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Oscar Niemeyer
Sculptor of spaces
An emblematic figure if ever there was one, Oscar Niemeyer, who just celebrated his 100th birthday in December, left his mark on the history of 20th Century architecture with his recognisable style. Apart from certain buildings with specific dispositions, the Brazilian architect’s language presents, in each project, one or more recurrent types of a restricted morphology defined as much by the choice of volumes and by their mode of association. All that is needed to prove this permanent trait is to observe one of his most famous projects, the Niteroi Museum of Contemporary Art, near Rio. Conceived as a corolla pitched on a rocky steep slope at the edge of the ocean, it creates a striking contrast between its entrenchment and the fulfilling, sensual volume. The immense mega-structure (more than 300 metres long) of the Supreme Court (Brasilia, 1991-95) juxtaposes the oblique prisms of the courtrooms with the parallelepipeds on piles that house the offices. Reconciling a monumental scale with the need for accessibility by the public, the structures on piles are omnipresent in Brasilia, and as such follow a town plan developed by Lucio Costa. For its part, Niemeyer’s style stems in large measure from the drawing, from rhythm, from dimensions with an averred propensity for very tenuous contacts with the ground or, on the contrary, with the boldest spans. The bold innovations of numerous projects entail daring novel engineering in the use of reinforced concrete, to build the specific, intuitive structures designed by the architect. His architecture is made of dreams and fantasy, generous curves and large free spaces. Oscar Niemeyer is not after technological expressionism, but an original plastic expression. His architecture does not seek meaning in the details of its practical content, but asserts itself from the outset as a morphological and spatial system likely to stimulate a major emotional relation. The reparatory drawings for the various projects reveal a terse style, marked by an elegant sensuality nurtured by the architect’s fascination for the female nude. With more than 600 projects in Brazil, France, Italy and the United States, Oscar Niemeyer became world famous for the main buildings of Brasilia (seat of various ministries, the national theatre, the airport, and especially the Cathedral – image and symbol of the new capital), and still works every day after a career spanning 73 years… His work continues to develop with an unrelenting creative force. Seven projects are under study and another ten are under construction: an auditorium in Ravello, Italy, an AquaPark in Potsdam, Germany, or the Brazilian embassy in Cuba, from drawings by the master. Each of them bears witness, today as in the past, of a singular alliance, of an unwavering commitment to the principles and vitality in giving poetic figures shape.
Many works have been devoted to the great master of Brazilian architecture, including:
Mon expérience à Brasilia, Oscar Niemeyer (Editions Forces Vives, 1963)
Oscar Niemeyer, une esthétique de la fluidité, Gilbert Luigi (Editions Parenthèses 1987)
Niemeyer, poète d'architecture, Jean Petit (Sidia Edizioni d'Arte, 1995)
Meu Sosia e eu, Oscar Niemeyer (Editoria Revan, 1992)
As courvas do tempo, memórias, Oscar Niemeyer (Editoria Revan, 1998)
Les courbes du temps, mémoires, Oscar Niemeyer (Editions Gallimard, 1999)
Oscar Niemeyer, Matthieu Salvaing (Editions Assouline, 2002) The Curves of Time, Oscar Niemeyer (Phaidon Press 2007)
Oscar Niemeyer: Permanence et invention, Nicoletta Trasi (Editions du Moniteur 2007)
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