Oscar Niemeyer was a renowned 20th century Brazilian architect known for his pioneering modernist designs and sculptural concrete structures. Some of his most famous works include the United Nations building in New York, the planned city of Brasilia including the Cathedral and National Congress buildings, and the Pampulha complex in Brazil. Niemeyer was influential in developing abstract forms in architecture and was inspired by the curves found in nature. He had a long and prolific career spanning over 70 years in which he designed over 600 projects across Brazil and internationally.

1. 20th Century Architect
NIEMEYER

2. WAS
OSCAR
NIEMEYER
?
WHO
“BRAZIL’S GREATEST ARCHITECT.”
“PICASSO OF CONCRETE.”
“CONCRETE POET.”
“TRAILBLAZER IN URBAN PLANNING.”

3. BIO
■ Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer
Soares Filho (December 15, 1907 –
December 5, 2012), known as Oscar
Niemeyer, was Brazilian architect who
is considered to be one of the key
figures in the development of modern
architecture.

4. ■ Born in Rio de Janeiro,
Niemeyer was schooled at
the city's Escola Nacional
de Belas Artes (Federal
University of Rio de
Janeiro), and after
graduating worked at his
father's typography house,
and as a draftsman for local
architectural firms.

5. ■ Niemeyer was best known for
his design of civic buildings for
Brasília, a planned city that
became Brazil's capital in
1960, as well as his
collaboration with other
architects on the United
Nations Headquarters in New
York City. His exploration of
the aesthetic possibilities of
reinforced concrete was highly
influential in the late 20th and
early 21st centuries.

6. HISTORY OF
NIEMEYER’S
WORK

7. ■ Niemeyer's first major project
was a series of buildings for
Pampulha, a planned suburb
north of Belo Horizonte. His
work, especially on the Church
of Saint Francis of Assisi,
received critical acclaim and
drew international attention.
■ Throughout the 1940s and
1950s, Niemeyer became one
of Brazil's most prolific
architects, working both
domestically and overseas.

8. Church of Saint Francis of
Assisi (1943-1959)

10. United Nations Building
(1947)

11. ■ Niemeyer's status as a rising star in the
architectural world was confirmed when
he was chosen to represent Brazil as
part of the team to design the new
headquarters of the United Nations in
New York City; the final building was
based primarily on Niemeyer's design.
■ Following the completion of the United
Nations building in 1953, Niemeyer won
an appointment as dean of Harvard
University's Graduate School of Design,
but he was refused an American work
visa by the United States government
due to his membership in Brazil's
Communist Party.

12. The Edificio Copan (1951-66)

13. 1952 – Casa das Canoas – Niemeyer’s personal home in
Canoas, Rio de Janeiro.

15. PALÁCIO DA ALAVORADA (PALACE OF DAWN -1957)
Presidential Residence

16. CATEDRAL DE BRASÍLIA
(CATHEDRAL OF BRASÍLIA 1958-1970)

17. The great
Brazilian architect
was a "sculptor of monuments".
CONGRESSO NACIONAL
(NATIONAL CONGRESS - 1960)

18. Palácio da Justiça (Ministry of Justice), 1962

19. University of Haifa, Israel, 1963
JK Memorial, 1980

20. Latin America Memorial, São Paulo, 1987-89

21. The Niterói Contemporary Art Museum (Museu de Arte
Contemporânea de Niterói — MAC) is situated in the city of
Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and is one of the city’s main
landmarks.(1991-1996)

22. Auditorium, Ibirapuera Park, Brazil (1999-2005)

23. The Oscar Niemeyer Museum, inaugurated in 2002, the largest
museum in Latin America, is in Curitiba, Brazil

24. NIEMEYER’S BUILDINGS ARE
EVERYWHERE.
ALL ARE ABSTRACT AND
ARRESTING: FROM THE CORSET-
SHAPED BRASILIA CATHEDRAL,
REACHING TOWARD HEAVEN, TO
BRAZIL’S NATIONAL CONGRESS, A
PURE WHITE DOME AND BOWL
PLACED OPPOSITE EACH OTHER ON
A CONCRETE PLAIN.

25. ■ Both lauded and criticized for being a
"sculptor of monuments", Niemeyer
was hailed as a great artist and one of
the greatest architects of his
generation by his supporters.
■ He said his architecture was strongly
influenced by Le Corbusier*, but in an
interview, assured that this "didn't
prevent [his] architecture from going in
a different direction". Niemeyer was
most famous for his use of abstract
forms and curves and wrote in his
memoirs:
*A Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer,
and one of the pioneers of what is now called modern architecture.

26. “I am not attracted to straight
angles or to the straight line,
hard and inflexible, created by
man. I am attracted to free-
flowing, sensual curves. The
curves that I find in the
mountains of my country, in
the sinuousness of its rivers, in
the waves of the ocean, and
on the body of the beloved
woman. Curves make up the
entire Universe, the curved
Universe of Einstein.”

28. CENTRO NIEMEYER
Avilés, Asturias, Spain
OSCAR NIEMEYER IS RENOWNED FOR CREATING
SOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST DARING AND
UNUSUAL BUILDINGS.

29. INFLUENCE ON DESIGN
Furniture

30. Rio rocking chaise by Oscar Niemeyer

31. Marquesa chaise by Oscar Niemeyer

32. Alta armchair and ottoman by Oscar Niemeyer

33. Rio rocking chaise by Oscar Niemeyer

34. INFLUENCE ON DESIGN
FurnitureJewelry

35. A drawing by architect Oscar Niemeyer and the
Flower earrings in 18K yellow gold.
H.Stern Jewelry Inspired by
Architect Oscar Niemeyer
The late Brazilian architect's
legacy of sinuous modernism
lives on—in miniature form

36. A sketch of the Copan building in São
Paulo and the Copan ring in 18K white
gold with diamonds.
Niemeyer’s sketch for Ibirapuera Park
in São Paulo and the Monument
earrings in 18K yellow gold

37. ART
&
POP
CULTURE
Grafiti honoring Niemeyer
in São Paulo, Brazil.

38. FASHION

39. Oscar Niemeyer for Converse

40. TV and Movie
SIMPSONS’ Episode where Oscar’s building was featured
Oscar Niemeyer’s Biographical Movie

41. Books Magazines

42. SAMBADROM, RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL

43. CARNAVAL

44. Over a career of 78 years he designed approximately 600 projects. Niemeyer died in Rio de
Janeiro on December 5, 2012, at the age of 104, ten days before his 105th birthday.

45. THANK YOU!
OBRIGADO!