Although little known, the Aeronautics Technical Center (CTA, current Department of Aerospace Science and Technology - DCTA) in São José dos Campos can be considered one of the largest and most relevant works by architect Oscar Niemeyer before Brasilia. It is his first project executed in São Paulo.
Conceived by Lieutenant Colonel Casimiro Montenegro Filho, the project was born out of an architecture competition held in 1947 by the Organizing Committee of the Technical Aeronautics Center (COCTA) after defining its location. It was based on reports produced with the advice of Professor Richard Smith, principal of the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
