Handwritten letter from Lucio Costa (1966)

In 1966, urban planner Lúcio Costa is outraged by the United States war in Vietnam.

• Handwritten letter from Lúcio Costa to Anthony Kraft.
• One page.
• In Portuguese.
• Letter: 16.2 cm x 22 cm. Envelope: 15.0 cm x 9 cm.
• 1966, Rio de Janeiro.
• Perfect condition.
• Unique set.

Dear AK

Thanks, it doesn't matter, it's just that I forgot to flag Japan and Korea in my sketch. I apologize for maintaining these inane remarks while, at this very moment, we are killing people and destroying the work of men in an immoral and filthy war in Vietnam.

LC, RJ, 25/?/1966

Pike Coast (1902 - 1998) is an urban planner known worldwide for having designed, from 1957 onwards, the Brasilia Pilot Plan in partnership with Oscar Niemeyer who, in turn, imagined the famous buildings of the Brazilian capital. Years before, Niemeyer, a young architect who had recently graduated, had asked for an internship to Costa . His official biography also mentions his direction of the National School of Fine Arts and IPHAN, and his intense collaboration with modernists, such as the renowned French-Swiss architect Le Corbusier.

Anthony Kraft was an editor of an architectural journal in Lausanne in the 1960s. Henri, one of our clients - and a great collector - thinks that "the letter refers to a discussion about a very interesting article by Lucio Costa that was published in magazine in 1967 where he talks about forms and functions (...)"

Unpublished manuscripts or personal correspondence from great personalities often reveal facts or even feelings and convictions that are not in books. It is one of the charms that lovers of rare documents appreciate.

This is the case with this letter in which Pike Coast he talks to a Swiss friend about a forgotten project involving Japan and Korea, in the middle of the US war in Vietnam: an immense frustration for the urban planner. The time was turbulent and this feeling was shared by millions of pacifists around the world, including great artists, scientists, athletes, etc.

The story is ironic, because few people know, not even the French, that Coast He was the son of a naval engineer - or diplomat, it is not clear - and was born in the south of France, in Toulon, the largest military port in Europe.

Letters from Pike Coast They are very rare, this is the first one I have found in the last 10 years. It draws attention due to the strength of the content, obviously this impactful political opinion of the urban planner, but also for the commentary on some of his works that made him internationally renowned.

In excellent condition, with its envelope and the official paper from the Minister of Education, it is a piece of great quality that a collector or an institution that studies or works with architecture should keep. She values ​​Brasília and also promotes peace in the world.