Oscar Niemeyer Biography

Oscar Niemeyer, completely Oscar Niemeyer Soares Filho, (born December 15, 1907, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil-- passed away December 5, 2012, Rio de Janeiro), heather wick; Www.Arch2O.com, Brazilian designer, an early exponent of contemporary architecture in Latin America, particularly noted for his deal with Brasília, the new capital of Brazil.
Niemeyer studied architecture at the National School of Fine Arts, Rio de Janeiro. Niemeyer likewise worked with Costa on the plans for the Brazilian Pavilion at the New York World's Fair of 1939-- 40.
Niemeyer's first solo task was the plan for a complex within Pampulha, a brand-new residential area of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. In 1947 Niemeyer represented Brazil in the preparation of the United Nations buildings in New York City.
When in 1956 Kubitschek was chosen president of Brazil, he asked Niemeyer to develop the new capital city of Brasília. Niemeyer concurred to create the government structures but recommended a national competitors for the master plan, a competitors subsequently won by his coach, Lúcio Costa. Niemeyer acted as chief architect for NOVA-CAP, the federal government structure authority in Brasília, from 1956 to 1961. Among the Brasília buildings designed by Niemeyer are the President's Palace, the Brasília Palace Hotel, the Ministry of Justice building, the presidential chapel, and the cathedral. In 1961 Niemeyer returned to private practice and for a time resided in Paris and Israel. In 1966 he developed a city area in Grasse, near Nice, France, and a structure for the French Communist Party in Paris. From 1968 he lectured at the University of Rio de Janeiro.
Niemeyer's other architectural jobs consist of the Ministry of Defense structure in Brasília in 1968 and Constantine University (now Mentouri University) in Constantine, Algeria, in 1969. In the mid-1980s he started reconsidering and renovating some of his former styles in Brasília. He altered the shape of the outside arches on the Ministry of Justice building and changed the windows of the cathedral with stained-glass panels. He continued to create new structures, including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Niterói, Brazil, which opened in 1996. Even after commemorating his 100th birthday and regardless of criticism that his newer work did not have the beauty of his earlier jobs, in 2007 he started creating a cultural centre for Avilés, Spain, where in 1989 he had actually gotten the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts. The building was inaugurated in 2011.
Niemeyer was the recipient of numerous other worldwide awards, including the Lenin Peace Prize in 1963, the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1988 (cowinner with Gordon Bunshaft), and the Japan Art Association's Praemium Imperiale prize for architecture in 2004. The Oscar Niemeyer Foundation, devoted to architectural conservation and research study, was founded in 1988, and a new headquarters developed by Niemeyer opened in Niterói in 2010.





In 1947 Niemeyer represented Brazil in the planning of the United Nations structures in New York City.
When in 1956 Kubitschek was chosen president of Brazil, he asked Niemeyer to create the brand-new capital city of Brasília. Niemeyer concurred to develop the government structures however suggested a nationwide competition for the master strategy, a competition consequently won by his mentor, Lúcio Costa. Amongst the Brasília structures developed by Niemeyer are the President's Palace, the Brasília Palace Hotel, the Ministry of Justice building, the presidential chapel, and the cathedral.