For me beauty is valued more than anything - the beauty that is manifest in a curved line or in an act of creativity.

Camus says in 'The Stranger' that reason is the enemy of imagination. Sometimes you have to put reason aside and make something beautiful.

Curves are the essence of my work because they are the essence of Brazil, pure and simple.

Today, architecture is invention. It isn't enough to just be rational - It must also be beautiful.

Architecture is invention.

Of course, I have given my engineers some headaches over the years, but they go with me. I have always wanted my buildings to be as light as possible, to touch the ground gently, to swoop and soar, and to surprise.

I deliberately disregarded the right angle and rationalist architecture designed with ruler and square to boldly enter the world of curves and straight lines offered by reinforced concrete... This deliberate protest arose from the environment in which I lived, with its white beaches, its huge mountains, its old baroque churches, and the beautiful suntanned women.