Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho, known as Oscar Niemeyer, was a Brazilian architect who is considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was best known for his design of civic buildings for Brasília, a planned city that became Brazil's capital in 1960, as well as his collaboration with other architects on the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York City. His exploration of the aesthetic possibilities of reinforced concrete...
NationalityBrazilian
ProfessionArchitect
Date of Birth15 December 1907
CityRio de Janeiro, Brazil
CountryBrazil
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.
I was attracted by the curve — the liberated, sensual curve suggested by the possibilities of new technology yet so often recalled in venerable old baroque churches.
When you have a large space to conquer, the curve is the natural solution.
Curves are the essence of my work because they are the essence of Brazil, pure and simple.
What attracts me are free and sensual curves. The curves we find in mountains, in the waves of the sea, in the body of the woman we love.
I enter my studio at 9 a.m. I have lunch here, I return right away to my work and I go out to dinner at 8 p.m. My daily tasks vary very much.
Architecture is my work, and I've spent my whole life at a drawing board, but life is more important than architecture. What matters is to improve human beings.
I think of myself as no more than 60. What I could do at 60, I can still do now.
I search for surprise in my architecture. A work of art should cause the emotion of newness.
In architecture it isn't enough to just have the right building that works well. It can also be beautiful. It can also be different. It can create surprise. And surprise is the main thing in a work of art. [] I like and respect Brasília very much. It is a simple city, a rational one. I always defend the urban design of Brasília
A church is something very beautiful. It is nice when people feel happy in it. But I am not a religious man. Look at us, and then at the infinity of space. We are rather small insignificant creatures, wouldn’t you say?
Architecture does not change anything. It's always on the side of the wealthy. The important thing is to believe that it can make life better.
For me beauty is valued more than anything - the beauty that is manifest in a curved line or in an act of creativity.
I am a Brazilian before I am an architect. I cannot separate the two.