I Am A Brazilian Before I Am

When I Was Very Little My Mother Said I Used To Draw In The Air With My Fingers. I Needed A Pencil. Once I Could Hold One, I Have Drawn Every Day Since.

Life Is More Important Than Architecture.

We Hated Bauhaus. It Was A Bad Time In Architecture. They Just Didn’t Have Any Talent. All They Had Were Rules. Even For Knives And Forks They Created Rules. Picasso Would Never Have Accepted Rules. The House Is Like A Machine? No! The Mechanical Is Ugly. The Rule Is The Worst Thing. You Just Want To Break It.

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

I Have Always Accepted And Respected All Other Schools Of Architecture, From The Chill And Elemental Structures Of Mies Van Der Rohe To The Imagination And Delirium Of Gaudi. I Must Design What Pleases Me In A Way That Is Naturally Linked To My Roots And The Country Of My Origin.