I Am A Brazilian Before I Am

I Had Some Good Opportunities. I Was Lucky To Have Had The Chance To Do Things Differently. Architecture Is About Surprise.

My Ambition Has Always Been To Reduce A Building's Support To A Minimum. The More We Diminish Supporting Structures, The More Audacious And Important The Architecture Is. That Has Been My Life's Work.

Life Is More Important Than Architecture.

Of Course, I Have Given My Engineers Some Headaches Over The Years, But They Go With Me. I Have Always Wanted My Buildings To Be As Light As Possible, To Touch The Ground Gently, To Swoop And Soar, And To Surprise.

I Deliberately Disregarded The Right Angle And Rationalist Architecture Designed With Ruler And Square To Boldly Enter The World Of Curves And Straight Lines Offered By Reinforced Concrete... This Deliberate Protest Arose From The Environment In Which I Lived, With Its White Beaches, Its Huge Mountains, Its Old Baroque Churches, And The Beautiful Suntanned Women.