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
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
Architecture was my way of expressing my ideals: to be simple, to create a world equal to everyone, to look at people with optimism, that everyone has a gift. I don’t want anything but general happiness. Why is that bad?
The date is not important. The age is not important. Time is not important. Life is very fleeting. It’s important to be gentle and optimistic. We look behind and think what we’ve done in this life has been good. It was simple; it was modest. Everyone creates their own story and moves on. That’s it. I don’t feel particularly important. What we create is not important. We’re very insignificant.
Curves are the essence of my work because they are the essence of Brazil, pure and simple.
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.
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.
I like talking to priests, to Catholics. Everyone has their beliefs.
There is no reason to design buildings that are more basic and rectilinear, because with concrete you can cover almost any space.