A botanist friend told me just before leaving for Rio that there was some botanist, landscape gardenist dude who I should check out if I had the time. Turned out to be Roberto Burle Marx, whose beautiful streetscape makes Copacabana look fantastic from above. This picture was taken from the roof of our hotel. He was known for using native tropical vegetation in design, and the palm trees along the beach are planted naturally in groups, rather than the symmetrical placing favoured on the Costa del Sol.
Turns out this Burle Marx fella is pretty famous, and he seems to be following me. I flew to Brazil from Paris and before heading home I visited the Cite de l'Architecture for an exhibition on greening the city. Turns out they were having a Burle Marx exhibition too.
I got to see his sketches for Copacabana, which was pretty exciting seeing as I'd been there only a few days previously. I also learnt that his landscape gardens beautify presitigious buildings around the world, including UNESCO headquarters in Paris (must check that out next time I'm there).
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