Architecture as Civil Commitment: Lucio Costa's Modernist Project for Brazil PDF Download

Author: Gaia Piccarolo
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317179161
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 227

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Book Description
Architecture as Civil Commitment analyses the many ways in which Lucio Costa shaped the discourse of Brazilian modern architecture, tracing the roots, developments, and counter-marches of a singular form of engagement that programmatically chose to act by cultural means rather than by political ones. Split into five chapters, the book addresses specific case-studies of Costa’s professional activity, pointing towards his multiple roles in the Brazilian federal government and focusing on passages of his work that are much less known outside of Brazil, such as his role inside Estado Novo bureaucracy, his leadership at SPHAN, and his participation in UNESCO’s headquarters project, all the way to the design of Brasilia. Digging deep into the original documents, the book crafts a powerful historical reconstruction that gives the international readership a detailed picture of one of the most fascinating architects of the 20th century, in all his contradictory geniality. It is an ideal read for those interested in Brazilian modernism, students and scholars of architectural and urban planning history, socio-cultural and political history, and visual arts.

Author: Zilah Quezado Deckker
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1136363769
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
Brazil Built is an examination of the architecture of the Modern Movement in Brazil. In the 1940s and 1950s, Brazil acquired unprecedented prestige in the world of Modern architecture. Brazil was regarded as the country which had inherited the progressive Modernism of the pre-war period in Europe, and which, furthermore, had initiated a new phase of the assimilation of cultural and environmental considerations. This book constitutes a unique presentation of the major Modern buildings in Brazil in a historical context. Prompted by the contemporary re-evaluation of Modernism, and renewed interest in Brazil, this book examines how these Modern buildings came into being, how they came to be so highly regarded and the changing reactions to them in Brazil and abroad.

Author: Richard J. Williams
Publisher: Reaktion Books
ISBN: 1861896956
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Set against a backdrop of breathtaking natural beauty, Brazil’s striking modernist architecture has long garnered international acclaim. But these well-known works are not fully reflective of the built environment of Brazil, and with this volume, Richard Williams unearths the rich architectural heritage of Brazil. Spanning from 1945 through today, the book examines Brazilian architecture beyond the works of renowned architects such as Oscar Niemeyer and the “Carioca” architects of Rio de Janeiro. Williams investigates issues such as the use of historic architecture, the importance of leisure and luxury, the role of the favela as a backdrop and inspiration for development, and the rapid growth of cities. From the designated world heritage site of Brasilia—a capital city that was planned from the ground up—to the installation work of artists such as Hélio Oiticica, Brazil delves into the origins and far-reaching influence of Brazil’s architectural modernism. At a moment when Latin America is of increasing importance in global business and culture, Brazilwill be an essential read for all scholars of architecture and Latin American history.

Author: Lauro Cavalcanti
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
ISBN: 9781568983417
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 476

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Book Description
This guide to modern Brazilian architecture takes us on a tour of over 125 projects designed between 1928-1960. There are works by 33 architects, and each entry gives a brief description, photographs, drawings, and information on visitor access.

Author: Hugo Segawa
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 146145431X
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
Architecture of Brazil: 1900-1990 examines the processes that underpin modern Brazilian architecture under various influences and characterizes different understandings of modernity, evident in the chapter topics of this book. Accordingly, the author does not give overall preference to particular architects nor works, with the exception of a few specific works and architects, including Warchavchik, Niemeyer, Lucio Costa, and Vilanova Artigas.

Author: David Kendrick Underwood
Publisher: Rizzoli International Publications
ISBN:
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
"Oscar Niemeyer, born in 1907, is widely considered this century's leading Latin American architect, as well as one of the pioneers of modern architecture. This volume explores the major themes and sources of the most important works from all phases of Niemeyer's career, from the early collaborations of the 1930s and 1940s with Lucio Costa, the spiritual father of Brazilian modernism, to the 1989 Memorial da America Latina in Sao Paulo, a complex that reveals the maturation of Niemeyer's free-form style in the service of his utopian vision. A central theme of Niemeyer's work has been its reflection of the Brazilian jeito, a sinuous and improvisational style manifested in everything from the country's sensual, undulating landscape to its attraction to spontaneous impulses, best known through its vibrant music and dance. The jeito and the milieu of Rio de Janeiro lie at the heart of Niemeyer's free-form style, which emphasizes the inherent plasticity of the native curve over the rigid rectilinearity of the International Style in Europe. A second theme treats the influence on Niemeyer of the poetic style of Le Corbusier. Also considered are Niemeyer's attraction to surrealist biomorphic forms and his desire to express a sense of the fantastic in architecture. A final theme is Niemeyer's search for an aesthetic utopia that would resolve social dilemmas by wishing them away through architecture. Herein lies Niemeyer's strength, for as his architecture reflects the multiple dichotomies of the Brazilian experience, it projects an emotive universality that few architects have been able to achieve."--Publisher.

Author: Abilio Guerra
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781946070470
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In a well-known debate with Geraldo Ferraz in 1948, Lúcio Costa argued that modern architecture as practiced in Brazil only became truly interesting when the functional grounds of this new architecture - bequeathed to us by Le Corbusier - were incorporated and developed by the national genius. From then on - the argument goes -, we could actually be proud of an architecture that was authentically ours, deeply rooted in a tradition that went back to the colonial baroque style from Minas Gerais. Moreover, in our modern architectural production, Oscar Niemeyer played a role equivalent to that of Aleijadinho, embodying to the highest degree the latent possibilities of "Brazilianness". "There is much more affinity" - Lúcio Costa insisted - "between Oscar's work, as seen in the admirable Pampulha ensemble, and Aleijadinho's masterpiece - the church of São Francisco de Assis, in Ouro Preto - than between Oscar's work and that of Warchavchik - which is, in my view, a quite significant fact." Even more significant than that is the formula Lúcio Costa applies when he's sorting out affinities and pushing the premise that the national element in this new architecture is actually more vigorous than the modern one. He argues that, on the one hand, there are genuine, innovative works - seeds that sprout beautifully in our tropical soil, nurtured by the most authentic native sap; on the other hand, we also find imitations devoid of any ties to our traditions; these are second or third-hand copies, like exotic trees transplanted after full maturation somewhere else. Lúcio Costa's words, pregnant with meanings, implications and commitments, outlines a distinction that has enjoyed a long history among us, that is: the distinction between Brazilian modern architecture and modern architecture in Brazil.

Author: Elisabetta Andreoli
Publisher: Phaidon Press Limited
ISBN:
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
Brazil's architecture is strikingly distinct from Latin America as a whole and diverse in itself. Yet coverage of the architecture of twentieth-century Brazil is all too often confined to the work of one man (Oscar Niemeyer) or the buildings of two cities (Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo). In Brazil's Modern Architecture, a new generation of Brazilian cities and historians sets the record straight, providing a truly comprehensive survey and analysis of twentieth-century Brazilian architecture. This tome embodies a vivid re-interpretation of Brazilian architecture throughout the course of the twentieth century: from the first modern houses of the 1920s and Le Corbusier's seminal visits to the country, through the well-known 'heroic' period of the 1940s-1950s to its post-1964 crisis, and up to contemporary developments. Works are examined from the 'inside' by explaining the cultural context that is crucial to a truly nuanced understanding of Brazilian architecture. With bold originality, this book clarifies the often paradoxical relation between Brazil's political, social and economic history and its architectural development. Transcending past convention, it identifies - with unprecedented insight - the momentous architectural breakthroughs of twentieth-century Brazil with its tumultuous historical life. Where previous studies saw disintegration, this volume illustrates the often unrecognized threads of continuity between the most recent architectural work and that of the high-Modernist era of the mid-century. Presented with elegant flair and argued with lively sophistication, Brazil's Modern Architecture is accessible and thought-provoking for the reader, and groundbreaking for the history of architecture.

Author: James Holston
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226349799
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 383

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Book Description
The utopian design and organization of Brasília—the modernist new capital of Brazil—were meant to transform Brazilian society. In this sophisticated, pioneering study of Brasília from its inception in 1957 to the present, James Holston analyzes this attempt to change society by building a new kind of city and the ways in which the paradoxes of constructing an imagined future subvert its utopian premises. Integrating anthropology with methods of analysis from architecture, urban studies, social history, and critical theory, Holston presents a critique of modernism based on a powerfully innovative ethnography of the city.

Author: Carlos Brillembourg
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
This volume documents the golden period of Latin American architecture that was inaugurated in September 1929, when Le Corbusier was invited to lecture in Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. These countries were eager to apply -- and transform -- a European-born modernism, and within a few decades, they captured international attention with an array of extraordinary buildings, exemplified by the Ministry of Education and Health in Rio de Janeiro and the Brazilian pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair. The contributors to this insightful collection of essays (which grew out of a 2002 conference organized by the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the New School University) offer contemporary reflections that underline the importance of reexamining this almost forgotten work in light of the contemporary crisis in global architectural production. Each essay examines a particular aspect of the cultural transformation that took place in Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Venezuela, and Mexico. Among the topics explored are the influence of Le Corbusier on the region, the early work of Oscar Niemeyer, the roots of Mexican modernism and its radical transformation in the work of Luis Barragaacute;n, and the creative collaboration between Venezuelan architect Carlos Raul Villanueva and sculptor Alexander Calder.