his biography
Oscar Niemeyer was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on the 15th December 1907. Oscar Niemeyer graduated from the Escola Nacional de Belas Artes in Rio de Janeiro in 1934.
At this time Oscar Niemeyer joined a team of Brazilian architects collaborating with Le Corbusier on a new Ministry of Education and Health in Rio de Janeiro. Oscar Niemeyer worked with Lucio Costa and Le Corbusier till 1938 on this project.
The corbusian influence is evident in the early works of Oscar Niemeyer. However, the architect gradually acguired his own style: the lightness of the curved forms created spaces that transformed the architectural scheme into something that was hitherto unknown; harmony, grace and elegance are the adjectives that are most appropriate to describe the work of Oscar Niemeyer. The adaptations produced by the architect to connect the baroque vocabulary with modernist architecture made possible formal experiences in spectacular volumes, executed by famous mathematicians including the Brazilian Joaquim Cardoso and the Italian Pier Luigi Nervi.
The architecture of Brasilia, glimpsed in the sketches submitted by Lucio Costa for the international design contest for the new capital of Brazil, was the result of Oscar Niemeyer 's definitive impetus on the scene of the international history of contemporary architecture. The concave and convex domes of the National Congress and the columns of the Alvorada and Planalto palaces and the Supreme Court are highly original features. Combining these with the spectacular forms of the columns of the Cathedral and the palaces of Itamaraty and Justica, Oscar Niemeyer succeeded in closing the rectangular and symmetrical perspective formed by the repetition of the Esplanada and Ministry buildings.
The use of reinforced concrete to form curves or as a shell and the unique use of the aesthetic possibilities of the straight line were translated into factories, skyscrapers, exhibition centres, residential areas, theatres, temples, head office buildings for public and private sector companies, universities, clubs, hospitals and buildings for various social schemes. Of these, the following are worthy of special mention: the Obra do Berco and residence on the Estrada das Canoas in Rio de Janeiro; The Duchen factory, the Copan building and Ibirapuera Park in Sao Paulo; the Pampulha architectural complex including a casino, restaurant and the Temple of St. Francis of Assisi, in Belo Horizonte; the design for the Hotel de Ouro Preto in Minas Gerais, the Caracas Museum in Venezuela, the headquarters building of the Communist Party in Paris, the head office of Editora Mondatori in Milan, the Constantine University in Algeria and the Niteroi Museum of Contemporary Art, Rio de Janeiro.
The constant presence, of Oscar Niemeyer on the scene of international contemporary architecture from 1936 until the present time, has transformed him into a symbol of Brazil. Oscar Niemeyer has received numerous prizes and is the owner of a vast library containing books written by him and also by Stamo Papadaki, as well as editions of early editions of magazines on French and Italian architecture.
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| The National Congress building |
While working on this project Oscar Niemeyer met the mayor of Brazil's wealthiest central state, Juscelino Kubitschek, who would later becom President of Brazil. As President, he appointed Oscar Niemeyer to be the chief architect of Brasilia, a project which occupied all of his time for many years.
In 1939 Oscar Niemeyer and Costa designed the Brazilian pavilion at the New York World Fair. The series of buildings Oscar Niemeyer created till 1942 were heavily influenced by the Brazilian baroque style in architecture.
Although associated primarily with his major masterpiece, Brasilia, the capital city of Brazil, Oscar Niemeyer had achieved early recognition from one of his mentors, Le Corbusier, going on to collaborate with him on one of the most important symbolic structures in the world, the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
In the 1950's, Oscar Niemeyer designed an Aeronautical Research Center near Sao Paulo. In Europe, Oscar Niemeyer did an office building for Renault and in Italy, the Mondadori Editorial Office in Milan and the FATA Office Building in Turin. In Algiers, Oscar Niemeyer designed the Zoological Gardens, the University of Constantine, and the Foreign Office.
From 1957 till 1959 Oscar Niemeyer was appointed architectural advisor to Nova Cap- an organisation charged with implenting Luis Costa's plans for Brazil's new capitol. The following year Oscar Niemeyer become Nova Cap's chief architect, designing most of the city's important buildings. The epoch of Niemeyers career, these buildings mark a period of creativity on modern symbolism.
Five years later, in 1964, his political affiliation with the communist party forced him into exile in France. There Oscar Niemeyer constructed the building for the French communist party. With the end of the dictatorship Oscar Niemeyer returned to Brazil, teaching at the university of Rio de Janeiro and working in private practice.
Recognized as one of the first to pioneer new concepts in architecture in this hemisphere, his designs are artistic gesture, with underlying logic and substance.
His pursuit of great architecture linked to roots of his native land has resulted in new plastic forms and a lyricism in buildings, not only in Brazil, but around the world. For his lifetime achievements, the Pritzker Architecture Prize is bestowed.
Although semi-retired, Oscar Niemeyer still works at the drawing board and welcomes young architects from all over the world. Oscar Niemeyer hopes to instill in them the sensitivity to aesthetics that allowed him to strive for beauty in the manipulation of architectural forms.
Catedral- Metropolitana - '60
Its symbolic is altercated. Some say it is the thorncrown of Jesus, others think it's a blossom an others again say it looks like praying hands. But it is sure a masterpiece of Oscar Niemeyer. In front of the subsurface entrance there are modern stone-sculptures posed who should depict the "Four Disciples".
Its symbolic is altercated. Some say it is the thorncrown of Jesus, others think it's a blossom an others again say it looks like praying hands. But it is sure a masterpiece of Oscar Niemeyer. In front of the subsurface entrance there are modern stone-sculptures posed who should depict the "Four Disciples".
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| catedral Metropolitana |
The Entrance lies in the shadow to lead the believers from the darkness into the light. The interior is kept very artless, no embellishments and decoration destroy the ruminant atmosphere. One Altar, bright chairs and three big angelfigures made of Joao Ceschiatti which are hanging under the astrodome - that's all.
Congresso Nacional - '72
The Congresso Nacional is Niemeyer's masterpiece. Here you can see the architectural concept of the convex and concave lines. The Utopian element of the flying saucers prove his aversion about the straight models of architecture. In the interior you can see numerous works of art and valuables.
The Congresso Nacional is Niemeyer's masterpiece. Here you can see the architectural concept of the convex and concave lines. The Utopian element of the flying saucers prove his aversion about the straight models of architecture. In the interior you can see numerous works of art and valuables.
Palacio do Itamaratv - '43
The State Department is one of the most stylish buildings of Brasilia. Thin bows come up out of the water and seem to become larger in the refleaing water. In the bassin a sculpture of a meteor depicts the five parts of the world. At one side of the Itamarati appears a small, longish building which is made of hundreds of yellow, orange and brown tiles,, This was made of Sergio Bernades, the most liked architect of the president. Bernades was not afraid that Oscar Niemeyer became the only architect of Brasilia.
The State Department is one of the most stylish buildings of Brasilia. Thin bows come up out of the water and seem to become larger in the refleaing water. In the bassin a sculpture of a meteor depicts the five parts of the world. At one side of the Itamarati appears a small, longish building which is made of hundreds of yellow, orange and brown tiles,, This was made of Sergio Bernades, the most liked architect of the president. Bernades was not afraid that Oscar Niemeyer became the only architect of Brasilia.
His own House - '53
The house that Oscar Niemeyer built for himself in 1953 is an excellent example of Freeform Modernism, and an example that could only exist in Brazil. While the thin, flat roof slab and floor-to-ceiling glass walls are certainly central elements of many classic Modernist buildings particularly Mies's Famsworth House and Philip Johnson's Glass House, the curvilinear outlines in Niemeyer's residence are uniquely expressive of Brazilian heritage. The Colonial Baroque architecture that dominated Brazil before is very curvaceous, as is its local artwork. Moreover, the eroded hills, winding rovers and shorelines, and rolling landscape of Brazil itself are a clear inspiration for the forms in Niemeyer's work. As the architect himself states, 1943: Residencia Peixoto, 1943: Itamatary Palace, 1959: Pantheon, 1960: Catedral Metropolitana, 1960: Congreso Nacional, 1972: Le Havre Cultural Centre,1996: Apartamentos Building (Rio), 1996: Lady of Fatima
The house that Oscar Niemeyer built for himself in 1953 is an excellent example of Freeform Modernism, and an example that could only exist in Brazil. While the thin, flat roof slab and floor-to-ceiling glass walls are certainly central elements of many classic Modernist buildings particularly Mies's Famsworth House and Philip Johnson's Glass House, the curvilinear outlines in Niemeyer's residence are uniquely expressive of Brazilian heritage. The Colonial Baroque architecture that dominated Brazil before is very curvaceous, as is its local artwork. Moreover, the eroded hills, winding rovers and shorelines, and rolling landscape of Brazil itself are a clear inspiration for the forms in Niemeyer's work. As the architect himself states, 1943: Residencia Peixoto, 1943: Itamatary Palace, 1959: Pantheon, 1960: Catedral Metropolitana, 1960: Congreso Nacional, 1972: Le Havre Cultural Centre,1996: Apartamentos Building (Rio), 1996: Lady of Fatima
The Creator's Words
"Architecture must express the spirit of the technical and social forces that are predominant in a given epoch; but when such forces are not balances, the resulting conflict is prejudicial to the content of the work and to the work as a whole. Only with this in mind may we understand the nature of the plans and drawings which appear in this volume. I should have very much liked to be in a position to present a more realistic achievement: a kind of work which reflects not only refinements and comfort but also a positive collaboration between the architect and the whole society."
"Architecture must express the spirit of the technical and social forces that are predominant in a given epoch; but when such forces are not balances, the resulting conflict is prejudicial to the content of the work and to the work as a whole. Only with this in mind may we understand the nature of the plans and drawings which appear in this volume. I should have very much liked to be in a position to present a more realistic achievement: a kind of work which reflects not only refinements and comfort but also a positive collaboration between the architect and the whole society."
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| The Niteroi Contemporary Art Museum |
"I have always," says Oscar Niemeyer, "accepted and respected all other schools of architecture, from the chill and elemental structures of Mies van der Rohe to the imagination and delirium of Gaudi. I must design what pleases me in a way that is naturally linked to my roots and the country of my origin.
(source: http://architect.architecture.sk)
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