quinta-feira, 12 de agosto de 2010

Oscar Niemeyer


Oscar Niemeyer is one of the most influential names in the international modern architecture; a pioneer in the exploration of the artistic possibilities of building with reinforced concrete.

“I like to experiment the possibilities of the materials, to create and be audacious.
Architecture is invention. It must both astonish and help improve people’s lives. All my life, I have felt like someone who is climbing up towards my dream.”

With over 100 years old, he has a rigid routine: gets up early and goes to bed late, getting the most out of each day, including some uncommon pleasures at his age. Niemeyer still smokes, enjoys a good glass of wine and indulges in long good-humored conversations with friends on a wide range of topics.

Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1907, Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida de Niemeyer Soares Filho graduated in architecture in 1934 from the National School of Fine Arts. By 1936, he had joined the planning commission for the Ministry of Education and Health headquarters building in Rio de Janeiro, under the supervision of Swiss architect Le Corbusier. After that, he never stopped designing buildings, plazas and other spaces for every imaginable purpose in Brazil and abroad. In the late 1950s Niemeyer designed Brasilia, the Brazilian capital.

Around the world, his hallmark is reinforced-concrete buildings with sinuous shapes and large open spaces and public areas. Among many others, they include the UN building in New York City, Mentouri Constantine University and the Algiers mosque in Algeria; the head office of the Mondatori publishing company in Milan, Italy; and the Museum of Modern Art in Caracas, Venezuela. Recently, the number of commissions has increased, and hundreds of cultural centers designed by Niemeyer are being built in Chile, Argentina, Spain and Italy.

What does he think about his long and rich life? “A hundred years is nothing The important thing is living every minute. When I look back, I see that I have made no concessions and followed a good path.”

Photo: Luciana De Francesco

Visit www.niemeyer.org.br

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