be different.
I want people to stop there,
00:36:22.22\00:36:26.07
surprised
to see something new...
00:36:26.07\00:36:29.03
...Baudelaire.
00:36:30.04\00:36:32.00
Lagoa Hospital
Rio de Janeiro 1952
00:36:38.11\00:36:41.21
One of the basic definitions
of the new architecture,
00:36:48.18\00:36:52.26
from the beginning
of the twentieth century
00:36:52.26\00:36:55.10
is the exclusion
of the other arts.
00:36:55.10\00:36:59.02
The wall, the panel,
the inside of a building
00:36:59.02\00:37:03.20
is beautiful in itself,
00:37:03.20\00:37:05.22
in its proportion
and functionality.
00:37:05.22\00:37:09.05
Therefore, there is
no need for anything else.
00:37:09.05\00:37:11.10
Then, Oscar starts using
glazed tiles and murals.
00:37:12.05\00:37:15.19
Then, he includes the artist,
the painter, the sculptor,
00:37:15.19\00:37:18.24
and that too is part
of his rebelliousness.
00:37:18.24\00:37:21.16
In my work, I have always
invited the artists,
00:37:23.10\00:37:26.14

the painters,
00:37:26.14\00:37:27.22
the sculptors.
I even did that
00:37:27.22\00:37:29.24
on my first assignment
in Pampulha.
00:37:29.24\00:37:32.20
The architecture cannot be
seen as something isolated.
00:37:35.13\00:37:38.13
When the architect creates
a project, when he draws a wall,
00:37:38.13\00:37:42.15
he should imagine
then if this wall
00:37:42.15\00:37:45.18
will be a painting,
a whitewash, a stone wall,
00:37:45.18\00:37:48.09
or if it is going to be
a sculpture, shouldn?t he?
00:37:48.09\00:37:50.17
The artist should not
come later to put the painting
00:37:50.17\00:37:52.22
wherever he wants to.
00:37:52.22\00:37:54.23
Of course there
are influences.
00:37:54.23\00:37:56.24
Even from literature.
00:37:56.24\00:37:58.29
There is this guy who wrote
the influence of...
00:37:58.29\00:38:05.19
I will give
up speaking for today.
00:38:08.17\00:38:12.05
To forget Cames, shit.
00:38:12.05\00:38:16.05
I forget names...
00:38:19.20\00:38:21.09
Ah, but that is normal.
00:38:21.09\00:38:22.27
But I even forget

the name of the person

00:38:22.27\00:38:24.15
who is right next to me.
00:38:24.15\00:38:25.28
The other day,
talking to them,
00:38:25.28\00:38:27.10
I couldn't remember
Mies van der Rohe.
00:38:27.10\00:38:30.00
That's too much.
00:38:30.00\00:38:31.18
Once, I was autographing
a book of mine,
00:38:31.18\00:38:34.17
and an engineer that had
been mayor of Rio arrived.
00:38:34.17\00:38:38.16
-I can't remember his name.
-Passos...
00:38:38.16\00:38:41.13
It is not him, a guy
who is our age,
00:38:41.13\00:38:43.16
-from our generation.
-Tamoio.
00:38:43.16\00:38:45.14
No. He came with
the book and I said:
00:38:45.14\00:38:51.27
"I forgot your name".
And he was pissed off.
00:38:51.27\00:38:55.09
And he had to tell me his name.
00:38:55.09\00:38:57.26
The Brazilian man
no longer walks
00:38:58.22\00:39:00.25
on the sand like the crabs.
00:39:00.25\00:39:03.16
Brasilia,
a magnetic pole in Goi s,
00:39:03.16\00:39:06.21
is finally the answer to
that two centuries practice.
00:39:06.21\00:39:09.29

It is already a provisional
city of ten thousand people,
00:39:09.29\00:39:13.00
built under private initiative
and with investments
00:39:13.00\00:39:15.09
that exceed five hundred
million cruzeiros,
00:39:15.09\00:39:18.04
this project is one of
00:39:18.04\00:39:20.01
the big works
of the government.
00:39:20.01\00:39:22.09
Juscelino came here,
we went downtown
00:39:29.18\00:39:32.08
together and he told me:
00:39:32.08\00:39:35.06
"My intention
is to build a capital.
00:39:35.06\00:39:37.07
A different capital.
00:39:37.07\00:39:39.00
I don't
want a provincial capital;
00:39:39.00\00:39:41.23
I want something beautiful
00:39:41.23\00:39:43.11
that shows
the importance of our country."
00:39:43.11\00:39:46.11
And it was good,
we started working.
00:39:46.11\00:39:48.23
At first, I thought Brasilia
was too far away,
00:39:51.00\00:39:53.13
but then
I got used to the idea.
00:39:53.13\00:39:55.19
Juscelino's willpower
was so strong that everybody
00:39:55.19\00:39:58.06
started thinking
that everything

00:39:58.06\00:40:00.02
was going to be fine.
00:40:00.02\00:40:01.17
And Brasilia was a kind
of adventure,
00:40:01.17\00:40:03.17
with lots of problems
00:40:03.17\00:40:05.02
and misunderstandings,
the lodgings were primitive.
00:40:05.02\00:40:08.25
But there was JK's willpower,
and the project went on.
00:40:08.25\00:40:13.11
Juscelino often finished working
in Catete, near this place;
00:40:14.09\00:40:18.20
he finished at six o'clock,
00:40:18.20\00:40:20.22
got on the plane
in Santos Dumont airport,
00:40:20.22\00:40:22.16
arrived in Brasilia
around midnight,
00:40:22.16\00:40:25.22
he inspected the building sites,
00:40:25.22\00:40:28.06
at six in the morning
he flew back to Rio,
00:40:28.06\00:40:30.22
at ten o'clock
he was back in Catete working.
00:40:30.22\00:40:33.03
It was a very hard time.
Brasilia was not welcome.
00:40:33.03\00:40:36.16
The whole press
was against it,
00:40:36.16\00:40:38.25
in So Paulo
and in Rio as well.
00:40:38.25\00:40:40.27
Rio de Janeiro
is going to end...
00:40:40.27\00:40:42.18
Rio de Janeiro is going

to become meaningless.
00:40:42.18\00:40:44.24
"We are going to Brasilia!"
It sounded like a threat.
00:40:44.24\00:40:47.03
"I am not going
to Brasilia,
00:40:47.03\00:40:48.21
and my family
won't go either,
00:40:48.21\00:40:50.11
even for a lot of cash,
00:40:50.11\00:40:52.05
I don't want
to leave Copacabana".
00:40:52.05\00:40:54.04
To encourage people
to go to Brasilia,
00:40:54.04\00:40:57.11
not only civil servants,
but other people as well,
00:40:57.11\00:40:59.18
to populate Brasilia,
there was the double pay:
00:40:59.18\00:41:02.27
the civil servants
who accepted to go received
00:41:02.27\00:41:05.04
a double pay, so Billy Blanco
wrote this samba:"
00:41:05.04\00:41:07.23
Not even if is to live
with lots of cash.
00:41:07.23\00:41:09.16
I'd rather
be poor in Copacabana..."
00:41:09.16\00:41:11.16
In one of the IAPI buildings
there is a show flat
00:41:13.10\00:41:17.04
with all the requirements
of modern comfort.
00:41:17.04\00:41:20.07
All flats being constructed
will be like that one.
00:41:20.07\00:41:23.26

Sometimes,
I traveled by plane, a DC-3.
00:41:24.20\00:41:27.12
It could stop anywhere
and it took three hours.
00:41:27.12\00:41:31.09
But I remember that one day
00:41:31.09\00:41:33.05
I had lunch
with the president and he said:
00:41:33.05\00:41:36.18
"When we finish having lunch,
you're flying with me
00:41:36.18\00:41:39.12
in the helicopter to see
the building sites or
00:41:39.12\00:41:41.01
I will have you arrested."
And we left.
00:41:41.01\00:41:43.23
I flew in the helicopter
with him,
00:41:43.23\00:41:46.02
we went all over the city
and I was at ease.
00:41:46.02\00:41:48.25
Because they used to say
that whenever a helicopter
00:41:48.25\00:41:51.03
has a problem,
it goes down naturally,
00:41:51.03\00:41:53.16
with that control propeller.
00:41:53.16\00:41:56.11
But once
I was back on the floor,
00:41:56.11\00:41:58.05
I talked
to the pilot and he said:
00:41:58.05\00:42:00.04
"The other one is much safer,
00:42:00.04\00:42:02.06
this one falls
down if it has to."
00:42:02.06\00:42:05.08
When I went there

00:42:09.17\00:42:11.27
I took fifteen
architects with me,
00:42:11.27\00:42:15.14
but I also took an engineer,
two journalists,
00:42:15.14\00:42:21.02
five friends of mine
who were in a shitty situation
00:42:21.02\00:42:23.19
and needed to work and
I felt that was an opportunity
00:42:23.19\00:42:26.15
to help them.
00:42:26.15\00:42:27.23
I wanted the conversations
in Brasilia to be diversified,
00:42:27.23\00:42:31.07
I didn't feel like talking
about architecture all the time,
00:42:31.07\00:42:34.00
I wanted life
to be more fun than that.
00:42:34.00\00:42:38.00
We had a good time,
we went out together,
00:42:40.15\00:42:43.05
and we did not take
things too seriously.
00:42:43.05\00:42:46.03
We had stories to tell,
it was a joyful
00:42:46.03\00:42:48.03
and entertaining group...
00:42:48.03\00:42:50.10
Because that is how
I think life should be.
00:42:50.10\00:42:52.03
We must clarify things.
00:42:52.03\00:42:53.26
Life is about laughing
and crying all life long.
00:42:53.26\00:42:56.14
We should take advantage
of the easy moments
00:42:56.14\00:42:59.04

to have some fun.

00:42:59.04\00:43:00.19
And then face
the other moments.
00:43:00.19\00:43:02.22
Life is a breath of air,
isn't it"
00:43:02.22\00:43:05.03
We worked there
and went to same discos
00:43:15.02\00:43:18.05
the workers did, everybody
dressed in the same way.
00:43:18.05\00:43:21.17
We even had the impression
that the society would improve,
00:43:21.17\00:43:25.16
that men would
become more equal.
00:43:25.16\00:43:28.16
If the Brazilian people
were able to build
00:43:30.28\00:43:34.02
the new capital, and a capital
with those special,
00:43:34.02\00:43:40.22
original characteristics,
following the work
00:43:40.22\00:43:43.12
of Oscar Niemeyer
and Lucio Costa,
00:43:43.12\00:43:45.18
with an aesthetic thought,
a completely different
00:43:45.18\00:43:51.14
renewing urbanistic thought
00:43:51.14\00:43:53.11
The we could be able
to do everything necessary
00:43:53.11\00:43:57.12
to change Brazil.
00:43:57.12\00:43:59.05
Moving the capital
00:43:59.05\00:44:03.16
to Brasilia meant
to change Brazil.

00:44:03.16\00:44:07.11
But it did not happen.
00:44:08.04\00:44:10.00
Once the city was inaugurated,
the politicians came
00:44:10.00\00:44:12.20
and so did the businessmen
and it was the same shit,
00:44:12.20\00:44:15.09
the class struggle,
the money
00:44:15.09\00:44:17.20
and the business intrusion,
00:44:17.20\00:44:19.21
everything
that is still there today.
00:44:19.21\00:44:21.29
JK's will, he used to say,
was to take the progress
00:44:23.27\00:44:29.04
inland, and that has been done.
00:44:29.04\00:44:31.26
[The joy of the worker
is seeing Brasilia inaugurated
00:45:02.07\00:45:06.09
[the president at the Palace
smiling at the workers
00:45:06.09\00:45:10.22
[I am happy
among the working class
00:45:10.22\00:45:17.29
[I let myself go
I wear myself out
00:45:18.17\00:45:22.12
[night and day
00:45:22.12\00:45:26.23
I tried to give more relevance
00:45:34.22\00:45:36.22
to architecture
and its structures.
00:45:36.22\00:45:38.29
I valued the engineer's work.
00:45:38.29\00:45:41.15
In Brasilia, whenever
a structure was finished,
00:45:41.15\00:45:45.07

architecture was already there.

00:45:45.07\00:45:47.28
What I mean is architecture
and structure as things that
00:45:47.28\00:45:50.12
are born together
and should be
00:45:50.12\00:45:52.19
made more
meaningful together.
00:45:52.19\00:45:55.06
When Congress was ready,
the structure,
00:46:01.04\00:46:04.03
the architecture
was already there.
00:46:04.03\00:46:06.00
The small details
were not so important.
00:46:06.00\00:46:09.05
I like that project very much.
It is very simple.
00:46:09.05\00:46:12.10
It enlightens what
has to be enlightened,
00:46:12.10\00:46:15.02
the places where the work
is more important,
00:46:15.02\00:46:17.08
the Chamber
of Deputies and the Senate.
00:46:17.08\00:46:19.25
I wanted to build the roof
00:46:21.19\00:46:24.08
on the same level
as the avenues.
00:46:24.08\00:46:25.26
And it's easy to explain why:
when one arrived,
00:46:25.26\00:46:28.15
one could see
the Three Powers Square,
00:46:28.15\00:46:30.24
where the Congress building is.
00:46:30.24\00:46:33.17
If you want to emphasize the

architecture around a square,

00:46:33.17\00:46:37.15
you should leave it without
anything else.
00:46:37.15\00:46:39.19
Because then you look around
00:46:39.19\00:46:40.24
and you see the different
buildings,
00:46:40.24\00:46:42.07
the connection among them,
00:46:42.07\00:46:44.01
you feel the importance
of that square.
00:46:44.01\00:46:46.15
In Brazil, sometimes the mean
side of people shows
00:46:46.15\00:46:50.28
and they keep complaining:
"But why doesn't
00:46:50.28\00:46:53.00
the Three Powers Square
have any vegetation"?
00:46:53.00\00:46:56.03
"Why so much sun"?
00:46:56.03\00:46:57.22
And we feel obligated
00:46:57.22\00:46:59.05
to explain
something so intuitive...
00:46:59.05\00:47:00.28
because it's a civic square,
it's something different,
00:47:00.28\00:47:03.25
the architecture
must be valued....
00:47:03.25\00:47:05.22
Can you imagine
San Marcos square
00:47:05.22\00:47:07.23
if we filled it with trees?
00:47:07.23\00:47:09.19
What would happen?
00:47:09.19\00:47:10.26
There would be more shadows,
but something would have

00:47:10.26\00:47:12.16
disappeared, the art thing.
00:47:12.16\00:47:15.04
There must be an explanation
for everything.
00:47:15.04\00:47:17.24
Active mediocrity sucks!
00:47:17.24\00:47:21.01
And even though we were
in a hurry,
00:47:24.11\00:47:26.03
we discussed things a lot.
00:47:26.03\00:47:27.22
I remember that
one day Cardoso, a poet,
00:47:27.22\00:47:30.01
a very bright guy,
phoned me and said:
00:47:30.01\00:47:33.14
Oscar, I have found
the tangent that will allow
00:47:33.14\00:47:35.24
the Chamber dome
to look like as if
00:47:35.24\00:47:38.17
it barely touched the floor.
00:47:38.17\00:47:41.13
So, I tried to make the palaces
barely touching the floor,
00:47:44.10\00:47:48.12
with thin columns.
00:47:48.12\00:47:50.13
In the Planalto Palace,
for example,
00:47:50.13\00:47:52.12
I made the columns like that.
00:47:52.12\00:47:54.26
And, since I wished the people
that walked between them
00:47:54.26\00:47:58.11
and the building
to feel protected,
00:47:58.11\00:48:01.10
I made the columns
always like that.
00:48:01.10\00:48:04.17

I made the columns

00:48:08.00\00:48:09.28
of the other building
in a similar way.
00:48:09.28\00:48:11.20
Here they are
three meters apart,
00:48:11.20\00:48:13.13
there it's only one
meter and they're a little lower.
00:48:13.13\00:48:17.13
I remember the lack
of understanding of things.
00:48:21.21\00:48:24.01
Once, a journalist
in So Paulo asked me:
00:48:24.01\00:48:27.19
Dr. Niemeyer, you keep talking
about different architecture,
00:48:27.19\00:48:31.09
so why did you make these
00:48:31.09\00:48:32.16
columns similar
to the other ones?
00:48:32.16\00:48:34.24
I answered that if she knew
what unity was,
00:48:34.24\00:48:38.12
she wouldn't
be asking that question.
00:48:38.12\00:48:41.27
Formerly, there used to be
a connection in the cities.
00:48:41.27\00:48:45.03
If you go to Paris,
the heights are the same,
00:48:45.03\00:48:47.10
the windows are the same,
that is what we call unity.
00:48:47.10\00:48:51.23
Unity in architecture
is when the elements
00:48:51.23\00:48:54.22
that compose a whole
are plastically connected.
00:48:54.22\00:48:59.05

The Alvorada.
00:49:04.10\00:49:06.14
I researched
a different column.
00:49:06.14\00:49:09.06
I did not want a parapet,
I didn't want a person
00:49:09.06\00:49:11.26
to be stuck to the parapet,
I wanted the columns
00:49:11.26\00:49:14.06
to follow an unusual rhythm.
00:49:14.06\00:49:19.12
That way, the person was either
above or below the column.
00:49:20.06\00:49:23.13
And the column
worked very well.
00:49:23.13\00:49:26.21
I see that column in lots
of places,
00:49:26.21\00:49:29.06
I saw it once in Greece.
00:49:29.06\00:49:31.05
One day, I was at the beach
00:49:31.05\00:49:33.00
and when
I came back from the sea,
00:49:33.00\00:49:35.21
I saw a building with
the Alvorada columns.
00:49:35.21\00:49:38.06
It made Brazilian
architecture, didn't it.
00:49:38.06\00:49:41.13
After that, there were
the other constructions.
00:49:58.12\00:50:01.10
For example,
there was the cathedral.
00:50:01.10\00:50:03.01
I didn't want a cathedral
like the old ones.
00:50:03.01\00:50:06.09
I wanted a cathedral that
could express concrete.

00:50:06.09\00:50:09.00
And, even though
I'm not a catholic,
00:50:10.19\00:50:12.25
I thought that a person
in the nave should be able
00:50:12.25\00:50:16.22
to see the infinite space.
00:50:16.22\00:50:18.26
I mean,
I looked for a connection
00:50:18.26\00:50:21.00
that is important
for catholic people,
00:50:21.00\00:50:23.07
the connection of the nave,
of the earth, with heaven.
00:50:23.07\00:50:26.19
I remember that an emissary
of the pope went there
00:50:28.18\00:50:32.15
and was overwhelmed
with such a good idea.
00:50:32.15\00:50:35.20
Later, we placed the stained
glass windows,
00:50:36.08\00:50:38.21
which are very beautiful,
00:50:38.21\00:50:40.09
but we left a space so
that the eyes could
00:50:40.09\00:50:42.04
look up to the sky.
00:50:42.04\00:50:44.09
The first time
I went to Brasilia by plane,
00:50:48.28\00:50:52.18
we went with the militaries,
00:50:52.18\00:50:55.08
I sat next to marshal Lott
and he asked me:
00:50:55.08\00:50:58.20
Niemeyer, our building
00:50:58.20\00:51:01.08
is going to be
in classical style, isn't it?

00:51:01.08\00:51:03.28
I even smiled
at him and answered:
00:51:03.28\00:51:05.20
"At a war, what would
you like best,
00:51:05.20\00:51:07.13
an ancient weapon
or a modern one"
00:51:07.13\00:51:09.09
We saw each other,
the musicians,
00:52:26.03\00:52:28.12
the movie directors,
the theater people.
00:52:28.12\00:52:31.16
It was the same gang.
00:52:31.16\00:52:33.17
We used
to go to the same places.
00:52:33.17\00:52:35.01
And architecture was included
in that too.
00:52:35.01\00:52:36.28
So much so that Vincius
invited Oscar
00:52:36.28\00:52:39.01
to create
the setting of Orpheus.
00:52:39.01\00:52:41.20
Vinicius and Tom
went to Brasilia
00:52:41.20\00:52:45.21
and composed
the Brasilia Sinphony.
00:52:45.21\00:52:48.10
Everything was together:
music, poetry and literature.
00:52:48.10\00:52:52.01
Everything was happening
at the same time.
00:52:52.01\00:52:55.04
The architects Lcio Costa
and Oscar Niemeyer.
00:52:56.08\00:53:00.13
The first was given

the task of projecting

00:53:00.13\00:53:02.27
and coordinating the urbanism.
00:53:02.27\00:53:04.29
The second was responsible
for the architecture.
00:53:04.29\00:53:08.01
Both are technicians
and artists,
00:53:08.01\00:53:09.28
deservedly admired
all over the world,
00:53:09.28\00:53:11.28
compose with lines,
volumes and spaces
00:53:11.28\00:53:15.09
the Brasilia symphony.
00:53:15.09\00:53:17.19
Brasilia was born
from the primary gesture
00:53:17.19\00:53:21.24
of someone who establishes a
place and takes possession of it.
00:53:21.24\00:53:25.12
In other words,
it is the sign of the cross.
00:53:25.12\00:53:28.21
The city of Brasilia
is based on the Athens Charter.
00:53:33.26\00:53:38.06
The same system
of isolated areas:
00:53:38.06\00:53:41.00
work, lodging
00:53:41.00\00:53:43.16
It has advantages
and disadvantages.
00:53:43.16\00:53:46.20
But Lucio did
it with so much feeling...
00:53:51.07\00:53:54.21
He managed to obtain
something very difficult:
00:53:54.21\00:53:57.09
to maintain in the living
areas an architecture

00:53:57.09\00:54:00.08
that was simpler and homelike,
00:54:00.08\00:54:02.19
and at the same time
to create a monumental part
00:54:02.19\00:54:04.15
required by a capital,
with that axis.
00:54:04.15\00:54:07.10
One million inhabitants.
00:54:10.29\00:54:13.20
There are more than
one million inhabitants.
00:54:13.20\00:54:16.11
Is there room for anybody else?
No, there isn't.
00:54:16.11\00:54:19.29
Nevertheless, people like
you keep coming,
00:54:19.29\00:54:23.09
from all over Brazil.
And it is fair.
00:54:23.09\00:54:27.00
The future is here,
in the Central Plateau.
00:54:27.00\00:54:30.14
We from social care,
we take care of you
00:54:30.14\00:54:35.19
and we guide you.
00:54:35.19\00:54:38.15
We shelter all the families.
00:54:38.15\00:54:41.28
Well, it cannot be here,
downtown...
00:54:41.28\00:54:46.07
Brasilia should stop.
00:55:15.22\00:55:17.27
It has reached such a point
of demographic density
00:55:17.27\00:55:22.17
that nothing should
be added to it.
00:55:22.17\00:55:25.05
No more apartment blocks
should be built in Brasilia.

00:55:25.05\00:55:28.26
And there is the real
estate speculation.
00:55:28.26\00:55:31.23
They want to change
the gauge, it will be chaos.
00:55:31.23\00:55:35.28
If they construct
bigger buildings,
00:55:35.28\00:55:38.00
if they create new areas
of living,
00:55:38.00\00:55:41.00
the city will suffer
the same degradation
00:55:41.00\00:55:43.05
of Rio and So Paulo.
00:55:43.05\00:55:44.20
There are lots of people
on the streets,
00:55:44.20\00:55:46.13
everybody tense
00:55:46.13\00:55:48.01
because they cannot move
around, unemployment.
00:55:48.01\00:55:51.20
The cities shouldn't grow
spontaneously, without control.
00:55:51.20\00:55:56.27
They should multiply.
00:55:56.27\00:55:59.18
That is the correct
urbanistic point of view.
00:55:59.18\00:56:03.06
And Brasilia is at this point.
It should stop growing.
00:56:03.06\00:56:05.19
There should be a
green belt around it.
00:56:05.19\00:56:08.03
And then, other cities,
that are already growing too,
00:56:08.03\00:56:11.00
should form around it,
all guided by the same idea
00:56:11.00\00:56:14.05

that they should

not grow indefinitely,
00:56:14.05\00:56:17.05
because that is the problem
of the big cities.
00:56:17.05\00:56:20.04
Guests arrive at the
Pal cio dos Arcos in Brasilia,
00:56:26.16\00:56:28.11
monumental building
created by Niemeyer,
00:56:28.11\00:56:30.13
to a marvelous party.
00:56:30.13\00:56:33.04
More than one thousand
guests surround
00:56:33.04\00:56:35.12
Yolanda Costa e Silva,
the first wife,
00:56:35.12\00:56:37.21
who sponsors
the fashion show
00:56:37.21\00:56:39.20
of the French stylist
Pierre Cardin.
00:56:39.20\00:56:41.25
The tables were
decorated by Burle Marx.
00:56:41.25\00:56:44.28
Cardin was as successful
as one could expect.
00:56:53.07\00:56:55.27
He told the press
that he wants to create
00:56:55.27\00:56:58.04
not only for the rich people,
but also for the working class
00:56:58.04\00:57:00.21
and even for men.
00:57:00.21\00:57:02.03
And Brasilia,
in this magic evening,
00:57:02.03\00:57:03.28
becomes also the capital
of the fashion world.
00:57:03.28\00:57:07.19

The moment arrived

when I had to choose.
00:57:16.01\00:57:18.23
The military coup
was there,
00:57:18.23\00:57:20.23
they started
to mess around with me.
00:57:20.23\00:57:22.18
They wanted
me to quit.
00:57:22.18\00:57:24.19
I knew
I couldn't work anymore;
00:57:24.19\00:57:26.26
they didn't have
the guts to fire me.
00:57:26.26\00:57:29.15
And I decided to go away.
00:57:29.15\00:57:32.12
And thus
they made me a favor.
00:57:32.12\00:57:34.13
They wanted to shut me up,
but they allowed me to show
00:57:34.13\00:57:37.13
my architecture overseas.
00:57:37.13\00:57:40.14
Science University Algiers
Algeria, 1968.
00:58:04.14\00:58:09.23
I went to Algeria to work.
And I was very happy there,
00:58:14.08\00:58:17.21
because I realized
there is sympathy all
00:58:17.21\00:58:20.09
over the world and that,
in general, men are good.
00:58:20.09\00:58:22.24
When I arrived in Algeria,
Boumedienne was the president
00:58:22.24\00:58:26.18
and he in the euphoria of
the victory of the revolution.
00:58:26.18\00:58:30.18

So, he told me:

"You are going
00:58:30.18\00:58:32.16
to be my architecture
consultant."
00:58:32.16\00:58:35.02
And I worked there,
00:58:35.02\00:58:36.20
I made a study for Algiers
and I projected
00:58:36.20\00:58:39.29
the University
of Constantine.
00:58:39.29\00:58:41.28
Constantine, for example,
was a university.
00:58:47.16\00:58:50.06
It had twenty-three buildings
and I proposed seven.
00:58:50.06\00:58:53.14
I projected a building
for the all the classes,
00:58:53.14\00:58:56.29
a science building,
00:58:56.29\00:59:00.26
the library, the auditorium,
00:59:03.24\00:59:08.01
the restaurant and
the administration building,
00:59:08.01\00:59:10.28
which was a high one.
00:59:10.28\00:59:12.25
So, I changed a university
of twenty-two buildings
00:59:14.15\00:59:18.13
in one of six.
00:59:18.13\00:59:19.23
And it works pretty well.
00:59:19.23\00:59:21.14
The space
became more generous.
00:59:21.14\00:59:23.20
I tried to make
the whole thing pretty radical.
00:59:23.20\00:59:26.25
This building, for example,

is a long one,
00:59:27.29\00:59:31.17
he has three hundred meters
long and the columns
00:59:31.17\00:59:34.04
are fifty meters
away from each other.
00:59:34.04\00:59:38.01
This wall must be stronger,
00:59:38.01\00:59:41.29
in order to support
those spans, right?
00:59:41.29\00:59:43.27
When the French firm
examined the project, they said:
00:59:43.27\00:59:48.19
"It's great, but the wall
above the columns
00:59:48.19\00:59:52.07
must have 1,50 meters".
00:59:52.07\00:59:54.23
Our engineer
did it with 30 centimeters.
00:59:54.23\00:59:58.12
The French had said that
construction was infeasible.
00:59:58.12\01:00:01.21
That was the
correct word: infeasible.
01:00:01.21\01:00:04.25
So, I got the project,
made a study
01:00:04.25\01:00:07.25
and we presented a solution
01:00:07.25\01:00:10.19
to that infeasible
between inverted commas.
01:00:10.19\01:00:13.23
And then, the French said
during the meeting:
01:00:13.23\01:00:15.24
"That we can do."
01:00:15.24\01:00:17.27
And the Algerian answered:
"How come, you can do that?
01:00:17.27\01:00:21.09

First,
you say it's infeasible,
01:00:21.09\01:00:23.00
then a Brazilian guy comes
with a solution
01:00:23.00\01:00:26.11
and you decide
you can do that?"
01:00:26.11\01:00:27.29
Moral of the story:
The Algerian said:
01:00:27.29\01:00:29.10
"The Brazilian guy
is going to do it."
01:00:29.10\01:00:32.20
We traveled through Europe
showing everybody that Brazil
01:00:37.10\01:00:39.29
knows the stuff,
that we are no Indians,
01:00:39.29\01:00:42.07
that Latin America must
find its place.
01:00:42.07\01:00:46.24
With time, working,
we end up creating
01:00:51.23\01:00:54.26
our own principles,
things that we follow.
01:00:54.26\01:00:59.16
And one always thinks
different from the others.
01:00:59.16\01:01:02.19
So, the work
is something personal.
01:01:02.19\01:01:04.21
One sits down and comes
to a solution.
01:01:04.21\01:01:07.14
Sometimes, it is not necessary
to think a lot.
01:01:07.14\01:01:09.26
I remember once, when I had to
create the mosque in Algeria.
01:01:09.26\01:01:12.28
I was in bed, ready to sleep

01:01:12.28\01:01:14.27
and started
thinking about the mosque.
01:01:14.27\01:01:16.15
I began to imagine things,
the mosque could have
01:01:16.15\01:01:18.16
a circular form,
I went on thinking.
01:01:18.16\01:01:20.28
Then, I got out of bed
and draw it.
01:01:20.28\01:01:22.26
And that was it,
the mosque was created
01:01:22.26\01:01:24.13
when I was almost asleep,
wasn't it"
01:01:24.13\01:01:26.00
Afterwards,
we went to Paris.
01:01:33.13\01:01:35.02
The party's building,
for example.
01:01:35.02\01:01:36.24
I created a curved building.
01:01:36.24\01:01:38.22
But I wanted to be
ready to answer any questions.
01:01:38.22\01:01:41.21
And, in order not to leave
an empty space,
01:01:41.21\01:01:43.26
those are the accesses.
01:01:43.26\01:01:45.25
The auditory had a big dome.
01:01:45.25\01:01:48.02
I did not want the dome
to occupy all the space.
01:01:48.02\01:01:50.25
So, the building is like that,
here is the piece
01:01:50.25\01:01:54.02
of land and the dome
is below it,
01:01:54.02\01:01:55.26

only a piece of it shows.

01:01:55.26\01:01:58.06
And I explained to them
01:02:09.07\01:02:11.02
something they
had forgotten a little:
01:02:11.02\01:02:13.01
the connection between volumes
and free space
01:02:13.01\01:02:16.12
is essential in architecture.
01:02:16.12\01:02:18.28
-Oscar Niemeyer Space
Le Havre France 1972
01:02:23.00\01:02:27.05
Havre: the funny thing is
that the square is very big.
01:02:27.28\01:02:31.23
The size of the square
01:02:31.23\01:02:33.04
is four hundred
by four hundred.
01:02:33.04\01:02:34.17
I got there and said:
"I want to lower the square".
01:02:34.17\01:02:37.15
They asked:
"Lower the square"?
01:02:37.15\01:02:39.24
Complicated, isn't it?
01:02:39.24\01:02:41.15
But then I explained
I wanted people to see
01:02:41.15\01:02:44.00
the square from above
and that I wanted
01:02:44.00\01:02:46.13
to protect the square
from the wind.
01:02:46.13\01:02:49.00
They understood
and it was executed.
01:02:49.00\01:02:51.27
Then, along the square
I created various buildings:
01:02:51.27\01:02:55.22

a theatre, a cultural centre.

01:02:55.22\01:02:58.26
And since they are buildings
that can be closed,
01:02:58.26\01:03:03.03
the result was a different,
more sculptural architecture.
01:03:03.03\01:03:07.20
I did not want to interfere
with the city architecture,
01:03:23.26\01:03:27.17
which is simple,
but important.
01:03:27.17\01:03:31.00
Afterwards, I went to Italy,
01:03:31.14\01:03:34.01
I worked with Mondadori,
another great character...
01:03:34.01\01:03:37.12
He desired a beautiful building,
something different.
01:03:37.12\01:03:40.10
He made a palace.
01:03:40.10\01:03:42.16
It is a palace
and the arches are different.
01:03:42.16\01:03:45.23
In architecture,
when we draw an arch,
01:03:47.15\01:03:50.09
not only the arch is important,
but also its internal space.
01:03:50.09\01:03:54.11
It's like Rilke used to say:
01:03:54.11\01:03:57.08
"When you see a bush,
01:03:57.08\01:03:59.06
not only
the trees are important,
01:03:59.06\01:04:01.17
but also
the space among them."
01:04:01.17\01:04:04.12
So I made those arches
with different internal spaces.
01:04:06.07\01:04:09.17

One with a span of 15 mt,

the other of 9 mt,
01:04:09.17\01:04:12.02
the other of 6mts and so on.
01:04:12.02\01:04:14.07
It was something that had
to do with music, wasn't it"
01:04:14.07\01:04:17.25
An Italian engineer
came and asked me:
01:04:17.25\01:04:20.20
"Can't we do them all
with 8 meters"? I said: "No".
01:04:20.20\01:04:23.09
Reason is the enemy of
imagination, which is fantastic.
01:04:27.27\01:04:32.04
We do not want
a correct architecture,
01:04:32.27\01:04:35.09
which works well.
01:04:35.09\01:04:36.20
All architecture
has to work.
01:04:36.20\01:04:39.06
When I made the headquarters
of Mondadori, it is a palace...
01:04:39.06\01:04:42.10
Later, he wanted a building
in Milan downtown
01:04:42.10\01:04:44.20
and he came to me.
01:04:44.20\01:04:46.07
If the headquarters
hadn't worked well,
01:04:46.07\01:04:47.16
he would not have come back.
01:04:47.16\01:04:49.05
When I projected
the Party's headquarters,
01:04:49.05\01:04:51.06
ten years later,
they decided to build
01:04:51.06\01:04:54.08
the Humanit,
and they asked me

01:04:54.08\01:04:57.02
Do you think that if it hadn't
work they would call me again?
01:04:57.02\01:05:00.13
Nobody is a fool.
01:05:00.13\01:05:02.24
Once I was abroad,
upset about everything.
01:05:16.06\01:05:20.21
I was thinking about Brazil,
my friends, my family.
01:05:20.21\01:05:24.13
I was so angry
I made a poem
01:05:24.13\01:05:26.26
and put it on the wall.
It went like that:
01:05:26.26\01:05:29.11
I am far away from everything
Everything that I like
01:05:29.11\01:05:32.10
From that beautiful country
That saw me be born.
01:05:32.10\01:05:35.12
One day I will burn myself
Set my foot on the road
01:05:35.12\01:05:37.20
It is in Brazil
I want to live.
01:05:37.20\01:05:40.10
Each person in its own space
Each one under its own roof.
01:05:40.10\01:05:43.12
To play with my friends
To watch time flow
01:05:43.12\01:05:46.03
I want to look at the stars
I want to feel life
01:05:46.03\01:05:48.20
It is in Brazil I want to live
01:05:48.20\01:05:51.08
I'm pissed off
This cold won't go away
01:05:51.08\01:05:53.27
Of hearing so much crap
I can't help myself.

01:05:53.27\01:05:57.18
One day, I will burn myself
Leave everything behind
01:05:57.18\01:05:59.22
It is in Brazil
I want to live.
01:05:59.22\01:06:02.05
This doesn't suit me.
It doesn't suit me at all.
01:06:02.05\01:06:04.25
I have made my decision
Nobody will stop me.
01:06:04.25\01:06:07.28
Fuck the work
And this shitty world
01:06:07.28\01:06:10.18
It's in Brazil
I want to live.
01:06:10.18\01:06:13.22
There was a house
in the Conde de Lage street
01:06:21.24\01:06:24.00
with many rooms.
01:06:24.00\01:06:25.15
For a long time,
my studio was there.
01:06:25.15\01:06:30.04
But with time the things
have changed,
01:06:31.10\01:06:33.05
it has become
a prostitution zone.
01:06:33.05\01:06:34.27
And the house turned out
to become a brothel,
01:06:34.27\01:06:37.02
as it was supposed to be.
01:06:37.02\01:06:38.27
I remember being a kid
and walking around that area.
01:06:40.28\01:06:44.07
It felt good to see
those free women,
01:06:44.07\01:06:46.11
almost naked
around the streets.

01:06:46.11\01:06:49.13
The bar at the corner,
the guy playing the guitar...
01:06:49.13\01:06:52.03
we used to drink beer there.
01:06:52.03\01:06:54.12
My studio was always
like that,
01:06:55.29\01:06:57.19
a very bohemian milieu,
01:06:57.19\01:06:59.12
but it didn't interfere
with the work.
01:06:59.12\01:07:01.14
We were young.
01:07:01.14\01:07:02.28
Sometimes we closed the studio
01:07:02.28\01:07:04.27
and made a kind
of Modern "Art" Week.
01:07:04.27\01:07:08.06
We played a bit.
01:07:08.06\01:07:09.25
Rio suffered very much.
01:07:14.13\01:07:16.19
Nature is rebellious,
but accepts everything.
01:07:16.19\01:07:20.09
Because if they had done
Barra instead
01:07:20.09\01:07:24.24
of increasing the center,
and had preserved the old Rio...
01:07:24.24\01:07:28.22
The old Rio,
I am not being nostalgic,
01:07:28.22\01:07:31.01
the old Rio was better,
01:07:31.01\01:07:32.20
we used to walk
around its streets.
01:07:32.20\01:07:36.08
There was the tram; one could
read the newspaper in the tram.
01:07:36.08\01:07:40.00
We had Lapa, one could go

and have some fun there.

01:07:40.00\01:07:42.26
It was different
and it was more humane...
01:07:42.26\01:07:46.25
And the downtown
was very nice.
01:07:46.25\01:07:49.16
I am ashamed to go to Barra.
01:07:54.21\01:07:57.11
It's sad, because
the real estate speculation
01:07:57.11\01:08:01.14
has influenced it a lot.
01:08:01.14\01:08:03.08
All the buildings
have balconies,
01:08:03.08\01:08:05.04
even though nobody uses
01:08:05.04\01:08:06.19
those balconies because
there is too much wind.
01:08:06.19\01:08:08.18
But apartments with balconies
sold better.
01:08:08.18\01:08:10.18
And the buildings are ugly,
big squares,
01:08:10.18\01:08:13.02
one against the other.
01:08:13.02\01:08:14.29
It's Miami.
A Miami suburb.
01:08:14.29\01:08:17.12
They even put there
a Statue of Liberty.
01:08:17.12\01:08:20.11
When we arrive at Barra,
we still feel that connection,
01:08:20.11\01:08:23.23
that American
pressure over us.
01:08:23.23\01:08:27.16
That Bush
is a son of a bitch.
01:08:27.16\01:08:30.07

He said he could trade

half of the Brazilian debt
01:08:30.07\01:08:34.26
for the Amazonia.
01:08:34.26\01:08:36.14
And we listen to that
and nobody complains.
01:08:36.14\01:08:39.14
What fill us
with enthusiasm
01:08:47.04\01:08:49.13
nowadays are the landless
and the Homeless movement,
01:08:49.13\01:08:51.27
traveling around our roads,
01:08:51.27\01:08:54.08
defending land
that should have been
01:08:54.08\01:08:56.05
theirs for a long time.
01:08:56.05\01:08:58.15
I have projected
some monuments
01:09:06.12\01:09:08.18
and they are all
protest monuments.
01:09:08.18\01:09:10.12
The first one
was for "No more torture".
01:09:10.12\01:09:13.20
I did this,
01:09:13.20\01:09:16.28
with a human
figure stuck here.
01:09:17.29\01:09:22.26
Later, I created the monument
for the three workers
01:09:25.04\01:09:29.00
who had been killed
01:09:29.00\01:09:30.16
by the military
in Volta Redonda.
01:09:30.16\01:09:32.13
We built the monument,
and in the inauguration day
01:09:32.13\01:09:35.18

they went there

and exploded it.
01:09:35.18\01:09:37.20
I went back there,
we rebuilt the monument,
01:09:37.20\01:09:39.27
we left the scars,
the workers stood
01:09:39.27\01:09:42.09
there for three days
taking care
01:09:42.09\01:09:44.03
of it and
the monument is still there.
01:09:44.03\01:09:47.00
I was invited to do
01:09:49.21\01:09:51.07
a big job
in the United States.
01:09:51.07\01:09:53.10
So I went to the consulate
and the lady there told me:
01:09:53.10\01:09:56.25
"There is no visa for you".
01:09:56.25\01:09:58.24
-Why? Is it personal?
-It's personal.
01:09:58.24\01:10:01.16
So I said: "You know what"
That makes me happy.
01:10:01.16\01:10:04.14
If after more than twenty years
you deny me a visa,
01:10:04.14\01:10:06.25
it means I haven't changed.
01:10:06.25\01:10:09.17
One has to be faithful to
principles, and not to tactics,
01:10:09.17\01:10:14.21
political strategies
or rise to power.
01:10:14.21\01:10:17.24
It has nothing to do with it.
01:10:17.24\01:10:19.18
It's about principles and we
cannot renounce our principles.

01:10:19.18\01:10:23.07
Oscar Niemeyer didn't renounce
01:10:23.07\01:10:25.05
them and I don't
congratulate him for that.
01:10:25.05\01:10:30.28
I don't congratulate Oscar
for not renouncing.
01:10:30.28\01:10:34.04
I don't thank him either,
because it is simply
01:10:34.04\01:10:37.09
an expression
of his own humanity.
01:10:37.09\01:10:39.22
I believe he is a person
at peace with himself.
01:10:39.22\01:10:43.28
And to be at peace
with oneself is not easy.
01:10:43.28\01:10:49.11
We live in a world
01:10:49.11\01:10:51.25
of contradictions
and tensions.
01:10:51.25\01:10:54.02
The bottom line
is we live under a storm.
01:10:54.02\01:10:57.04
And Oscar has managed
to keep his way in the middle
01:10:57.04\01:11:00.03
of this storm, with winds
blowing from everywhere.
01:11:00.03\01:11:05.16
I find optimism
something ridiculous,
01:11:20.17\01:11:23.19
it doesn't take us anywhere.
01:11:23.19\01:11:25.24
We don't want nihilism,
01:11:25.24\01:11:27.13
but we look
for a realistic life,
01:11:27.13\01:11:29.02
within

the existent possibilities.

01:11:29.02\01:11:31.22
It is hard,
but that is what is there.
01:11:31.22\01:11:33.27
We can mention Sartre,
he was very pessimistic.
01:11:33.27\01:11:37.16
He used to say that all
existence is a failure.
01:11:37.16\01:11:39.21
But he fought for Cuba,
he was interested,
01:11:39.21\01:11:42.13
he was a great writer
and he enjoyed life.
01:11:42.13\01:11:45.08
He used to tell us,
back in Paris,
01:11:45.08\01:11:46.28
that he had money
in his pocket only
01:11:46.28\01:11:48.15
to give alms to the poor.
So, that is life.
01:11:48.15\01:11:51.21
Do you believe in what is said
around the world,
01:11:51.21\01:11:55.12
that Fidel Castro
would have distorted
01:11:55.12\01:11:59.01
the purpose
of the Cuban revolution?
01:11:59.01\01:12:02.10
Will give a press conference
today to the viewers.
01:12:02.10\01:12:06.05
He is very tired.
01:12:06.05\01:12:08.20
Jean Paul Sartre
believes that
01:12:24.19\01:12:27.07
the Cuban revolution follows
its natural course
01:12:27.07\01:12:30.03

and that is the only course

it should have.
01:12:30.03\01:12:35.06
And all that Fidel Castro
01:12:35.06\01:12:37.00
is doing
is completely correct.
01:12:37.00\01:12:38.24
Long live
the Cuban Revolution!
01:12:38.24\01:12:40.22
Words of Jean Paul Sartre,
when he arrived in So Paulo,
01:12:40.22\01:12:43.03
at the Congonhas airport,
where he was greeted
01:12:43.03\01:12:45.15
by intellectuals
and members
01:12:45.15\01:12:47.24
of the new generation.
01:12:47.24\01:12:50.03
Once, one of the many times
I went to testify,
01:12:50.03\01:12:53.28
they asked me:
01:12:53.28\01:12:55.27
"Dr. Niemeyer..."
01:12:55.27\01:12:57.15
they put me in
a dark, closed room
01:12:57.15\01:13:00.21
and I stood there answering
the questions,
01:13:00.21\01:13:05.08
this black young guy
was at the typewriter.
01:13:05.08\01:13:08.02
Then,
the other guy asked me:
01:13:08.02\01:13:10.10
"Dr. Niemeyer,
what do you people want"?
01:13:10.10\01:13:13.10
"I want to change
the society."

01:13:13.10\01:13:15.15
So, the guy said: "type that,
change the society".
01:13:15.15\01:13:18.12
And the black guy,
who probably wanted
01:13:18.12\01:13:20.06
a better life for himself,
turned around and said to me:
01:13:20.06\01:13:22.00
"It is going to be tough!"
01:13:22.00\01:13:23.29
Samba Catwalk
Rio de Janeiro 1983
01:13:23.29\01:13:28.04
The sambdromo show
is magnificent, is wonderful.
01:13:36.01\01:13:39.12
And the women are beautiful,
01:13:39.12\01:13:41.02
they dance,
they roll... it's great.
01:13:41.02\01:13:43.14
That construction had
many good characteristics.
01:13:52.10\01:13:54.26
For example, under the stands,
Darcy built schools.
01:13:54.26\01:13:59.11
When Jack Lang, the Ministry
of Culture of France,
01:13:59.11\01:14:03.05
was here and he saw
the schools under the stands,
01:14:03.05\01:14:06.05
he was surprised:
schools under the stands?
01:14:06.05\01:14:07.27
"I have never seen something
like that, such a good idea",
01:14:07.27\01:14:09.15
He was delighted.
And that idea was criticized.
01:14:09.15\01:14:12.28
I had to work
with prefabrication,

01:14:16.27\01:14:19.16
the finishes are very simple
and we could work fast.
01:14:19.16\01:14:24.13
One must be a scoundrel
to criticize a project
01:14:24.13\01:14:27.01
that brings education
to the whole state.
01:14:27.01\01:14:31.18
I don't usually go anywhere,
01:14:33.18\01:14:35.19
but I went to one
of those society gatherings.
01:14:35.19\01:14:38.11
And I sat there,
and after a while,
01:14:38.11\01:14:40.26
the living-room
was full of people.
01:14:40.26\01:14:42.24
Everybody dressed up,
beautiful women
01:14:42.24\01:14:46.12
wearing lots of jewels,
everybody showing off,
01:14:46.12\01:14:51.18
speaking loud, each one of
them trying to be conspicuous?
01:14:51.18\01:14:54.14
I thought it was disgusting
and I left,
01:14:54.14\01:14:56.24
leaving a note for my friend.
01:14:56.24\01:14:59.03
Of course, we need moments
of leisure, of joy.
01:14:59.03\01:15:02.29
But the Brazilian
bourgeoisie is very ignorant.
01:15:02.29\01:15:08.23
There's this tendency to see
01:15:08.23\01:15:10.28
things only on the bright side,
it happens
01:15:10.28\01:15:13.07

also during Carnival.

01:15:13.07\01:15:14.19
They don't give a shit
about the people on the slums,
01:15:14.19\01:15:17.01
but when they come down
to the streets,
01:15:17.01\01:15:18.29
they come
to please the bourgeoisie.
01:15:18.29\01:15:24.07
Whenever I go to Brazil
and to Rio,
01:15:40.28\01:15:45.29
I always have dinner
with Aparecido de Oliveira
01:15:45.29\01:15:50.17
and Oscar Niemeyer in a
restaurant near Copacabana.
01:15:50.17\01:15:57.00
Some years ago,
I went to the other side
01:15:57.00\01:16:00.07
of Rio, to Niteri..
01:16:00.07\01:16:02.18
And the mayor of Niteri
01:16:02.18\01:16:05.03
told me
something extraordinary:
01:16:05.03\01:16:07.10
It was Oscar Niemeyer
who chose the site
01:16:07.10\01:16:09.13
to build that museum.
He said:
01:16:09.13\01:16:11.23
"I want the museum
to be here.
01:16:11.23\01:16:14.22
"The mayor hesitated:
01:16:14.22\01:16:17.14
"Do you really think
this is the place?"
01:16:17.14\01:16:19.28
"It is here, there's
nothing more to be discussed."

01:16:19.28\01:16:22.21
We went to a steak house
and on the paper that
01:16:22.21\01:16:27.18
was over the table,
he took his pen
01:16:27.18\01:16:31.08
and quickly draw
the museum project
01:16:31.08\01:16:34.16
that stands there today.
01:16:34.16\01:16:37.02
This is the masterpiece
known everywhere as MAC.
01:16:37.02\01:16:40.05
He did it like that,
with four lines.
01:16:40.05\01:16:43.00
Contemporary Art Museum,
Niteri, 1991
01:16:50.03\01:16:54.29
Then I did
the Niteri museum.
01:17:01.09\01:17:03.14
It was nice spot, the mayor
wanted something spectacular.
01:17:03.14\01:17:07.04
It was a hill, a piece
of land like that, over the sea.
01:17:07.04\01:17:11.01
It may seem incredible,
but it is a simple project,
01:17:11.01\01:17:14.28
the building was to be here,
the sea was here,
01:17:14.28\01:17:19.07
it was supposed to go over
the water,
01:17:19.07\01:17:21.12
it had to be something light,
in order not to disturb nature.
01:17:21.12\01:17:26.24
So I did the museum
like that.
01:17:27.18\01:17:30.06
And the Sugar Loaf, and all

nature are below the museum.

01:17:34.02\01:17:37.27
It's a well-thought museum,
it is circular.
01:17:55.26\01:17:59.06
And it has a balcony all around,
because the landscape
01:17:59.06\01:18:02.10
is a magnificent spectacle,
isn't it?
01:18:02.10\01:18:04.28
The guy watches the view from
here and the museum is here.
01:18:04.28\01:18:08.27
And the museum
was successful,
01:18:21.18\01:18:23.14
because I wanted to avoid
that kind of stuff
01:18:23.14\01:18:26.25
where paintings
are put into panels.
01:18:26.25\01:18:30.14
The guy here, looking at
the painting over there.
01:18:30.14\01:18:33.02
I wanted to go
back to the old museum,
01:18:33.02\01:18:34.27
with the paintings on the wall;
it enlightens the painting.
01:18:34.27\01:18:38.27
So, there are no loose
panels in the museum.
01:18:38.27\01:18:41.20
The wall was built
in a fashion that
01:18:41.20\01:18:44.01
allows paintings
and sculptures
01:18:44.01\01:18:47.15
to be shown
in an intelligent way.
01:18:47.15\01:18:51.10
After that, I projected
a ramp that is like

01:19:11.10\01:19:13.24
a stroll around architecture.
01:19:13.24\01:19:16.10
It comes this way,
goes back and forth.
01:19:16.10\01:19:19.01
Oscar is a militant man,
all his life actively
01:19:49.23\01:19:53.09
committed to the fight
for social equality,
01:19:53.09\01:19:57.03
for the changing
of society.
01:19:57.03\01:19:59.16
As an architect,
when he produces architecture,
01:19:59.16\01:20:02.28
he wants to give
people beauty,
01:20:02.28\01:20:05.15
the joy of
the beautiful form,
01:20:05.15\01:20:07.20
that is what he wants
to offer to people.
01:20:07.20\01:20:09.29
Because he knows
how important beauty
01:20:09.29\01:20:12.24
and marvel are.
He says:
01:20:12.24\01:20:14.22
"I want people
to be overwhelmed".
01:20:14.22\01:20:17.04
Anyone who sees
the Statue of Liberty says:
01:20:30.04\01:20:33.10
"New York", but it is
not beautiful because of that.
01:20:33.10\01:20:35.17
The Eiffel Tower is beautiful,
and one says "Paris",
01:20:35.17\01:20:38.03
they are emblematic forms.

01:20:38.03\01:20:39.20
The Christ is Rio,
01:20:39.20\01:20:41.27
although it is not
a sculpture masterpiece.
01:20:41.27\01:20:44.00
But Oscar manages to create
a masterpiece with that power,
01:20:44.00\01:20:49.00
it turns to be emblematic.
01:20:49.00\01:20:51.07
Thus, you identify the city,
the country, the soul,
01:20:51.07\01:20:54.26
the moment,
the history with Oscar's form.
01:20:54.26\01:20:58.01
I will say the following:
whenever a soap opera
01:20:58.01\01:21:00.04
wants to illustrate
that the chapter is in Rio,
01:21:00.04\01:21:02.21
they show the Christ,
and if they want to illustrate
01:21:02.21\01:21:06.02
the chapter is in So Paulo,
the helicopter flies over COPAN.
01:21:06.02\01:21:09.20
Oscar has the amazing
ability to create a form
01:21:10.19\01:21:14.09
and that form becomes
the symbol of the place.
01:21:14.09\01:21:18.11
We all have a hidden being
inside us who takes us
01:22:03.13\01:22:06.21
to one way or to the other.
01:22:06.21\01:22:08.22
Mine is this one:
he likes things, he likes women,
01:22:08.22\01:22:13.15
likes having fun,
likes to cry
01:22:13.15\01:22:16.16

and worries about life.

01:22:16.16\01:22:18.24
He is a complicated
fellow, isn't he?
01:22:18.24\01:22:21.08
And we are not
fully responsible
01:22:24.04\01:22:26.19
for our qualities and flaws.
01:22:26.19\01:22:30.01
The person is born white,
black, yellow, blue,
01:22:30.01\01:22:32.25
rich, poor, and intelligent.
01:22:32.25\01:22:35.22
We must accept people
as they are.
01:22:35.22\01:22:39.11
Whenever I see a person,
I always say: it is like a house,
01:22:41.08\01:22:45.20
we can paint it,
fix the roof or the walls,
01:22:45.20\01:22:50.11
but if the project is no good,
it will always be deficient.
01:22:50.11\01:22:54.07
I am nervous
about being alone.
01:23:00.27\01:23:04.02
I need to be busy,
I write, I draw?
01:23:05.15\01:23:08.18
I do anything.
I can't stand doing nothing.
01:23:08.18\01:23:12.16
And I am curious;
01:23:12.16\01:23:14.16
I want to know about stuff,
it is important.
01:23:14.16\01:23:17.07
Everything
is connected nowadays.
01:23:17.07\01:23:19.21
I am a pessimist.
01:23:19.21\01:23:23.10

I follow the line

of the old pessimists.
01:23:23.10\01:23:29.03
I think life is a minute.
01:23:30.01\01:23:33.08
The human being,
completely despised,
01:23:33.08\01:23:36.04
is born and dies.
01:23:36.04\01:23:37.23
So, the person must look
up to the sky
01:23:37.23\01:23:39.19
and realize
it is a small thing,
01:23:39.19\01:23:41.12
we must be modest,
nothing is important.
01:23:41.12\01:23:44.16
Life is a breath
of air, one minute.
01:23:44.16\01:23:46.23
So, there is no reason
for all this hate.
01:23:46.23\01:23:49.02
I believe everything
will disappear.
01:23:51.08\01:23:54.15
Cosmic time is very short.
01:23:54.15\01:23:58.15
The other day,
I was asked:
01:24:00.16\01:24:02.02
"Doesn't it please
you to know that
01:24:02.02\01:24:04.06
in the future
someone will see
01:24:04.06\01:24:06.27
the work you have done"?
01:24:06.27\01:24:09.21
But in the future this someone
will disappear as well.
01:24:09.21\01:24:12.29
It is the evolution of nature.
01:24:14.07\01:24:16.19

Everything starts and ends.

01:24:16.19\01:24:19.21
The period of time
it is going to last
01:24:21.20\01:24:24.21
is something relative.
01:24:24.21\01:24:27.09
I believe that the world
can get better,
01:24:33.20\01:24:36.11
but not the human being.
01:24:36.11\01:24:39.13
We have to adapt ourselves
to the world we live in.
01:24:39.13\01:24:42.19
We must laugh
and cry all the time.
01:24:42.19\01:24:45.22
What we have
to do is fight
01:24:47.23\01:24:49.25
for a better world,
for equality,
01:24:49.25\01:24:53.10
to make life
more decent to everyone.
01:24:53.10\01:24:56.07
That should be
the thought of a normal person.
01:24:56.07\01:24:59.26
When one faces life,
one looks up to the sky
01:24:59.26\01:25:02.29
and is amazed.
01:25:02.29\01:25:04.14
It is a fantastic universe
and we cannot enjoy any of it.
01:25:04.14\01:25:10.20
And the force of the human
intelligence is amazing too.
01:25:10.20\01:25:17.16
The human being was born like
any other animal,
01:25:17.16\01:25:21.21
now, it is able to think
and in a short while will

01:25:21.21\01:25:24.11
be walking around the stars,
01:25:24.11\01:25:27.21
will talk to other human
beings of other galaxies.
01:25:27.21\01:25:31.10
But at the end, the answer
to it all is:
01:25:31.10\01:25:34.29
was born, died, got fucked.
01:25:34.29\01:25:38.20
What gives you pleasure
nowadays?
01:25:41.25\01:25:45.07
The woman is the
important stuff, isn't it?
01:25:45.07\01:25:47.18
The rest is a joke.
01:25:47.18\01:25:49.25
The interview is over,
isn't it?
01:25:49.25\01:25:52.24
Don't you agree?
01:25:52.24\01:25:55.29
In the end of 2006, at age 99, Oscar Niemeyer gets married for the second time.
.