Showing posts with label concrete. Show all posts
Showing posts with label concrete. Show all posts

Oscar Niemeyer

A Vida É Um Sopro "Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007). Documentary directed by Fabiano Maciel e Sacha

"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)

'Once I had a dream that Rio de Janeiro had never been settled. That the city had grown inland back from the hills. I saw exactly what Cabral saw when he first arrived. The stunning nature, the birds, the animals, all that. With the city further back facing inland. It would have been a paradise frozen in time. That's why one day I suddenly thought...maybe the world would be better off without people.' - Niemeyer
 "Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)

This documentary is a brilliant uncovering of Niemeyer's fascinating Architectural practice and his wonderfully witty and opined character. Perhaps most intriguing is Niemeyer himself (who is 104 years old) and is therefore like a living relic of the modernist era. Specifically; his utopian aspirations (to be attained through Architecture and Urban Design) and love of reinforced concrete. I was struck by Niemeyer's oratory style and eloquence, he is one of the more quotable architects I've come across.

"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)

I had no idea that Le Corbusier used and adapted Oscar Niemeyer's original plan and idea for the United Nations headquaters in New York.

Once, in Brasilia, late at night, we went to look at the Alvorada Palace which had just been finished. Seeing it at night, we were stunned by how lovely it was. Like a sculpture. As if it had no purpose other than its own beauty. I said "This is when true architecture is born." A shape that's new, different, that takes you by surprise. That's architecture.

"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)

Beauty is important, look at the pyramids. They make no practical sense. But they're so beautiful, so monumental, that you forget their purpose. You just admire them.


"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)"Life Is A Breath Of Air" (2007)


What matters to us in every sense is freedom. A sense of fantasy, something out of the ordinary, that's what counts. What stands the test of time is not well-kept little houses. It's cathedrals or monumental forms with a sense of balance.




(Apologies for the lacklustre poor-resolution screenshots)

Silence and Light: Louis Kahn

Louis Kahn: Silence and Light (1995)
Louis Kahn: Silence and Light (1995)
Louis Kahn: Silence and Light (1995)
Louis Kahn: Silence and Light (1995)
Louis Kahn: Silence and Light (1995)
Louis Kahn: Silence and Light (1995)
Louis Kahn: Silence and Light (1995)
Louis Kahn: Silence and Light (1995)
Louis Kahn: Silence and Light (1995)
Louis Kahn: Silence and Light (1995)
Louis Kahn: Silence and Light (1995)
Louis Kahn: Silence and Light (1995)
Louis Kahn: Silence and Light (1995)
Louis Kahn: Silence and Light (1995)
Louis Kahn: Silence and Light (1995)
Louis Kahn: Silence and Light (1995)
Louis Kahn: Silence and Light (1995)

Louis Kahn: Silence and Light (1995)
Louis Kahn: Silence and Light (1995)
Louis Kahn: Silence and Light (1995)
Louis Kahn: Silence and Light (1995)

Stills from 'Louis Kahn: Silence and Light' (1995) Directed by Michael Blackwood.


'I can say that I believe that light is the nature of material and that material is spent light.'


'Silence is the feeling that comes over you when you see the pyramids. A voiceless soundless silence, not quiet, but somehow a speaking, which is not speech, which is manifest in the pyramid itself: an indication that there was an inspiration to express. I think man lives to express and there is no other reason for living.' - Louis Kahn

Casa das Histórias by Eduardo Souto de Moura

The House of Stories and Drawings by Paula Rego, museum in Cascais, Portugal.
Architect: Eduardo Souto de Moura, 2009

Casa das Histórias by Eduardo Souto de Moura

Casa das Histórias by Eduardo Souto de Moura

Casa das Histórias by Eduardo Souto de Moura

Casa das Histórias by Eduardo Souto de Moura

Casa das Histórias by Eduardo Souto de Moura

Casa das Histórias by Eduardo Souto de Moura

Casa das Histórias by Eduardo Souto de Moura

Casa das Histórias by Eduardo Souto de Moura

Casa das Histórias by Eduardo Souto de Moura

Casa das Histórias by Eduardo Souto de Moura

Casa das Histórias by Eduardo Souto de Moura

Website
http://www.casadashistoriaspaularego.com/

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