Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012), who died just some days earlier than his one hundred and fifth birthday, had been one of many final dwelling hyperlinks to the primary years of modernist structure, a social idealist and unabashed aesthete whose profession spanned seven many years. Since his first works within the late Nineteen Thirties, Niemeyer had gone from being Brazil’s most exalted architect to voluntary exile after which again once more. He’s undoubtedly the world’s most influential Brazilian designer, an architect who has by no means shied away from modernism’s political roots, imbuing his sculpturally dramatic schemes with each symbolism and social function.
Oscar Niemeyer, photographed in his Copacabana studio in 2010 by Camilia Maia, and featured in our Born in Brazil challenge (June 2010), the place the Wallpaper* staff devoted your complete challenge to reporting from the South American nation
(Picture credit score: Camilia Maia)
Coming into the world of Oscar Niemeyer
Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, the place his apply continues to function to today, Niemeyer was prolific. His work, such because the Ravello auditorium in Italy, the Cathedral of Brasilia, the nation’s Nationwide Congress and the Nationwide Theatre, his prefabricated colleges throughout Brazil, his advanced at Ibirapuera Park in São Paulo and his Cultural Centre at Goiania – awarded Greatest Public Constructing within the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2007 – was immensely influential globally, outlined twentieth century Brazilian structure, and ceaselessly graced the pages of Wallpaper*.
Though initially he was strongly wedded to the formal simplicity of early modernism, it did not take lengthy for Niemeyer to search out his personal path, taking inspiration from the winding shoreline, daring colors and sensual delights of his house city of Rio.
The historical past of an icon
Fashionable structure’s arrival in Brazil is often carbon-dated to the Casa Modernista of 1928, inbuilt São Paulo by Russian architect Gregori Warchavchik, who had moved to the nation in 1923. In 1929, Le Corbusier undertook a South American lecture tour, returning to Brazil in 1936 to work on the Ministry of Schooling and Well being Constructing in Rio, in collaboration with Lucio Costa and a staff of younger architects, together with Niemeyer, Carlos Leao, Affonso Reidy, Jorge Moreira and Ernani Vasconcelos.
Broadly acclaimed because the fount of the brand new Brazilian structure, the constructing took European modernism as a place to begin and presaged the Brazilian style’s transfer into free-form, concrete-fuelled exoticism. It wasn’t to everybody’s style, not least the diehard modernists. The Bauhaus-trained Swiss functionalist Max Invoice described Brazil’s structure as having ‘thick pilotis, skinny pilotis, pilotis of whimsical shapes missing any structural rhyme or motive, disposed everywhere… works born of a spirit devoid of decency’.
Niemeyer’s Tancredo Neves CIEP faculty in Rio, with its unique distinctive oval home windows, painted the colors of the Brazilian flag
(Picture credit score: Stefan Ruiz)
Brazil embraced the brand new with out reservation, remodelling its cities on the expense of many colonial-era buildings. Niemeyer’s personal apply began small. His very first constructing was accomplished in 1937, whereas he was nonetheless working in Costa’s studio and drawing inspiration from Le Corbusier. Modest in scale, historically fashionable in type, the Obra do Berço nursery is positioned in Rio’s Lagoa, a chief neighbourhood beside the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon. Le Corbusian in outlook, the nursery constructing conformed to the Swiss architect’s well-known 5 factors: elevated up on pilotis, with a free plan, free façade, lengthy runs of home windows and a roof terrace.
Initially designed as a medical centre for expectant moms, it now capabilities as each residential and day look after younger youngsters. The three-storey block is organized round a north-facing courtyard with a beneficiant roof backyard and a big top-floor lounge above session rooms, clinics and wards. The west façade is shielded by a system of adjustable brise-soleils, allegedly reinstalled on the younger architect’s personal value after the preliminary mounted solar screens had been constructed incorrectly.
Situated on Rua Cicero G6is Monteiro within the Lagoa neighbourhood of Rio, Niemeyer’s Obra do Berço nursery options vertical brise-soleils impressed by Le Corbusier
(Picture credit score: Stefan Ruiz)
It was Niemeyer’s flip to journey in 1939, when he and Costa got down to research and work in New York, ostensibly to design the nationwide pavilion for the New York World’s Truthful of 1939-40, but additionally to take in the delirious modernity of town. Whereas works just like the Obra do Berço owed a lot to the boxy white purism popping out of Europe, the strictly practical strategy by no means gelled with the Brazilian local weather and tradition, and a extra natural, plastic modernism emerged. Because the century progressed, the nexus of Brazilian modernism shifted even farther from its origins. American modernism had hit the large time as a hyper-efficient device of capitalism and mass consumption, whereas the Brazilian mannequin, led by Niemeyer’s poetic utopianism, was at all times extra socially thought-about and fewer afraid of expression for expression’s sake.
Brazil’s official ideology was now diametrically against Niemeyer’s inherently leftist sympathies. By 1966, his place in Rio had develop into untenable, and Niemeyer decamped to Paris, organising a studio on the Champs-Élysées, discovering recent work round Europe, Africa and the Far East, and designing architectural bentwood and leather-based furnishings for the Japanese producer Tendo and for Mobilier Worldwide. Nonetheless, work in Brazil hadn’t utterly evaporated.
Accomplished in 1972, the Lodge Nacional tower is in Rio’s São Conrado district. lt stood empty for a few years – as seen right here – after the resort went bankrupt in 1995, however in 2017 it reopened as a luxurious resort
(Picture credit score: Stefan Ruiz)
Within the late Nineteen Sixties, Niemeyer undertook a fee for a brand new resort in Rio’s upscale district of São Conrado. Intent on preserving as a lot of the open area as attainable, the design positioned visitor rooms in a 108m tall cylindrical tower set atop a concrete base and gardens landscaped by Roberto Burle Marx, an outdated collaborator of Niemeyer’s. The Lodge Nacional opened in 1972 on the peak of the navy regime, its 510 rooms and conference centre surrounded by a sculptural panorama of concrete and greenery.
On the resort’s peak was an statement deck, she entered beneath a thick cover of rain-streaked concrete and offered 360-degree views of town, the ocean and the mountains. The distinguished website is now on Avenida Niemeyer, a coastal route that snakes its method south of town previous favelas, rocky shoreline and the seaside, the final forming the uncooked components of Niemeyer’s lifelong visible homage to the weather. The unique resort went bankrupt in 1995, and the constructing was deserted, standing empty for a few years – a brooding, concrete-topped, darkish glass pillar, rising from the jungle at its base. It was not till 2017 that Lodge Nacional reopened, initially run by Mélia Lodges Worldwide, and now owned by non-public traders.
In 2022, Swiss watch model Audemars Piguet invited a deconstructivist Athenian modern artist, Andreas Angelidakis, to exhibit in Paris’ communist get together HQ, a constructing designed by Niemeyer whereas underneath protest exile in France. The HQ was inaugurated in 1971, and its dome accomplished in 1980
(Picture credit score: Dimitri Bourriau)
Niemeyer’s political allegiances additionally got here to the fore on his return to prominence. Within the early Eighties, he was appointed by Leonel Brizola, governor of Rio de Janeiro state, to design a low-cost system for constructing colleges. Brizola, with famend anthropologist Darcy Ribeiro, proposed the creation of the Built-in Centres for Public Schooling, or CIEP, supposed to bolster the variety of colleges in Rio’s poorest areas, conserving youngsters in schooling longer and offering amenities the place nothing had beforehand existed.
Nakedly political in its aspirations, the CIEP programme used buildings made up of prefabricated concrete modules, whereas the educating programme was specifically developed and separate from current public colleges. There have been issues; the challenge fell wanting its preliminary targets, the big variety of colleges required ate by means of the funds, and lecturers struggled to take care of the expansive lecture rooms.
Photographer Todd Eberle, left, with Niemeyer, proper, for a shoot at Canoes Home, close to Rio de Janeiro in 2003. Then aged 96, Niemeyer travelled the just about hour-long journey from Rio to the house he’d designed for himself within the early Fifties, particularly for Todd Eberle to take his portrait.
Eberle promised he’d take the shot in ‘one minute’. He then shortly obtained a body of himself with The Grasp. Thought-about one of the vital and influential examples of recent structure in Brazil, the home’s design infuses curves into concrete and glass
(Picture credit score: Todd Eberle)
However, the faculties, positioned near important roads and boasting distinctive concrete façades, had been an announcement of intent. Every faculty used a template of three buildings: a important constructing housing lecture rooms and a cafeteria, a gymnasium that doubled up as a cultural centre, and a library with further residential lodging. The very first faculty, the CIEP Tancredo Neves in Catete, Rio de Janeiro, remains to be standing.
Accomplished in 1983, the constructing is powerful and modest regardless of its scale. The large prefabrication job was farmed out to non-public engineering corporations, with as much as 300 cubic metres of concrete a day being poured into slabs. At full tilt, a single manufacturing unit may produce sufficient components for one and a half colleges per week. Though the CIEP faculty programme by no means garnered the worldwide acclaim of his work in Brasilia or his cultural tasks in Rio, the combination of concrete and political ideas is a core element of Niemeyer’s profession.
A part of Todd Eberle’s photographic portfolio, Itamaraty Palace, Brasilia. This gravity- and safety-defying staircase is without doubt one of the centrepieces of Brazil’s Ministry of Exterior Relations, a chic pavilion surrounded by a pool and Roberto Burle Marx gardens
(Picture credit score: Todd Eberle)
Niemeyer’s position in shaping the brand new Brazil is properly chronicled. Along with Costa, he designed Brasilia, a challenge which contributed considerably to his expansive opus of over 500 buildings. The extraordinary vary of Niemeyer’s aesthetic is demonstrated time and time once more, together with his later works, particularly, displaying a strongly symbolic sensibility, lengthy earlier than the style for iconic cultural statements gripped the world’s cities.
His affect on the nation’s structure remains to be strongly felt, and his longevity signifies that most of Brazil’s practitioners are nonetheless subconsciously enjoying second fiddle. His physique of labor stands as an unlimited achievement, instilling an incredible sense of satisfaction in all generations of Brazilian architects and forming the bedrock of a design scene with a contemporary sensibility fairly not like that of some other nation.
Oscar Niemeyer’s Centro Cultural Oscar Niemeyer, Golania, Brazil, which gained Greatest Public Area within the 2007 Wallpaper* Design Awards
(Picture credit score: Leonardo Finotti)
9 key Niemeyer buildings
Edifício Copan
Copan, photographed as a part of Todd Eberle’s portfolio
(Picture credit score: Todd Eberle)
The place: São Paulo
When: 1966
Niemeyer is understood for his sweeping curves and natural shapes, and the large-scale software of this strategy on Edifício Copan, a multi-family housing scheme in São Paulo, is emblematic of his work. Spectacular but smooth, spanning 32 flooring and 1,160 residences, there’s nothing ’boutique’ about this challenge – aside after all from the bespoke structure, which has made it into historical past books.
Ibirapuera Auditorium
(Picture credit score: Paul R. Burley)
The place: São Paulo
When: 2002
Oscar Niemeyer and panorama architect Roberto Burle Marx labored collectively on Ibirapuera Park, one of the well-known inexperienced lungs in São Paulo. Niemeyer’s contribution consists of the Ibirapuera Auditorium, a hanging, for its crisp minimalism, quantity outlined by a single sloped form, and a vibrant purple colored entrance whose door seems peeled off and floating within the wind above it.
Niterói Up to date Artwork Museum
Niteroi Up to date Artwork Museum, as a part of Eberle’s portfolio
(Picture credit score: Todd Eberle)
The place: Niterói
When: 1996
The hanging Niterói Up to date Artwork Museum (Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói – MAC) is certainly one of Niemeyer’s later works, accomplished in 1996. Created with the assistance of structural engineer Bruno Contarini, the constructing’s important physique appears to be like like a flying saucer, hovering excessive up from the bottom and overlooking its coastal website.
Palácio do Planalto
The Palace shot by Paul Clemence, and featured as a part of our story on Brasilia’s sixtieth anniversary in 2020
(Picture credit score: Leonardo Finotti)
The place: Brasília
When: 1960
If Palácio da Alvorada is the place the President of Brazil lives, Palácio do Planalto is the place he works. The workplace constructing is certainly one of Brasilia’s greatest landmarks – for its operate in addition to its hanging modernist appears to be like. It’s an official a part of the Brasília World Heritage Website, as designated by Unesco in 1987.
Palácio da Alvorada
Shot by Vincent Fournier for his e book, Brasília: A Time Capsule
(Picture credit score: Images: Vincent Fournier)
The place: Brasília
When: 1958
Palácio da Alvorada is the official residence of the Brazilian president. Surrounded by water, it sits on a peninsula by Paranoá Lake. The construction appears to be like low and linear however includes three ranges, and past the residential wing, it additionally consists of majestic reception areas for particular occasions and state entertaining.
Nationwide Congress of Brazil
The Nationwide Congress constructing as documented by means of the lens of artist and photographer Vincent Fournier and his e book, Brasília: A Time Capsule
(Picture credit score: Images: Vincent Fournier)
The place: Brasília
When: 1960
The highly effective geometries of the Nationwide Congress constructing embody a semi-sphere on the left, internet hosting the seat of the Senate, and a semi-sphere on the precise, the place the seat of the Chamber of Deputies lies. Two vertical towers between these two parts add drama and monumentality to this modernist design.
Cathedral of Brasília
Brasilia’s cathedral, a part of Todd Eberle’s portfolio proven in Wallpaper* in 2013
(Picture credit score: Todd Eberle)
The place: Brasília
When: accomplished 1970
The Roman Catholic cathedral of Brazil’s newly – on the time – inaugurated capital, Brasilia, incorporates a Niemeyer design, coming to life with some highly effective engineering gymnastics by Brazilian structural engineer Joaquim Cardozo. The hyperboloid traces of the construction had been constructed from 16 concrete columns.
United Nations Headquarters
(Picture credit score: Erik Drost)
The place: New York
When: 1952
One other results of teamwork in Niemeyer’s portfolio is the long-lasting United Nations headquarters in new York. Ten architects and quite a few consultants are credited for its inception, which dates again to January 1947. The ten architects had been ND Bassov (Soviet Union), Gaston Brunfaut (Belgium), Ernest Cormier (Canada), Charles Le Corbusier (France) Su-Ch’eng Liang (China), Sven Markelius (Sweden), Oscar Niemeyer (Brazil), Howard Robertson (United Kingdom), GA Soilleux (Australia), and Julio Vilamajo (Uruguay).
Church of Saint Francis of Assisi, Pampulha
(Picture credit score: Camilla Vitoria Machado)
The place: Belo Horizonte
When: 1943
The mesmerising curves of the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi in Pampulha are a Niemeyer hallmark. Its completion in 1943 was accompanied by an inside mural by Candido Portinari, whereas the positioning additionally options landscaping by Roberto Burle Marx.
Interviewing Oscar Niemeyer at 102, in 2010
Wallpaper*: Your work is at all times instantly related to Brazil. How ‘Brazilian’ do you take into account your buildings to be?
Oscar Niemeyer: Fashionable structure adopts a extra worldwide language, possibly in a extra emphatic method than it has ever occurred in some other interval of structure historical past. Nonetheless, Brazilian tradition could be very highly effective and is current within the creativeness of the architects of this nation. I consider I’ve not strayed too removed from that: in Brasilia, Palácio da Alvorada suggests parts from our previous: the horizontal route of the façade, a big porch, a small church that, on the finish of the composition, reminds us of our outdated farm villas.
W*: We’re Brazil at what appears to be a time of optimism, with the Olympics approaching in 2016; what alternatives do you see, what ought to the nation take advantage of?
Niemeyer: I consider that the entire nation, notably the civil development and tourism industries, ought to take advantage of the proximity of the Olympic Video games.
To have fun the life and legacy of Niemeyer, Wallpaper* produced a 28-page tribute to the architect, showcasing photographer Todd Eberle’s photographs, to go together with our February 2013 challenge
(Picture credit score: Leonardo Finotti)
W*: Which fee do you take into account to be a key challenge in your profession?
Niemeyer: An important challenge for my profession was the buildings I created for Pampulha, commissioned by Juscelino Kubitschek when he was mayor of Belo Horizonte. In these works, notably within the small church and Casa do Baile restaurant, the visible vocabulary of my structure began to outline itself. These massive curved coverings began to descend in straight traces, in a stunning method, thus conferring them with a special character that was justifiable by means of the difficulty of their structural forces. In different cases, they unfolded by means of repeated unpredictable curves created by my architect’s creativeness; it was on paper, once I sketched these works, that I made my protest in opposition to all rationalist, boring, barely creative structure, which had shortly unfold from the USA to Japan.
W*: A few of your tasks, such because the CIEP colleges, usually are not as well-known exterior Brazil as bigger works like Brasilia or Pampulha. What position have barely lower-profile tasks like these performed in your profession?
Niemeyer: The CIEP colleges in Rio de Janeiro are prefab public colleges and, to me, a very powerful character of these colleges just isn’t their structure; moderately, it’s the thought championed by my expensive good friend Darcy Ribeiro that youngsters ought to keep in class all day lengthy, the place they need to be supplied with sports activities amenities and libraries, in addition to some quiet areas, essential for his or her research, which are sometimes missing of their properties. Relating to structure itself, I sought, even with prefabs, to create buildings that may be distinctive to them, in order that they stand out amongst neighbouring buildings, thus making certain they present the significance of the enterprise.
Latin America Memorial, São Paulo
(Picture credit score: Todd Eberle)
W*: Your workplace remains to be working at full pace, and some members of your loved ones are additionally architects; how vital is it for you that your work and agency are supported and continued by household?
Niemeyer: In my workplace, I’m the one architect answerable for creating preliminary tasks. Two great-grandsons of mine work there; I delegate some challenge developments to them. They’re younger architects simply beginning their careers, which I take into account promising.
W*: Are there any Brazilian architects whose work you observe?
Niemeyer: I can not fail to reply this query: a Brazilian architect I observe is my good friend João Filgueiras Lima, aka Lele. His expertise and his competence justify my curiosity. A few of his tasks had been introduced by Nosso Caminho cultural journal, edited by me and my spouse, Vera Niemeyer.
Sambodromo, Rio de Janeiro. A bit of frivolity, its concrete columns and construction stretched taut like a strutting dancer’s limbs, the 1984 Sambodromo sits on the coronary heart of Carnival
(Picture credit score: Todd Eberle)
W*: Do you’ve a each day routine? Do you go to the workplace each day? What position does structure play in your life?
Niemeyer: I do have a type of routine. I get up pretty early and attempt to be on the workplace round 10am. I invariably have scheduled appointments, however I at all times put aside a while to dedicate to my sketches, which is the important base to creating my tasks. I’ve lunch at about 12.30pm. In the course of the afternoon, I dedicate a number of hours to writing articles and dealing on Nosso Caminho. On the finish of the afternoon, mates come to go to. I’m going again house and eat dinner round 7pm. Structure nonetheless occupies appreciable area in my life.
W*: What would you would like for the way forward for Brazilian structure?
Niemeyer: That it at all times responds, in a artistic method, to technical and social progress. That its professionals depend on their artistic instinct with out being afraid of something. Instinct is answerable for unveiling life’s secrets and techniques, for understanding how human beings, these extremely unprotected beings, are in a position to face their drama.
niemeyer.org.br
Supply: Wallpaper
