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Discover›Design & architecture
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Oscar Niemeyer
Architect

Oscar Niemeyer

Famoose for

Designing the sweeping civic buildings of Brasília.

Pampulha · National Congress

Born
15 December 1907
Birthplace
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Died
5 December 2012

More people

Zaha HadidDesigning buildings with sweeping, fluid forms.Coco ChanelBuilding Chanel and popularising a simpler style of women’s dress.Christian DiorIntroducing the New Look that reshaped postwar fashion.

Oscar Niemeyer

Oscar Niemeyer was a Brazilian architect who explored reinforced concrete as a material for expressive curves and monumental public spaces.

Early life

Rio upbringing

Grew up in Rio de Janeiro.

Architectural training

Studied at the national fine-arts school and worked with Lúcio Costa.

Career

  1. 1930s–1940s

    Early modernism

    Developed through collaborative projects and the Pampulha complex.

  2. 1950s–1960s

    Brasília

    Designed major buildings for Brazil’s new capital.

  3. Later decades

    International work

    Worked abroad and continued designing into old age.

Selected buildings

Pampulha

Created a group of modern buildings around a lake.

National Congress

Combined twin towers with contrasting curved chambers.

Niterói museum

Designed a circular museum overlooking the water.

Beyond architecture

Politics

Was a committed communist and spent years abroad during military rule.

Recognition

Shared the 1988 Pritzker Architecture Prize.

Sources & photo creditLife, career and references ↗

Photo: Unknown (Mondadori Publishers). Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.