Graffiti Artist’s Mural Honors Oscar Niemeyer

A true legacy in the field of architecture and beyond, Oscar Niemeyer, who died just this past December at the age of 104, has traveled into the heart of many, one of which is graffiti artist Eduardo Kobra. In honor of the Brazilian architect, Kobra created a 61-yard art piece on the side of a building in Sao Paulo’s financial district. The immense, colorful mural cannot be missed as people pass by and admire the work. Expressing Niemeyer’s love for concrete, curves and Le Corbusier, the mural truly encompasses the architect’s aim to, “…produce an architecture that serves everyone and not just a group of privileged people.” More images can be viewed after the break.
In Niemeyer and Costa Masks, Architects Protest the City of Brasilia

Wearing masks with the faces of Oscar Niemeyer and Lúcio Costa, architects and urban planners swarmed the 50th Annual IAB (Institute of Architects of Brazil) Awards in Rio de Janeiro this week. The architects were protesting a contract the city government of Brasilia struck with a Singaporean firm to create an urban masterplan outlining the next 50 years of Brasilia’s future.
Happy Birthday Oscar

Today would have been Oscar Niemeyer’s 105th birthday. The Pritzker-Prize winning, Brazilian master died last Thursday, December 6th, due to complications from a previous kidney condition.
Take a moment to look back on all our Niemeyer coverage, and remember the man who truly saw architecture as a higher calling. As Neimeyer once said: ”The architect’s role is to fight for a better world, where he can produce an architecture that serves everyone and not just a group of privileged people.”
- Quotes by Oscar Niemeyer
- Tribute to Oscar Niemeyer – by Lord Norman Foster
- Films & Architecture: “Oscar Niemeyer – Life is a Breath of Air”
- The Construction of Brasilia, Photos by Marcel Gautherot
- The works of Oscar Niemeyer, Photographed by Patricia Parinejad
- Oscar Niemeyer’s Complete Works
- Oscar Niemeyer, My Dear Old Friend – by Bossa Nova legend Vinicius de Moraes
- AD Interviews: Oscar Niemeyer
- Infographic: Oscar Niemeyer’s timeline
- Video: Niemeyer Cultural Center
- Niemeyer’s Sambadrome
- Cathedral of Brasilia by Oscar Niemeyer
- “Tranquilo com a vida”, listen to song composed Oscar Niemeyer
Films & Architecture: “Oscar Niemeyer – Life is a Breath of Air”
By now, there’s no architect in the world unaware of Oscar Niemeyer’s passing, or the legacy he left over his 104 years.
In honor of the greatest Brazilian architect of our time, we invite you to enjoy this interesting documentary, which shows how Neimeyer’s work, which changed the paradigm of architecture and went beyond any stereotype, was just as unique as his noble perspective on life.
Oscar Niemeyer, Brazil’s Modernist Icon, Dies

After complications from a previous kidney condition Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer has passed away at Rio de Janeiro’s Samaritano Hospital.
For 104 years, Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares (December 15, 1907 – December 5, 2012) lived a life of “intensity.” Born in Rio de Janeiro, he is best known for helping to design the United Nations Headquarters in New York in 1947 and for designing much of the city of Brasilia. As he described his style: “I consciously ignored the highly praised right angle and the rational architecture of T-squares and triangles in order to wholeheartedly enter the world of curves…” He received the Pritzker Prize in 1988.
Niemeyer was one of those few architects who is recognized and admired by people from all walks of life, especially by those in his native Brazil, where he is considered an icon. Indeed, always motivated to design for his fellow man, Niemeyer was a Brazilian first, and an architect second.
In Niemeyer’s words: “It is important that the architect think not only of architecture but of how architecture can solve the problems of the world. The architect’s role is to fight for a better world, where he can produce an architecture that serves everyone and not just a group of privileged people.”
More about the legacy of the Master of Brazilian Architecture:
- AD Interviews: Oscar Niemeyer
- Infographic: Oscar Niemeyer’s timeline
- Oscar Niemeyer Complete Works
- Tribute to Oscar Niemeyer – by Lord Norman Foster
- Oscar Niemeyer, My Dear Old Friend – by Vinicius de Moraes
- Video: Niemeyer Cultural Center
- Niemeyer’s Sambadrome
- Cathedral of Brasilia by Oscar Niemeyer
- “Tranquilo com a vida”, listen to song composed Oscar Niemeyer
The Construction of Brasilia, Photos by Marcel Gautherot

The construction of Brasilia, the federal capital of Brazil and an icon of Brazilian Modernism, began in 1956. Initially planned by the urbanist Lúcio Costa for 500,000 inhabitants (today it holds 2.5 million), Brasilia gained fame for its remarkable buildings, designed by Oscar Niemeyer. Today, Brasilia is the only 20th century city in the world to have been awarded the status of Historical and Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
In honor of the late Oscar Niemeyer, we’ve gathered some stunning black and white photos taken by Franco-Brazilian photographer Marcel Gautherot during the construction of Niemeyer’s emblematic buildings – including the Palácio do Planalto, Palácio de Alvorada (official residence of the President of Brazil), the Cathedral of Brasilia and the National Congress of Brazil. See them all, after the break…
The work of Oscar Niemeyer, by Patricia Parinejad

Our friend and architectural photographer Patricia Parinejad , shared with us photos of her extensive Niemeyer archives showing the works of the Brazilian master with a particular and personal focus, capturing textures, materials, context, and the people in his architecture.
More after the break.
Tribute to Oscar Niemeyer by Norman Foster

Yesterday, Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer passed away at 104 . We share with you a tribute to the master written by Lord Norman Foster:
I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Oscar Niemeyer. He was an inspiration to me – and to a generation of architects. Few people get to meet their heroes and I am grateful to have had the chance to spend time with him in Rio last year.
Quotes from Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012)
To honor the great Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, who died today, we’ve selected few of his inspiring quotes. Take a moment to read his words, which truly advocate architecture’s higher purpose, and remember the great work he accomplished…
Perhaps his most famous quote, which not only describes his work but also his way of life: “I deliberately disregarded the right angle and rationalist architecture designed with ruler and square to boldly enter the world of curves and straight lines offered by reinforced concrete. […] This deliberate protest arose from the environment in which I lived, with its white beaches, its huge mountains, its old baroque churches, and the beautiful suntanned women.”
More after the break:
The Complete Works of Oscar Niemeyer

With his incredibly prolific portfolio of architecture, sculpture, furniture and design, the late Oscar Niemeyer truly left his mark on Brazil, and the world, over his 104 years. The Brazilian great is proof that quantity needn’t destroy quality.
Check out the extensive list of Niemeyer’s major works, after the break…
Oscar Niemeyer, My Dear Old Friend

Vinicius de Moraes, a Bossa Nova legend (and composer of “The Girl from Ipanema”), met Oscar Niemeyer at the Café Vermelhinho in Rio de Janeiro in the 1940s. They first worked together on de Moraes’ play, “Orpheus of Conceição,” in 1956 (Niemeyer designed the set). In light of Oscar’s death, we bring you this short text, translated from the original Portugese, that Vinicius wrote in the 60s about his dear friend, Oscar.
There are few testimonials I have read that are as exciting as Oscar Niemeyer’s account of his experience in Brasília. 1 For those who know only the architect, the article could pass as a self-serving defense – the justified revenge of a father who, despite his gentle temperment, fought for his child[, his Brasilia - a city] at the mercy of the world. But for those who know the man, the article takes on even more dramatic proportions. For Oscar is not only the opposite of an activist, he’s one of the most anti-self-promotional beings I’ve met in my life.
His modesty isn’t, as it so often is, a shameful form of vanity. It has nothing to do with his down-to-earth expertise, which Oscar has thanks to his professional value and possibilities. It is the modesty of a creator truly integrated with life, who knows that there is no time to lose, that we need to build beauty and happiness into the world, because the individual is fragile and precarious. This poignant sentiment, of the fragility and precariousness of things, plays in Oscar in a higher key (only further highlighting the dignity of this man and artist); it’s never been a self-serving sentiment, but one for mankind in general, for whom he hopes to make a better future.
Oscar Niemeyer Takes A Turn For the Worse

After being hospitalized, recovering, being hospitalized again, and then making a near-full recovery (even working from his hospital bed), famed Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer has now taken a sharp turn for the worst.
Rio de Janeiro’s Samaritano Hospital reports that the 104-year old has suffered kidney failure and is bleeding from his digestive tract; he is lucid, but breathing with the aid of machines.
Story via the Huffington Post
Oscar Niemeyer in Full Recovery

Don’t believe the rumors! Despite Oscar Niemeyer’s age and three recent hospitalizations, the legendary Brazilian architect is in full recovery after being admitted to the Samaritan Hospital in Rio de Janeiro for dehydration and renal complications last week.
Niemeyer’s doctor, Fernando Gjorup responded to the rumors by stating: “Risk of death? In no time was it considered. Of course the hospitalization of a patient of his age is serious, but we did not think about that.”
Even at 104 years old and from a hospital bed, Niemeyer remains active with his work. Vera Lucia Niemeyer, Niemeyer’s wife, stated: “He has several projects and wants to know about the progress of each.”
Story via Publico
Oscar Niemeyer Hospitalized Again
Only a few weeks after Oscar Niemeyer’s hospitalization, the renowned architect has been admitted, once again for dehydration, to the Samaritan’s Hospital of Rio de Janeiro.
According to the Associated Press, the 104-year old is in stable condition following the insertion of a gastric tube. The hospital statement says Niemeyer’s ”lucid and breathing without the aid of machines.” No release date has yet been set.
Story via the Huffington Post
UPDATE: Oscar Niemeyer Hospitalized

Oscar Niemeyer, the renowned Brazilian architect, has been admitted to the Samaritan’s Hospital of Rio de Janeiro.
Niemeyer, who will turn 105 this December, was admitted to the same hospital for about 2 weeks in May after suffering from pneumonia.
According to The Huffington Post, Niemeyer’s doctor, Fernando Gjorup, has said that the architect is “fine” and in stable condition, although “a bit dehydrated. He entered the hospital complaining of nausea, but little else.”
Story via LaInformación.com and The Huffington Post
The Iconic U.N. Headquarters Makeover

Planned for completion in 2014, the iconic United Nations Headquarters (UNHQ) is in the middle of a $1.876 billion refurbishment project, known as the Capital Master Plan, which seeks to update the aging building with a more safe, modern and sustainable work environment. Located on the 18-acre site that was donated by John D. Rockefeller in the 1950s, the Manhattan UNHQ was designed by an international team of eleven architects who worked together in a post-World War II world to create an landmark building through collaboration rather than competition.
Continue reading for more details on the Capital Master Plan.
Video: The City of Samba / Keith Loutit and Jarbas Agnelli
As a follow up to last weeks coverage on the Rio Carnival 2012 kick-off in Oscar Niemeyer’s newly renovated Sambadrome, we would like to share with you this stunning tilt-shift video capturing the essence of Rio de Janeiro and the colorful parade of the Carnival. You will also catch a glimpse of famous mosaic sidewalks of the Copacabana Beach Boardwalk designed by the Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx.
Creators: Keith Loutit and Jarbas Agnelli
Music: Jarbas Agnelli
Special Thanks: Rede Globo, Liesa and Jodele Larcher
*This video was filmed during Carnival of 2011.
Niemeyer Center, by Danica Ocvirk Kus

Danica Ocvirk Kus shared with us her photographic work for Oscar Niemeyer‘s Niemeyer Center in Aviles, Spain. Known her work across Europe, her talent is very eloquently represented through these images of this highly admired and appreciated institution for the city. A full gallery of images can be viewed after the break.
Rio Carnival 2012 kicks off in Oscar Niemeyer’s newly renovated Sambadrome

Brightly colored confetti and sequined samba queens covered the newly renovated Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, marking the beginning of the 2012 world-famous annual Carnival. Designed by Brazil’s legendary architect Oscar Niemeyer, the Sambadrome was originally constructed during the first government of Leonel Brizola (1983 – 1987) in an effort to provide Rio with an urban facility that would serve as the permanent location of the traditional spectacle of the samba school’s parade. Inaugurated in 1984, the Sambadrome is also known as the Catwalk Professor Darcy Ribeiro out of respect to the man who moved the parade to its current site. Continue for more.
AD Interviews: Oscar Niemeyer
The last part of our Brazilian day, commemorating the 104th birthday of the renowned Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer and the launch of ArchDaily Brasil: An exclusive interview with Mr Niemeyer himself.
- How did you start your office?
My office in Copacabana -the only one that I have- was opened and organized to meet, since the early 50s, the ever growing demands.The last 13 years I have been the only architect here “at work”; the initial stage of the projects is done by me, up to the basic project, and then I trust its development by other architecture offices, specially the ones directed by my colleague and friends Jair Valera and my dear granddaughter, Ana Elisa.
- For you, what is Architecture?
In my opinion, architecture is invention. And under this prism is how I do my projects, always searching for beautiful, expressive, different and surprising solutions.
Infographic: Oscar Niemeyer’s timeline

ArchDaily’s Megan Jett did this amazing infographic resuming the highlights of Oscar Niemeyer’s career, who turned 104 years old today.
We continue celebrating this special day, with the launch of ArchDaily Brasil!
You can download it in PDF, so you can print it and hang it in your wall.



















