Brasilia was the aspiration of three people: a visionary politician, Juscelino Kubitschek, who dreamed of building a new capital from nothing in the heart of his country; an architect, Oscar Niemeyer, who never put down his pencil and was so afraid of flying that he often drove for three days to reach the site; and Lucio Costa, an enlightened urbanist, who possessed not only futurist sensibilities but also a profound knowledge of his country.
Popularity: 43% [?]
Plans for a new bridge across the Thames lined with shops and homes - similar to the Ponte Vecchio in Florence - are being drawn up by Boris Johnson.
Popularity: 32% [?]
It’s odd to think that the Modernist architect Le Corbusier has had a bigger influence on housing in Britain than in any other European country.
Odd because he never designed a building here, and also because so many Britons have long held him in particular contempt. Since the 1970s he has been about as popular around here as the French national soccer team, and more than a few concrete, Corbu-style projects, large numbers of which were constructed after the war to ease a convalescing nation’s housing shortage, have since been torn down or fallen into disrepair.
But as Peter Rees, a longtime city planning officer in London, put it recently, about the whole range of such projects, “They were either blown up, or they’re now loved.”
Popularity: 19% [?]
Preservationists say they are fighting to protect Brasilia’s signature skyline designed by legendary architect Oscar Niemeyer — from Oscar Niemeyer himself.
Popularity: 25% [?]
