Controversies
During his long tenure as regional, and then later, national chief of the Brazilian Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute (Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional - IPHAN), Lucio Costa pushed for systematic documentation of existing architectural and urbanistic heritage, although his critics allege that he let his personal preferences and political opinions interfere with the bases of his decisions. In 1975, he created a public controversy by refusing to sign the landmarking act of Palácio Monroe, the former seat of the Brazilian Senate, built in 1906. The building was slated for demolition because of the construction of the subway but, in the face of public and media outcry, the construction company shifted the line to preserve the building. This effort, however, was in vain, since landmark status was denied and a developer razed the building shortly thereafter. Costa favored the heritage of the Portuguese colonization over that of any other time or ethnic group (except for Brazilian Modernism). Because of this attitude, inculcated also on younger preservationists thanks to Costa's influence in the architecture schools, much of 19th- and early 20th-century architecture, including the architecture of German, Japanese and Italian immigrants, was lost to urban renewal in the 1960s and 1970s.
In 1936, when the competition to design the new Ministry of Education and Health was held, the winner was an eclectic design by architect Arquimedes Memória. Costa used his political connections within the government to scrap the competition result and instead form a new design team headed by himself and Le Corbusier, with among other members the Roberto Brothers and a young architect who had been Costa's intern, called Oscar Niemeyer. There ensued a disagreement, dragging on for years, between Costa and Le Corbusier over who had really been the lead designer on the project.
He died in Rio de Janeiro in 1998.
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