15 December 2008

Oscar Niemeyer 101 Today

Today is architect Oscar Niemeyer's 101st birthday. He apparently has some regrets of his modernist planning ideals:

“If I could plan Brasilia all over again,… there’d be extra apartment buildings and schools and shops. And I’d do without all the wide streets with all the cars. People would be able to walk everywhere.”
- in Architectural Record

2 comments:

columbus exile said...

It's ok Oscar. Saying your sorry makes up for bad planning.

No one could have foresaw the problems with planning a city around automobile ownership, especially in a nation where most people don't own cars.

Sorry...I'm not happy its monday...

Unknown said...

I'd like to thank Mr. Niemeyer. Burnham's classic call to "make no little plans" includes the easily disregarded yet wildly important call to "make no little mistakes". For it is in these mistakes we learn the most.

Happy Birthday Oscar.