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Architect

Oscar Niemeyer

1907–2012 · Brazilian · 35 buildings on the wall

Oscar Niemeyer (1907–2012) was a Brazilian architect and a key figure of modern architecture, known for free, flowing curves in reinforced concrete. He designed the main civic buildings of Brasília, the planned city that became Brazil's capital in 1960, and won the Pritzker Prize in 1988.

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Niemeyer said his architecture really began at Pampulha, near Belo Horizonte, where the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi (1943) is built from parabolic concrete arches. He worked with Lúcio Costa on the Gustavo Capanema Palace in Rio de Janeiro, and with Le Corbusier and others on the United Nations Secretariat Building in New York. The Copan Building in São Paulo wraps its apartments in a long, wavy façade. In Brasília, the National Congress of Brazil sets two half-spheres, one for each chamber, beside twin office towers, and the Cathedral of Brasília rises as a ring of sixteen curved concrete columns with glass between them. At 89 he designed the Niterói Contemporary Art Museum (1996), a saucer on a cylindrical base above the bay. Oscar Niemeyer's buildings show students how far concrete can be shaped.

See the 35 buildings ↓

Read about the work

Wikipedia · Oscar Niemeyer Fundação Oscar Niemeyer · Foundation

ArchDaily · Oscar Niemeyer office page

Books to read

Oscar Niemeyer and the Architecture of BrazilDavid Underwood, 1994

The Curves of Time: The Memoirs of Oscar NiemeyerOscar Niemeyer, 2000 Brazil BuildsBrazil Builds: Architecture New and Old 1652–1942Philip L. Goodwin, 1943

Latin American Architecture Since 1945Henry-Russell Hitchcock, 1955 The Modernist CityThe Modernist City: An Anthropological Critique of BrasíliaJames Holston, 1989

Latin America in Construction: Architecture 1955–1980Barry Bergdoll, Carlos Eduardo Comas, Jorge Francisco Liernur and Patricio del Real, 2015

Similar architects

Zaha Hadid · Frank Gehry · Le Corbusier · Alvar Aalto

Picked by the ideas their buildings share.

Oscar Niemeyer buildings 35

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Grande Hotel de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto

Grande Hotel de Ouro Preto1940 · Ouro Preto

Casa do Baile (Pampulha Dance Hall), Belo Horizonte

Casa do Baile (Pampulha Dance Hall)1943 · Belo Horizonte

Gustavo Capanema Palace, Rio de Janeiro

Gustavo Capanema Palace1945 · Rio de Janeiro

Bienal Pavilion (Pavilhão Ciccillo Matarazzo), São Paulo

Bienal Pavilion (Pavilhão Ciccillo Matarazzo)1954 · São Paulo

Oca, Ibirapuera Park, São Paulo

Oca, Ibirapuera Park1954 · São Paulo

Igrejinha Nossa Senhora de Fátima, Brasília

Igrejinha Nossa Senhora de Fátima1958 · Brasília

Palácio da Alvorada, Brasilia

Palácio da Alvorada1958 · Brasilia

National Congress of Brazil, Brasilia

National Congress of Brazil1960 · Brasilia

Supreme Federal Court, Brasília

Supreme Federal Court1960 · Brasília

Copan Building, Sao Paulo

Copan Building1966 · Sao Paulo

Itamaraty Palace, Brasilia

Itamaraty Palace1970 · Brasilia

Palácio da Justiça (Ministry of Justice), Brasília, Brasília

Palácio da Justiça (Ministry of Justice), Brasília1972 · Brasília

Mondadori Palace, Segrate

Mondadori Palace1975 · Segrate

Le Volcan, Le Havre

Le Volcan1982 · Le Havre

Latin America Memorial, São Paulo

Latin America Memorial1989 · São Paulo

Niterói Contemporary Art Museum, Niterói

Niterói Contemporary Art Museum1996 · Niterói

Ibirapuera Auditorium, São Paulo

Ibirapuera Auditorium2005 · São Paulo

Oscar Niemeyer International Cultural Centre, Avilés

Oscar Niemeyer International Cultural Centre2011 · Avilés

Iate Tênis Clube, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte

Iate Tênis Clube, Pampulha1942 · Belo Horizonte

Church of Saint Francis of Assisi, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte

Church of Saint Francis of Assisi, Pampulha1943 · Belo Horizonte

Pampulha Art Museum (former Casino), Belo Horizonte

Pampulha Art Museum (former Casino)1943 · Belo Horizonte

United Nations Secretariat Building, New York

United Nations Secretariat Building1952 · New York

Catetinho, Brasília

Catetinho1956 · Brasília

Edifício Niemeyer, Belo Horizonte

Edifício Niemeyer1960 · Belo Horizonte

Palácio do Planalto, Brasilia

Palácio do Planalto1960 · Brasilia

Claudio Santoro National Theatre, Brasilia

Claudio Santoro National Theatre1966 · Brasilia

Cathedral of Brasília, Brasília

Cathedral of Brasília1970 · Brasília

Conjunto JK (Conjunto Governador Kubitschek), Belo Horizonte

Conjunto JK (Conjunto Governador Kubitschek)1970 · Belo Horizonte

French Communist Party Headquarters, Paris

French Communist Party Headquarters1971 · Paris

University of Constantine, Constantine

University of Constantine1972 · Constantine

Rachid Karami International Fair, Tripoli

Rachid Karami International Fair1975 · Tripoli

Tancredo Neves Pantheon of the Fatherland, Brasília

Tancredo Neves Pantheon of the Fatherland1986 · Brasília

Anhembi Sambadrome, São Paulo

Anhembi Sambadrome1996 · São Paulo

Oscar Niemeyer Museum, Curitiba

Oscar Niemeyer Museum2002 · Curitiba

National Museum of the Republic, Brasília

National Museum of the Republic2006 · Brasília