Lúcio Costa
Encyclopedia
Lucio Costa was a Brazil
ian architect
and urban planner
.
, France
.
Educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle
upon Tyne, England and in Montreux until 1916, he graduated as an architect in 1924 from the School of Fine Art (Escola Nacional de Belas Artes) in Rio de Janeiro. After some early works in the eclectic manner, he adopted Modernism in 1929. In 1930 Costa established a partnership with Russian-born Brazilian architect Gregori Warchavchik
, and became the Manager of the School of Fine Art. Even though he found students eager to be taught in the "new style," his ruthless administration won him the opposition of the faculty and student body, and Costa eventually had to resign after a year in office. He joined the newly-created SPHAN (Service of National Historic and Artistic Heritage) in 1937 under Rodrigo Melo Franco de Andrade. He remained at the Heritage Service until retirement, acceding to the top post of director, where he was followed by his granddaughter Maria Elisa Costa. During his tenure as regional and then national director, he became involved in numerous controversial decisions (see Controversies).
Costa became a figure associated with reconciling traditional Brazilian forms and construction techniques with international modernism, particularly the work of Le Corbusier
. His works include the Brazilian pavilion at the New York World's Fair of 1939 (designed with Oscar Niemeyer
), the Parque Guinle residential complex in Rio of 1948, and the Hotel do Park São Clemente in Nova Friburgo of 1948. Among his major works are also the Ministry of Education and Health
, in Rio (1936–43), designed with Le Corbusier
, Oscar Niemeyer
, and Roberto Burle Marx
, among others, and the Pilot Plan of Brasília
, a competition winner designed in 1957 and mostly built in 1958-1960.
in the 1960s and 1970s.
In 1936, when the competition to design the new Ministry of Education and Health was held, the winner was an eclectic design by architect Arquimedes Memória. Costa used his political connections within the government to scrap the competition result and instead form a new design team headed by himself and Le Corbusier
, with among other members the Roberto Brothers and a young architect who had been Costa's intern, called Oscar Niemeyer
. There ensued a disagreement, dragging on for years, between Costa and Le Corbusier over who had really been the lead designer on the project.
He died in Rio de Janeiro in 1998.
, located in Brazil's hinterland
, having won the job in a 1957 public competition. Costa's Plano Piloto (Pilot Plan) for Brasilia is in the shape of an irregular cross, suggesting an airplane or dragonfly. Costa's own Parque Guinle project was the model for Brasilia's many residential tower-in-a-park superblocks, and Costa specified even the color of the bus drivers' uniforms: dark grey and with a cap.
Although named as an UNESCO
World Heritage Site
in 1987, the city is notorious for its windswept emptiness and anti-pedestrian layout. Some streets are badly lit because the height and spacing of light standards were not changed with the advent of mercury-vapor bulbs, and World Heritage Site designation has prevented remediation.
Costa was responsible for the layout, and Oscar Niemeyer responsible for many of the landmark buildings, and there were disputes between the two afterwards as an article in the landmarking decree specifically exempted works from both of them from review by the Heritage Service. Nevertheless, Brasília is also famous for Costa's "utopian" project; although not fully accomplished, it has produced a city of considerable quality of life, in which the citizens live in wooded areas with sporting and leisure structure (the "superquadras") flanked by small commercial areas, bookstores and cafés; the city is famous for its gastronomy and the relative efficiency of transit.
Even these positive features, however, have sparked controversy, well expressed in the nickname "ilha da fantasia" ("fantasy island"), indicating the sharp contrast between the city and the surrounding regions, marked by poverty and disorganization.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and urban planner
Urban planner
An urban planner or city planner is a professional who works in the field of urban planning/land use planning for the purpose of optimizing the effectiveness of a community's land use and infrastructure. They formulate plans for the development and management of urban and suburban areas, typically...
.
Career
Costa was born in ToulonToulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle
Royal Grammar School, Newcastle
Royal Grammar School Newcastle upon Tyne, known locally and often abbreviated as RGS, is a long-established co-educational, independent school in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It gained its Royal Charter under Queen Elizabeth I...
upon Tyne, England and in Montreux until 1916, he graduated as an architect in 1924 from the School of Fine Art (Escola Nacional de Belas Artes) in Rio de Janeiro. After some early works in the eclectic manner, he adopted Modernism in 1929. In 1930 Costa established a partnership with Russian-born Brazilian architect Gregori Warchavchik
Gregori Warchavchik
Gregori I. Warchavchik was a Russo-Brazilian architect.He was born at Odessa, then part of the Russian Empire, and died at São Paulo, Brazil. He arrived in Brazil in 1923. Naturalized a Brazilian, he built for himself between 1927 and 1928 what was considered the first modernist residence in the...
, and became the Manager of the School of Fine Art. Even though he found students eager to be taught in the "new style," his ruthless administration won him the opposition of the faculty and student body, and Costa eventually had to resign after a year in office. He joined the newly-created SPHAN (Service of National Historic and Artistic Heritage) in 1937 under Rodrigo Melo Franco de Andrade. He remained at the Heritage Service until retirement, acceding to the top post of director, where he was followed by his granddaughter Maria Elisa Costa. During his tenure as regional and then national director, he became involved in numerous controversial decisions (see Controversies).
Costa became a figure associated with reconciling traditional Brazilian forms and construction techniques with international modernism, particularly the work of Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
. His works include the Brazilian pavilion at the New York World's Fair of 1939 (designed with Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho is a Brazilian architect specializing in international modern architecture...
), the Parque Guinle residential complex in Rio of 1948, and the Hotel do Park São Clemente in Nova Friburgo of 1948. Among his major works are also the Ministry of Education and Health
Gustavo Capanema Palace
The Gustavo Capanema Palace is an office building in Rio de Janeiro that is one of the finest examples of Brazilian 1930s modernist architecture...
, in Rio (1936–43), designed with Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
, Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho is a Brazilian architect specializing in international modern architecture...
, and Roberto Burle Marx
Roberto Burle Marx
Roberto Burle Marx was a Brazilian landscape architect whose designs of parks and gardens made him world famous. He is accredited with having introduced modernist landscape architecture to Brazil...
, among others, and the Pilot Plan of Brasília
Brasília
Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...
, a competition winner designed in 1957 and mostly built in 1958-1960.
Controversies
During his long tenure as regional, and then later, national chief of the Brazilian Heritage Service, Lucio Costa pushed for systematic documentation of existing architectural and urbanistic heritage, although his critics allege that he let his personal preferences and political opinions interfere with the bases of his decisions . In 1975, he created a public scandal by refusing to sign the landmarking act of Palácio Monroe, the former seat of the Brazilian Senate built in 1906. The building was slated for demolition because of the construction of the subway but, in the face of public and media outcry, the construction company shifted the line to preserve the building. This effort, however, was in vain, since landmark status was denied and a developer razed the building shortly thereafter. Costa favored the heritage of the Portuguese colonization over that of any other time or ethnic group (except over Modernism). Because of this attitude, inculcated also on younger preservationists thanks to Costa's influence in the architecture schools, much of 19th- and early 20th-century architecture, including the architecture of German, Japanese and Italian immigrants, was lost to urban renewalUrban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
in the 1960s and 1970s.
In 1936, when the competition to design the new Ministry of Education and Health was held, the winner was an eclectic design by architect Arquimedes Memória. Costa used his political connections within the government to scrap the competition result and instead form a new design team headed by himself and Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
, with among other members the Roberto Brothers and a young architect who had been Costa's intern, called Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho is a Brazilian architect specializing in international modern architecture...
. There ensued a disagreement, dragging on for years, between Costa and Le Corbusier over who had really been the lead designer on the project.
He died in Rio de Janeiro in 1998.
Brasilia
Lucio Costa is best known for his urban plan for the new capital of BrasíliaBrasília
Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...
, located in Brazil's hinterland
Hinterland
The hinterland is the land or district behind a coast or the shoreline of a river. Specifically, by the doctrine of the hinterland, the word is applied to the inland region lying behind a port, claimed by the state that owns the coast. The area from which products are delivered to a port for...
, having won the job in a 1957 public competition. Costa's Plano Piloto (Pilot Plan) for Brasilia is in the shape of an irregular cross, suggesting an airplane or dragonfly. Costa's own Parque Guinle project was the model for Brasilia's many residential tower-in-a-park superblocks, and Costa specified even the color of the bus drivers' uniforms: dark grey and with a cap.
Although named as an UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
in 1987, the city is notorious for its windswept emptiness and anti-pedestrian layout. Some streets are badly lit because the height and spacing of light standards were not changed with the advent of mercury-vapor bulbs, and World Heritage Site designation has prevented remediation.
Costa was responsible for the layout, and Oscar Niemeyer responsible for many of the landmark buildings, and there were disputes between the two afterwards as an article in the landmarking decree specifically exempted works from both of them from review by the Heritage Service. Nevertheless, Brasília is also famous for Costa's "utopian" project; although not fully accomplished, it has produced a city of considerable quality of life, in which the citizens live in wooded areas with sporting and leisure structure (the "superquadras") flanked by small commercial areas, bookstores and cafés; the city is famous for its gastronomy and the relative efficiency of transit.
Even these positive features, however, have sparked controversy, well expressed in the nickname "ilha da fantasia" ("fantasy island"), indicating the sharp contrast between the city and the surrounding regions, marked by poverty and disorganization.