Oscar Niemeyer was one of the most innovative, prolific and daring architects of the last 60 years.
He developed a distinct and highly personal style that has become synonymous with Brazil’s modernist architecture. It captured the spirit of the time and place, the zeitgeist. White or natural reinforced concrete and primary-colour accents, combined with whimsical ideas in his projects are his signatures. Rejecting the cube shapes favoured by his modernist predecessors, he devised some of the world’s most striking buildings - monumental, curving concrete and glass structures which almost defy description. “Curves”, he wrote, “make up the entire universe, the curved universe of Einstein”.
The work which is regarded as the ultimate expression of Niemeyer’s approach to architectural design is Brasília an entire city carved out of the barren reddish Brazilian plateau.
His long-time friend and colleague Lúcio Costa laid out the street plan in the shape of an aeroplane. They then designed a huge number of the city’s residential, commercial and government buildings, which include the Itamaraty Palace. With reinforced concrete arches reflected in a mirror of water, with islands of tropical plants, the headquarters of the Foreign Office provides an unbelievable study in contrast of elements - it has the ethereal appearance of a floating palace built of glass.
When assessing his legacy, many an expert has pointed out that the excess of form and individuality in his oeuvre sidelined the social function of modern architecture.
Many criticize Brasília for being impersonal and elitist but 60 years on more than three million people live here and it is the only modern city to be named a Unesco World Heritage site.
The BBC. Obituary: Oscar Niemeyer, 2012 (adapted).
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Niemeyer transformed cold and rigid concrete into something of a very light, unearthly appearance.