On March 1, 1967, João Batista Vilanova Artigas, Brazilian modernist architect, proffered at the College of Architecture and Urbanism of Sao Paulo University an inaugural lesson that marks his return to the university after the exile imposed by the Brazilian military coup. This lesson became one of the most influential concept to the next generation of Brazilian architects and we share here the entire speech.
The working field of the architect in the modern world is becoming broader all the time. It is not an evaluation considering quantity, - more houses, facilities, services. This would be to merely emphasize what is obvious. My point of view is from the aesthetic side. To put it better: the arts get more and more established in social life. The theoretical field of arts is getting broader. Its interest regarding the totality of objects, some of which are traditionally outside aesthetic speculation, shows man exploring and changing the physical and social world through art with new tools.
There is no limit to the curiosity of modern architecture. Architecture goes back to the definition: "scientia p!uribus eruditiones ornata".
