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One only has to scan the cityscape that is Brasília to appreciate just how visionary and innovative Oscar Niemeyer was. The Brazilian architect is regarded as one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture, and Brazil's capital city exemplifies his free-flowing designs.
Niemeyer's portfolio is vast and varied. Conceived as lyrical sculpture, his buildings and structures include commercial and residential property, churches, museums, towers, parks, and even dams. Niemeyer was also very successful in furniture design. In 1988, he was awarded the Pritzker Prize for Architecture, an accolade often referred to as the "Nobel Prize of architecture."
Today, Oscar Niemeyer remains one of the most influential architects in recent history and his astonishing curve of life and work have designed Brazil and the world.
To learn more about the man they called the "concrete poet," click through this gallery and draw on some of his most celebrated projects.
Oscar Niemeyer is widely regarded as the foremost Latin American architect of the last century and one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture.
He was born in Rio de Janeiro on December 15, 1907. His great-grandfather was a Portuguese immigrant who, in turn, was the grandson of a German soldier who had settled in Portugal.
Niemeyer studied architecture at the National School of Fine Arts in Rio. He graduated with a BA in the discipline in 1934.
After graduating, Niemeyer secured a position working in the architecture studio of Lúcio Costa, Gregori Warchavchik, and Carlos Leão. Costa was hugely influential in advancing Niemeyer's career. He worked with him from 1937 to 1943 on the design for the Ministry of Education and Health building in Rio. Also known as the Gustavo Capanema Palace, it's considered by many to be Brazil's first masterpiece of modern architecture.
In 1939, Niemeyer and Costa, in collaboration with American architect Paul Lester Wiener, designed the Brazilian pavilion for the 1939 New York World's Fair.
In 1940, the mayor of Belo Horizonte, Juscelino Kubitschek (later president of Brazil from 1956 to 1961), commissioned Niemeyer to design a series of buildings that would become known as the Pampulha architectural complex.
Completed in 1943, the buildings received international acclaim. The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi, noted for its parabolic arch geometry, is considered the masterpiece of the complex.
Pampulha and the 1943 'Brazil Builds' exhibition at the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) brought Oscar Niemeyer international acclaim.
In 1947, Oscar Niemeyer represented Brazil in the planning of the United Nations buildings in New York City. The board of design consultants also included France's Le Corbusier. Niemeyer produced very few designs for the United States because his affiliation to the Communist Party usually prevented him from obtaining a visa. In 1953, he was appointed dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, but the United States government denied his visa, thereby preventing him from entering the country.
Niemeyer received numerous commissions in the 1950s. At the beginning of the decade, he was asked to design São Paulo's Ibirapuera Park for the city's 400th anniversary celebration.
With Edifício Copan, Niemeyer created one of the most important and emblematic buildings in São Paulo. Commissioned in 1952 and completed in 1966, Niemeyer was personally responsible for the building's famous sinuous facade, a design element he'd quickly become famous for.
The International Building Exhibition (Interbau) was an architectural project begun in 1954 in which a number of prominent international architects designed buildings for the reconstruction of the Hansa quarter of Berlin after the Second World War. Niemeyer, Le Corbusier, and Walter Gropius were among those whose buildings still stand today.
After being elected president of Brazil in 1956, Juscelino Kubitschek asked Niemeyer to design the country's new capital, Brasília. It was a huge honor and would become the architect's defining project.
The official residence of the president of Brazil is Palácio da Alvorada. It was designed by Niemeyer and built between 1957 and 1958 in the modernist style.
Palácio do Planalto is the official workplace of the president of Brazil. Niemeyer designed the building in 1958; it was inaugurated in 1960.
Niemeyer's futuristic-looking Brazilian National Congress building was inaugurated in 1960. The building is located in the middle of the Monumental Axis, the main street of Brasília.
Itamaraty Palace is often referred to as the Palace of Arches. It serves as the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil. Located on Brasília's Ministries Esplanade, Niemeyer designed this building in 1960. It opened in 1970.
One of Niemeyer's most iconic buildings of the Brasília ensemble is the Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of Aparecida. Completed and dedicated in 1970, it's better known simply as the Cathedral of Brasília, the crown-like structure one of the most recognized of the architect's work.
Fittingly, the final resting place of Juscelino Kubitschek is the Oscar Niemeyer-designed JK Memorial. The mausoleum, completed in 1980, also serves as a cultural center dedicated to the founder of Brasília.
For a time during the 1960s, Oscar Niemeyer lived in Paris and Israel. Brazil was under a military dictatorship, and Niemeyer felt safer working abroad. His self-imposed exile saw the architect design buildings in France, Italy, and North Africa.
Working out of an office on the Champs-Élysées, Niemeyer was responsible for designing the headquarters of the French Communist Party in Paris. Construction began in 1968 and was completed in 1971.
In 1968, the Brazilian architect was commissioned by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, one of Italy's largest publishing companies, to build its new headquarters, Mondadori Palace, on the outskirts of Milan. It's considered one of Niemeyer's most important works in Europe and features his characteristically curved, sculptural forms.
Funchal, the capital city of the Portuguese island of Madeira, inaugurated the Oscar Niemeyer co-designed casino and adjacent casino park hotel in the mid-1970s. Portuguese architect Viana de Lima partnered with Niemeyer on the project.
Le Volcan ("The Volcano"), a prestigious monument to the cultural heritage of Le Havre, opened in 1982, the result of a collaboration between Niemeyer and his Parisian colleague Jean-Maur Lyonnet. It houses a cultural center and theater auditorium.
The Brazilian dictatorship lasted until 1985. Under João Figueiredo's rule, it softened and gradually turned towards democracy. Oscar Niemeyer felt compelled to return to his country of birth as early as 1983 and opened a studio in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro.
Niemeyer's first major work after returning to Brazil was the Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí, a purpose-built parade area constructed for the annual Rio Carnival.
The Latin America Memorial was designed by Niemeyer as a monument to the cultural, political, social, and economic integration of Latin America. The Memorial, located in São Paulo, has a permanent collection of works of art, on display in indoor and outdoor areas, including Niemeyer's concrete 'Mão' ("Hand") sculpture. The red relief symbolizes the blood and energy sacrificed by the Latin American martyrs for the freedom of their land.
Rio's Niterói Contemporary Art Museum was completed in 1996. The building sits in a reflecting pool that surrounds the cylindrical base, and the entire facility looks out over the sea.
The Oscar Niemeyer Museum in Curitiba was completed when the architect was 95 years old. The building reflects many of his signature elements: bold geometric forms, sculptural curved volumes placed prominently to contrast with rectangular volumes, and sinuous ramps for pedestrians.
The Oscar Niemeyer International Cultural Centre opened in Avilé, Spain, in 2011. It's the only building of Niemeyer's found in the country.
Also inaugurated in 2011, the Oscar Niemeyer Auditorium in Ravello, Italy, enjoys a majestic location on the Amalfi Coast. Ravello is a town known as la città della musica, "the city of music," and the auditorium serves as an international concert hall.
The Brasília Digital TV Tower, also known as the Flor do Cerrado ("Cerrado flower") was supposed to open in April 2010 as part of a celebration marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Brazilian capital. In fact, it was inaugurated two years later in April 2012. It was one of the final designs of the venerated centenarian.
Oscar Niemeyer died on December 5, 2012. He was 104 years old. His final project, a pavilion designed for the Château La Coste vineyard in southern France, opened in 2022.
Sources: (Dezeen) (Architectuul) (Rethinking The Future) (Britannica) (MoMA)
See also: Why is "God's architect" Antoni Gaudí on the path to sainthood?
Oscar Niemeyer's most celebrated architectural projects
Influential designs created by the renowned Brazilian architect
LIFESTYLE Design
One only has to scan the cityscape that is Brasília to appreciate just how visionary and innovative Oscar Niemeyer was. The Brazilian architect is regarded as one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture, and Brazil's capital city exemplifies his free-flowing designs.
Niemeyer's portfolio is vast and varied. Conceived as lyrical sculpture, his buildings and structures include commercial and residential property, churches, museums, towers, parks, and even dams. Niemeyer was also very successful in furniture design. In 1988, he was awarded the Pritzker Prize for Architecture, an accolade often referred to as the "Nobel Prize of architecture."
Today, Oscar Niemeyer remains one of the most influential architects in recent history and his astonishing curve of life and work have designed Brazil and the world.
To learn more about the man they called the "concrete poet," click through this gallery and draw on some of his most celebrated projects.