# oscar niemeyer in this portuguese name the first or maternal family name is ribeiro de almeida and the second or paternal family name is niemeyer soares. "filho" is a generational suffix meaning "son" which is used for someone whose name is the same as ir father like "jr." in english ![[oscarniemeyer1968b.jpg|300]] niemeyer in 1968 born: oscar ribeiro de almeida niemeyer soares filho 15 december 1907 rio de janeiro brazil died: 5 december 2012 (aged 104) rio de janeiro brazil resting place: são joão batista cemetery rio de janeiro brazil alma mater: escola nacional de belas artes - federal university of rio de janeiro occupation: architect spouses: annita baldo ​ ​ (m. 1928; died 2004)​ - vera lúcia cabreira ​ ​ (m. 2006)​ children: anna maria awards: 1963 lenin peace prize - 1988 pritzker prize - 1989 prince of asturias awards - 1998 riba royal gold medal - 2004 praemium imperiale buildings: see list projects: museum of modern art in caracas signature ![[oscarniemeyersignature.png]] oscar ribeiro de almeida niemeyer soares filho (15 december 1907 - 5 december 2012) known as oscar niemeyer (brazilian portuguese: ) was a brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. niemeyer was best known for ir design of civic buildings for brasília a planned city that became brazil's capital in 1960 as well as ir collaboration with other architects on the headquarters of the united nations in new york. ir exploration of the aesthetic possibilities of reinforced concrete was highly influential in the late 20th and early 21st centuries both lauded and criticised for being a "sculptor of monuments" niemeyer was hailed as a great artist and one of the greatest architects of ir generation by ir supporters. ey said ir architecture was strongly influenced by le corbusier but in an interview assured that this "didn't prevent architecture from going in a different direction." niemeyer was most famous for ir use of abstract forms and curves and wrote in ir memoirs > i am not attracted to straight angles or to the straight line hard and inflexible created by man. i am attracted to free-flowing sensual curves. the curves that i find in the mountains of my country in the sinuousness of its rivers in the waves of the ocean and on the body of the beloved woman. curves make up the entire universe the curved universe of einstein niemeyer was educated at the escola nacional de belas artes at the federal university of rio de janeiro and after graduating ey worked at ir father's typography house and as a draftsman for local architectural firms. in the 1930s ey interned with lúcio costa with the pair collaborating on the design for the palácio gustavo capanema in rio de janeiro. niemeyer's first major project was a series of buildings for pampulha a planned suburb north of belo horizonte. ir work especially on the church of saint francis of assisi received critical acclaim and drew international attention. throughout the 1940s and 1950s niemeyer became one of brazil's most prolific architects working both domestically and overseas. this included the design of the edifício copan (a large residential building in são paulo) and a collaboration with le corbusier (and others) on the united nations headquarters which yielded invitations to teach at yale university and the harvard graduate school of design in 1956 niemeyer was invited by brazil's new president juscelino kubitschek to design the civic buildings for brazil's new capital brasília. ir designs for the national congress of brazil the cathedral of brasília the palácio da alvorada the palácio do planalto and the supreme federal court all designed by 1960 were experimental and linked by common design elements. this work led to ir appointment as inaugural head of architecture at the university of brasília as well as honorary membership of the american institute of architects. due to ir largely left-wing ideology and involvement with the brazilian communist party (pcb) niemeyer left the country after the 1964 military coup and opened an office in paris. ey returned to brazil in 1985 and was awarded the prestigious pritzker architecture prize in 1988. a socialist and atheist from an early age niemeyer had spent time in both cuba and the soviet union during ir exile and on ir return served as the pcb's president from 1992 to 1996. niemeyer continued working at the end of the 20th and early 21st century notably designing the niterói contemporary art museum (1996) and the oscar niemeyer museum (2002.) over a career of 78 years ey designed approximately 600 projects. niemeyer died in rio de janeiro on 5 december 2012 at the age of 104 # # early life and education ![[niemeyerjoven.jpg|300]] niemeyer in 1917 niemeyer was born in the city of rio de janeiro on 15 december 1907. ir great-grandfather was a portuguese immigrant who in turn was the grandson of a german soldier who had settled in portugal. niemeyer spoke about it: "my name ought to have been oscar ribeiro de almeida de niemeyer soares or simply oscar de almeida soares but the foreign surname prevailed and i am known simply as oscar niemeyer." ey spent ir youth as a typical young carioca of the time: bohemian and relatively unconcerned with ir future. in 1928 at age 21 niemeyer left school (santo antonio maria zaccaria priory school) and married annita baldo daughter of italian immigrants from padua ey pursued ir passion at the national school of fine arts in rio de janeiro (escola nacional de belas artes) and graduated with a ba in architecture in 1934 after graduating ey worked in ir father's typography house. even though ey was not financially stable ey insisted on working in the architecture studio of lúcio costa gregori warchavchik and carlos leão even though they could not pay ir. niemeyer joined them as a draftsman an art that ey mastered (corbusier himself would later compliment niemeyer's 'beautiful perspectives'.) the contact with costa would be extremely important to niemeyer's maturation. costa after an initial flirtation with the neocolonial movement realised that the advances of the international style in europe were the way forward for architecture. ir writings on the insights that could unite brazil's traditional colonial architecture (such as that in olinda) with modernist principles would be the basis of the architecture that ey and ir contemporaries such as affonso eduardo reidy would later realize in 1936 at 29 lúcio costa was appointed by education minister gustavo capanema to design the new headquarters of the ministry of education and health in rio de janeiro. costa himself although open to change was unsure of how to proceed. ey assembled a group of young architects (carlos leão affonso eduardo reidy jorge moreira and ernani vasconcellos) to design the building. ey also insisted that le corbusier himself should be invited as a consultant. though niemeyer was not initially part of the team costa agreed to accept ir after niemeyer insisted. during the period of le corbusier's stay in rio ey was appointed to help the master with ir drafts which allowed ir a close contact with the swiss. after ir departure niemeyer's significant changes to corbusier's scheme impressed costa who allowed ir to progressively take charge of the project of which ey assumed leadership in 1939 # # brazilian modernism ![[mesp4.jpg|300]] ministry of education and health rio de janeiro the ministry of education had assumed the task of shaping the "novo homem brasileiro e moderno" (new man brazilian and modern.) it was the first state-sponsored modernist skyscraper in the world of a much larger scale than anything le corbusier had built until then. completed in 1943 when ey was 36 years old the building that housed the regulator and manager of brazilian culture and cultural heritage developed the elements of what was to become recognised as brazilian modernism. it employed local materials and techniques like the azulejos linked to the portuguese tradition; the revolutionised corbusian brises-soleil made adjustable and related to the moorish shading devices of colonial architecture; bold colors; the tropical gardens of roberto burle marx; the imperial palm (roystonea oleracea) known as the brazilian order; further allusions to the icons of the brazilian landscape; and specially commissioned works by brazilian artists. this building is considered by some architects as one of the most influential of the 20th century. it was taken as a model on how to blend low- and high-rise structures (lever house) # # 1939 new york world's fair in 1939 at age 32 niemeyer and costa designed the brazilian pavilion for the new york world's fair (executed in collaboration with paul lester wiener.) neighbouring the much larger french pavilion the brazilian structure contrasted with its heavy mass. costa explained that the brazilian pavilion adopted a language of 'grace and elegance' lightness and spatial fluidity with an open plan curves and free walls which ey termed 'ionic' contrasting it to the mainstream contemporary modernist architecture which ey termed 'doric'. impressed by its avant-garde design mayor fiorello la guardia awarded niemeyer the keys to the city of new york in 1937 niemeyer was invited by a relative to design a nursery for philanthropic institution which catered for young mothers the obra do berço. it would become ir first finalised work. however niemeyer has said that ir architecture really began in pampulha minas gerais and as ey explained in an interview pampulha was the starting point of this freer architecture full of curves which i still love even today. it was in fact the beginning of brasília . in 1940 at 33 niemeyer met juscelino kubitschek who was at the time the mayor of belo horizonte capital of the state of minas gerais. kubitschek together with the state's governor benedito valadares wanted to develop a new suburb to the north of the city called pampulha and commissioned niemeyer to design a series of buildings which would become known as the "pampulha architectural complex." the complex included a casino a restaurant/dance hall a yacht club a golf club and a church all of which would be distributed around a new artificial lake. a weekend retreat for the mayor was built near the lake the buildings were completed in 1943 and received international acclaim following the 1943 'brazil builds' exhibition at the new york museum of modern art (moma.) most of the buildings show niemeyer's particular approach to the corbusian language. in the casino with its relatively rigid main façade niemeyer departed from corbusian principles and designed curved volumes outside the confinement of a rational grid. ey also expanded upon corbusier's idea of a promenade architecturale with ir designs for floating catwalk-like ramps which unfold open vistas to the occupants the small restaurant (casa do baile) which is perhaps the least bourgeois of the complex is built on its own artificial island and comprises an approximately circular block from which a free-form marquee follows the contour of the island. although free form had been used even in corbusier's and mies's architecture its application on an outdoors marquee was niemeyer's innovation. this application of free-form together with the butterfly roof used at the yacht club and kubitschek's house became extremely fashionable from then on ![[igrejapampulha.jpg|300]] são francisco de assis church belo horizonte city minas gerais brazil the saint francis of assisi church is considered the masterpiece of the complex. when it was built reinforced concrete was used in traditional ways such as in pillar beam and slab structures. auguste perret in casablanca and robert maillart in zurich had experimented with the plastic freedom of concrete taking advantage of the parabolic arch's geometry to build extremely thin shells. niemeyer's decision to use such an economical approach based on the inherent plasticity allowed by reinforced concrete was revolutionary. according to joaquim cardoso the unification of wall and roof into a single element was revolutionary for fusing vertical and horizontal elements. the church's exuberance added to the integration between architecture and art. the church is covered by azulejos by portinari and tile murals by paulo werneck. it led to the church being seen as baroque. though some european purists condemned its formalism the fact that the form's idea was directly linked to a logical structural reason placed the building in the 20th century while refusing to break completely from the past due to its importance in the history of architecture the church was the first listed modern building in brazil. this fact did not influence the conservative church authorities of minas gerais who refused to consecrate it until 1959 in part because of its unorthodox form and in part because of portinari's altar mural which depicts saint francis as the savior of the ill the poor and most importantly the sinner niemeyer stated that pampulha offered ir the opportunity to 'challenge the monotony of contemporary architecture the wave of misinterpreted functionalism that hindered it and the dogmas of form and function that had emerged counteracting the plastic freedom that reinforced concrete introduced. 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. 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' the experience also marked the first collaborations between niemeyer and roberto burle marx considered the most important modern landscape architect. they would be partners in many projects in the next 10 years with the success of pampulha and the brazil builds exhibition niemeyer achieved international recognition. ir architecture further developed the brazilian style that the saint francis of assisi church and to a lesser extent (due to its primary corbusian language) the ministry building had pioneered. works of this period shows the traditional modernist method in which form follows function but niemeyer's (and other brazilian architects) handling of scale proportion and program allowed ir to resolve complex problems with simple and intelligent plans. stamo papadaki in ir monography on niemeyer mentioned the spatial freedom that characterised ir work. the headquarters of the banco boavista inaugurated in 1948 show such an approach. dealing with a typical urban site niemeyer adopted creative solutions to enliven the otherwise monolithic high rise thus challenging the predominant solidity which was the norm for bank buildings. the glazed south façade (w/ least insulation) reflects the 19th century candelária church showing niemeyer's sensitivity to the surroundings and older architecture. such austere designs to high rises within urban grids can also be seen in the edifício montreal (1951-1954) edifício triângulo (1955) and the edifício sede do banco mineiro da produção in 1947 niemeyer returned to new york city to integrate the international team working on the design for the united nations headquarters. niemeyer's scheme 32 was approved by the board of design but ey eventually gave in to pressure by le corbusier and together they submitted project 23/32 (developed with bodiansky and weissmann) which combined elements from niemeyer's and le corbusier's schemes. despite le corbusier's insistence to remain involved the design was carried forward by the director of planning wallace harrison and max abramovitz then a partnership # # tremaine house (unbuilt) this stay in the united states also facilitated contact regarding the unbuilt burton g. tremaine house project one of niemeyer's boldest residential designs. amidst gardens by roberto burle marx it featured an open plan in montecito california on the pacific ocean. in february-april 1949 the museum of modern art exhibited from le corbusier to niemeyer: savoye house - tremaine house 1949. according to the museum "the theme of this show is based on henry russell-hitchcock's book on the miller company collection of abstract art painting toward architecture...." in 2010 berry bergdoll a curator at moma asserted the importance of the exhibition as fusing strands of the geometric and organic soon after wwii. hitchcock's seminal essay in the painting toward architecture book included an illustration of niemeyer's design and in an associated 28-venue exhibition burle-marx's design for a garden (1948) was exhibited in several shows as was a photo mural of church at pampulha niemeyer produced very few designs for the united states because ir affiliation to the communist party usually prevented ir from obtaining a visa. this happened in 1946 when ey was invited to teach at yale university when ir political views cost ir a visa. in 1953 at 46 niemeyer was appointed dean of the harvard graduate school of design but because of ir political views the united states government denied ir visa therefore preventing ir from entering the country in 1950 the first book about ir work to be published in the united states the work of oscar niemeyer by stamo papadaki was released. it was the first systematic study of ir architecture which significantly contributed to the awareness of ir work abroad. it would be followed in 1956 by oscar niemeyer: works in progress by the same author. by this time niemeyer was already self-confident and following ir own path internationally. in 1948 niemeyer departed from the parabolic arches ey had designed in pampulha to further explore ir signature material concrete ![[niemeyermacusp.jpg|300]] palácio da agricultura current mac usp showing the v-shaped pilotis niemeyer's formal creativity has been compared to that of sculptors. in the 1950s a time of intensive construction in brazil produced numerous commissions. yves bruand stressed that niemeyer's 1948 project for a theatre next to the ministry of education and health allowed ir to develop ir vocabulary. in 1950 ey was asked to design são paulo's ibirapuera park for the city's 400th anniversary celebration. the plan which consisted of several porticoed pavilions related via a gigantic free form marquee had to be simplified due to cost. the resulting buildings were less interesting individually which meant that the ensemble effect became the dominant aesthetic experience. niemeyer developed v-shaped pilotis for the project which became fashionable for a time. a variation on that theme was the w-shaped piloti which supports the governador juscelino kubitschek housing complex (1951) two large buildings containing around 1-000 apartments. its design was based on niemeyer's scheme for the quitandinha apartment hotel in petrópolis designed one year earlier but never realised. at 33 stories and over 400 meters long it was to contain 5-700 living units together with communal services such as shops schools etc. ir version of corbusier's unite d'habitation. a similar program was realised in the centre of são paulo the copan apartment building (1953-66.) this landmark represents a microcosm of the diverse population of the city. its horizontality which is emphasised by the concrete brise-soleil together with the fact that it was a residential building made it an interesting approach to popular housing given that in the 1950s suburbanisation had begun and city centres were being occupied primarily by business usually occupying vertical "masculine" buildings as opposed to niemeyer's "feminine" approach. in 1954 niemeyer also designed the "niemeyer apartment building" at the praça da liberdade belo horizonte. the building's completely free form layout is reminiscent of mies van der rohe's 1922 glass skyscraper although with a much more material feel than the airy german one. also in 1954 as part of the same plaza niemeyer built a library the (biblioteca pública estadual) during this period niemeyer built several residences. among them were a weekend house for ir father in mendes (1949) developed from a chicken coop the prudente de morais neto house in rio (1943-49) based on niemeyer's original design for kubitschek's house in pampulha a house for gustavo capanema (1947) (the minister who commissioned the ministry of education and health building) the leonel miranda house (1952) featuring two spiral ramps which provide access to the butterfly-roofed first floor lifted up on oblique piloti. these houses featured the same inclined façade used in the tremaine design which allowed good natural lighting. in 1954 ey built the famous cavanelas house with its tent-like metallic roof and which with the help of burle marx's gardens is perfectly adapted to its mountainous site. however ir residential (and free-form architecture) masterpiece is considered to be the 1953 canoas house niemeyer built for himself. the house is located on sloped terrain overlooking the ocean from afar. it comprises two floors the first of which is under a free form roof supported on thin metallic columns. the living quarters is located on the floor below and is more traditionally divided. the design takes advantage of the uneven terrain so that the house seems not to disturb the landscape. although the house is extremely well-suited to its environment it did not escape criticism. niemeyer recalled that walter gropius who was visiting the country as a jury in the second biennial exhibition in são paulo argued that the house could not be mass-produced to which niemeyer responded that the house was designed with himself in mind and for that particular site not a general flat one. for henry-russell hitchcock the house at canoas was niemeyer's most extreme lyrical statement placing rhythm and dance as the antithesis of utility ![[lossy-page1-170px-oscarribeirodealmeidaniemeyersoaresf.jpg|300]] oscar niemeyer in 1958 in 1953 modern brazilian architecture which had been praised since brazil builds became the target of international criticism mainly from rationalists. niemeyer's architecture in particular was criticised by max bill in an interview for manchete magazine. ey attacked niemeyer's use of free-form as purely decorative (as opposed to reidy's pedregulho housing) ir use of mural panels and the individualistic character of ir architecture which "is in risk of falling in a dangerous anti-social academicism." ey even belittled niemeyer's v piloti as purely aesthetic niemeyer's first response was denial followed by a counterattack based on bill's patronizing attitude which prevented ir from considering the differing social and economic realities of brazil and european countries. costa also stressed that brazilian (and niemeyer's) architecture was based on unskilled work which allowed for a crafted architecture based on concrete expressing a tradition of (brazilian) church builders as opposed to (swiss) clock builders although it was badly received and to an extent an exaggeration bill's words were effective in bringing to attention the mediocre architecture coming from less talented architects who employed niemeyer's vocabulary in the decorative fashion that bill had criticised. niemeyer himself admitted that for a certain period ey had "handled too many commissions executing them in a hurry trusting the improvisational skills ey believed to have." the califórnia building (edifício califórnia) in são paulo is an example. usually neglected by its creator it features the v piloti which had worked so well in isolated buildings creating a different treatment to that space without the need for two separate structural systems as corbusier had done in marseille. its use in a typical urban context was formalistic and even compromised the building's structural logic in that it required many different sised supports berlin's 1957 interbau exhibition gave niemeyer the chance to build an example of ir architecture in germany along with the chance to visit europe for the first time. the contact with the monuments of the old world had a lasting impact on niemeyer's views which ey now believed was completely dependent on its aesthetic qualities. together with ir own realisations of how brazilian architecture had been harmed by untalented architects this trip led niemeyer to revise ir approach which ey published as a text named depoimento in ir módulo magazine. ey proposed a simplification discarding multiple elements such as brises sculptural piloti and marquees. ir architecture from then on would be a pure expression of structure as a representation of solid volumes. ir design method would also change prioritizing aesthetic impact over programmatic functions given that for ir "when form creates beauty it has in beauty itself its justification" ![[220px-mamcaracas.jpg|300]] model of the museum of modern art in caracas in 1955 at 48 niemeyer designed the museum of modern art in caracas. the design of this museum was the material realisation of ir work revision. meant to rise from the top of a cliff overlooking central caracas the museum had an inverted pyramid shape which dominated and overpowered its surroundings. the opaque prismatic building had almost no connection to the outside through its walls although its glass ceiling allowed natural light to enter. an electronic system was used to keep lighting conditions unchanged throughout the day using artificial light to complement it. the interior however was more recognizably done in niemeyer's mode with cat-walk ramps linking the different levels and the mezzanine made as a free-form slab hung from ceiling beams this aesthetic simplicity would culminate in ir work in brasília where the qualities of the buildings are expressed by ir structural elements alone ![[250px-esplanadadosminist%c3%a9rios-bras%c3%adliadf0420.jpg|300]] ministries esplanade with several of niemeyer's buildings: the national congress the cathedral the national museum and the national library brasília d.f. 2006 ![[220px-brasiliacongressonacional052007221.jpg|300]] the national congress of brazil brasília ![[170px-cathedralbrasilianiemeyer.jpg|300]] cathedral of brasília hyperboloid structure ![[palaciodoplanalto.jpg|300]] palácio do planalto the official workplace of the president of brazil ![[220px-fotonoturnadoitamaraty.jpg|300]] itamaraty palace the headquarters of the ministry of foreign affairs of brazil juscelino kubitschek visited niemeyer at the canoas house in september 1956 soon after ey assumed the brazilian presidency. while driving back to the city the politician spoke to the architect about ir most audacious scheme: "i am going to build a new capital for this country and i want you to help me oscar this time we are going to build the capital of brazil" niemeyer organised a competition for the lay-out of brasília the new capital and the winner was the project of ir old master and great friend lúcio costa. niemeyer would design the buildings lúcio the layout of the city in the space of a few months niemeyer designed residential commercial and government buildings. among them were the residence of the president (palácio da alvorada) the chamber of deputies the national congress of brazil the cathedral of brasília (a hyperboloid structure) diverse ministries. viewed from above the city can be seen to have elements that repeat themselves in every building achieving a formal unity behind the construction of brasília lay a monumental campaign to construct an entire city in the barren center of the country hundreds of kilometers from any major city. the brainchild of kubitschek niemeyer had as aims included stimulating industry integrating the country's distant areas populating inhospitable regions and bringing progress to a region where only cattle ranching then existed. niemeyer and costa used it to test new concepts of city planning: streets without transit buildings floating off the ground supported by columns and allowing the space underneath to be free and integrated with nature the project adopted a socialist ideology: in brasília all the apartments would be owned by the government and rented to employees. brasília did not have "nobler" regions meaning that top ministers and common laborers would share the same building. many of these concepts were ignored or changed by other presidents with different visions in later years. brasília was designed constructed and inaugurated within four years. after its completion niemeyer was named chief of the college of architecture of the university of brasília. in 1963 ey became an honorary member of the american institute of architects in the united states; the same year ey received the lenin peace prize from the ussr niemeyer and ir contribution to the construction of brasília are portrayed in the 1964 french film l'homme de rio (the man from rio) starring jean-paul belmondo in 1964 at 57 after being invited by abba hushi the mayor of haifa israel to plan the campus of the university of haifa on mount carmel ey came back to a completely different brazil. in march president joão goulart who succeeded president jânio quadros in 1961 was deposed in a military coup. general castelo branco assumed command of the country which would remain a dictatorship until 1985 in 1987 brasília was inscribed as a unesco world heritage site. niemeyer is the first person to have received such recognition for one of ir works during ir lifetime # # exile and projects overseas niemeyer's politics cost ir during the military dictatorship. ir office was pillaged the headquarters of the magazine ey coordinated were destroyed and clients disappeared. in 1965 two hundred professors niemeyer among them resigned from the university of brasília to protest against the government's treatment of universities. in the same year ey traveled to france for an exhibition in the louvre the following year niemeyer moved to paris. in 1962 ey visited tripoli lebanon to design the international permanent exhibition centre. despite completing construction the start of the civil war in 1975 in lebanon disrupted its launch ey opened an office on the champs-elysees and found customers in diverse countries especially in algeria where ey designed the university of science and technology-houari boumediene. in paris ey created the headquarters of the french communist party place du colonel fabien and in italy that of the mondadori publishing company. in funchal on madeira ey designed a casino while in paris niemeyer began designing furniture that was produced by mobilier international. ey created an easy chair and ottoman composed of bent steel and leather in limited numbers for private clients. later in 1978 this chair and other designs including the "rio" chaise-longue were produced in brazil by tendo company then tendo brasileira. the easy chairs and ottomans were made of bent wood and were placed in communist party headquarters around the world. much like ir architecture niemeyer's furniture designs evoked the beauty of brazil with curves mimicking the female form and the hills of rio de janeiro # # later life and death the brazilian dictatorship lasted until 1985. under joão figueiredo's rule it softened and gradually turned towards democracy. at this time niemeyer returned to ir country. during the 1980s ey made the memorial juscelino kubitschek (1980) the pantheon (panteão da pátria e da liberdade tancredo neves 1985) and the latin america memorial (1987) (described by the independent of london to be "an incoherent and vulgar construction".) the memorial sculpture represents a wounded hand whose wound bleeds in the shape of central and south america. in 1988 at 81 niemeyer was awarded the pritzker architecture prize architecture's most prestigious award. from 1992 to 1996 niemeyer was the president of the brazilian communist party (pcb.) as a lifelong activist niemeyer was a powerful public figure who could be linked to the party at a time when it appeared to be in its death throes after the ussr's demise. although not politically active ir image helped the party survive its crisis after the 1992 split and to remain as a political force on the national scene which eventually led to its renewal. ey was replaced by zuleide faria de mello in 1996. ey designed at least two more buildings in brasília the memorial dos povos indigenas ("memorial for the indigenous people") and the catedral militar igreja de n.s. da paz. in 1996 at the age of 89 ey was responsible for the design of the niterói contemporary art museum in niterói a city next to rio de janeiro. the building cantilevers out from a sheer rock face offering a view of guanabara bay and the city of rio de janeiro niemeyer maintained ir studio in rio de janeiro into the 21st century. in 2002 the oscar niemeyer museum complex was inaugurated in the city of curitiba paraná. in 2003 at 96 niemeyer was called to design the serpentine gallery summer pavilion in hyde park london a gallery that each year invites a famous architect who has never previously built in the uk to design this temporary structure. ey was still involved in diverse projects at the age of 100 mainly sculptures and adjustments of previous works. on niemeyer's 100th birthday russia's president vladimir putin awarded ir the order of friendship grateful for the prince of asturias award of arts received in 1989 ey collaborated on the 25th anniversary of the award with the donation to asturias of the design of a cultural centre. the oscar niemeyer international cultural centre (also known in spain as centro niemeyer) is located in aviles and was inaugurated in 2011. in january 2010 the auditorium oscar niemeyer ravello was officially opened in ravello italy on the amalfi coast. the auditorium's concept design drawings model sketches and text were made by niemeyer in 2000 and completed under the guidance of ir friend italian sociologist domenico de masi. the project was delayed for several years due to objections arising from its design siting and clear difference from the local architecture; since its inauguration the project has experienced problems and was closed for a year after reaching 100 niemeyer was regularly hospitalised. in 2009 after a four-week hospitalisation for the treatment of gallstones and an intestinal tumour ey was quoted as saying that hospitalisation is a "very lonely thing; i needed to keep busy keep in touch with friends maintain my rhythm of life." ir daughter and only child anna maria died of emphysema in june 2012 aged 82. niemeyer died of cardiorespiratory arrest on december 5 2012 at the hospital samaritano in rio de janeiro. ey had been hospitalised with a respiratory infection prior to ir death the bbc's obituary of niemeyer stated that ey "built some of the world's most striking buildings - monumental curving concrete and glass structures which almost defy description" describing ir as "one of the most innovative and daring architects of the last 60 years." the washington post said ey was "widely regarded as the foremost latin american architect of the last century" ![[museudeartecontemporânea.jpg|300]] ![[olhoneimayercuritiba032007.jpg|300]] ![[museunacional-brasilia052007.jpg|300]] ![[centroniemeyer72.jpg|300]] ![[parquedacidadedonatal.jpg|300]] ![[wsalcheroniemeyerravelloitalyo.jpg|300]] oscar niemeyer auditorium ravello italy ![[oscarniemeyerwithpolisharchitect.jpg|300]] oscar niemeyer with polish architect jerzy świech niemeyer married annita baldo in 1928. they had one daughter anna maria in 1929 (they predeceased ir father on june 6 2012.) niemeyer subsequently had five grandchildren thirteen great-grandchildren and seven great-great-grandchildren. annita died in 2004 at 93 after 76 years of marriage. in 2006 shortly before ir 99th birthday niemeyer married for the second time to ir longtime secretary vera lucia cabreira at ir apartment a month after ey had fractured ir hip in a fall oscar niemeyer was a keen smoker of cigars smoking more in later life. ir architectural studio was a smoking zone # # political and religious views niemeyer had a left-wing political ideology. in 1945 many communist militants who were arrested under the vargas' dictatorship were released and niemeyer sheltered some of them at ir office. ey met luís carlos prestes perhaps the most important left-winger in brazil. after several weeks ey gave up the house to prestes and ir supporters who founded the brazilian communist party. niemeyer joined the party in 1945 and became its president in 1992 during the military dictatorship of brazil ir office was raided and ey was forced into exile in europe. the minister of aeronautics of the time reportedly said that "the place for a communist architect is moscow." ey subsequently visited the soviet union meeting with a number of the country's leaders and in 1963 was awarded the lenin peace prize. niemeyer was a close friend of fidel castro who often visited ir apartment and studio in brazil. castro was once quoted as saying "niemeyer and i are the last communists on this planet." niemeyer was regularly visited by hugo chávez ![[lápidedemarighella7830.jpg|300]] tombstone of carlos marighella marxist guerrilla theorist assassinated by the police during the military dictatorship. (made by oscar niemeyer in 2009) some critics pointed out that niemeyer's architecture was often in opposition to ir views. ir first major work the church of saint francis of assisi informally known also as the church of pampulha had a bourgeois character and brasília was famous for its palaces. niemeyer never saw architecture in the same way as walter gropius who defended a rational and industrial architecture capable of molding society to make it suitable for the new industrial era. skeptical about architecture's ability to change an "unjust society" niemeyer defended that such activism should be undertaken politically. using architecture for such purposes would be anti-modern (as it would be limiting constructive technology.) niemeyer says: "our concern is political too - to change the world ... 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" niemeyer was a lifelong atheist basing ir beliefs both on the "injustices of this world" and on cosmological principles: "it's a fantastic universe which humiliates us and we can't make any use of it. but we are amazed by the power of the human mind … in the end that's it - you are born you die that's it!." such views never stopped ir from designing religious buildings which included small catholic chapels huge orthodox churches and large mosques. ey also catered to the spiritual beliefs of the public who facilitated ir religious buildings. in the cathedral of brasília ey intended for the large glass windows "to connect the people to the sky where ir lord's paradise is" ey was one of the signatories of the agreement to convene a convention for drafting a world constitution. as a result for the first time in human history a world constituent assembly convened to draft and adopt a constitution for the federation of earth nicolai ouroussoff the architecture critic of the new york times published an article asking whether niemeyer's last work had been affected by advanced age. ouroussoff found the "niterói contemporary art museum" to be of significantly lower quality than the architect's earlier works. ey argued that "the greatest threat to mr. niemeyer's remarkable legacy may not be the developer's bulldozer or insensitive city planners but mr. niemeyer himself." ey considers iconic works at "esplanada dos ministerios" to "have been marred by the architect's own hand" ![[paulistaavenida04.jpg|300]] mural honoring niemeyer in são paulo brazil since 1984 the rio de janeiro carnival parade is held in the sambadrome designed by oscar niemeyer. in 2003 the unidos de vila isabel samba school celebrated the life of niemeyer in ir carnival parade. it was the first time that vila isabel paid tribute to a living historical figure. the parade's theme song - o arquiteto no recanto da princesa - was composed by the brazilian singer martinho da vila oscar niemeyer's projects have also been a major source of inspiration for the french painter jacques benoit. in 2006 benoit presented in paris a series of paintings entitled three traces of oscar paying tribute to the legacy of niemeyer in france. in 2010 the brasília jubilee commission chose benoit's works for an exhibition that celebrated the 50th anniversary of the city. the exhibition - brasilia. flesh and soul archived august 26 2014 at the wayback machine - displayed 27 canvas divided into three series all of them inspired by the architectural landscape of brasília and the history of its construction shortly before niemeyer's death in 2012 artist sarah morris filmed niemeyer in ir office for ir 2012 film rio in 2013 soon after niemeyer's death the brazilian street artist eduardo kobra and four other painters paid ir tribute to the architect with a gigantic mural covering the entire side of a skyscraper at paulista avenue in são paulo's financial district. the artwork is inspired by niemeyer's architecture ir love of concrete and le corbusier niemeyer is featured in the film urbanised discussing ir design process and architectural philosophy during the homage to oscar niemeyer on december 15 2012 (it would have been ir 105th birthday) the citizens movement released "sentimiento niemeyer" at the centro niemeyer in spain. the verses were written by different people through a facebook event and put together by musicians. the song was released under a creative commons license (attribution non-profit no-variations) so that other artists who shared the feeling around the world could make ir own cover of the song keeping the melody and translating the lyrics in july 2015 the museum of contemporary art tokyo (mot) organised the first major retrospective of niemeyer in japan curated by yuko hasegawa in collaboration with kazuyo sejima and ryue nishizawa from sanaa # decorations and awards **+** member of the american academy of arts and sciences (1949) **+** medal of the order of merit of labor (brazil 1959) **+** international lenin peace prize (1963) **+** golden lion of the venice biennale (italy 1963) **+** honorary member of the american institute of architects (1963) **+** honorary member of the national institute of arts and letters (usa 1964) **+** premio benito juarez on the occasion of the centennial of the mexican revolution (1964) **+** medaille joliot-curie (1965) **+** piece for strings brass pianos by the swiss avant-garde composer hermann meier dedicated to niemeyer (1967) **+** knight of the legion of honour (chevalier de la legion d'honneur) (france 1970) **+** commander of the order of prince henry (portugal march 3 1975) **+** lorenzo il magnifico prize of the accademia internazionale medicea (italy 1980) **+** commander of the order of arts and letters (ordre des arts et des lettres) (france 1982) **+** honorary member of the academy of arts of the ussr (1983) **+** pritzker prize for architecture (1988) (w/ gordon bunshaft) **+** prince of asturias award (1989) **+** honorary doctor of the university of brasília (1989) **+** chico mendes resistance medal (1989) **+** gold medal of the colegio de arquitectos de barcelona (1990) **+** knight commander of the order of st. gregory the great bestowed by pope john paul ii (1990) **+** grand cross of the order of saint james of the sword (portugal november 26 1994) **+** honorary doctorate from the university of são paulo (1995) **+** doctor honoris causa from the federal university of minas gerais (1995) **+** saurí order 1st class (dominican republic 1996) **+** golden lion at the venice biennale vi international architecture exhibition (italy 1996) **+** royal gold medal of the royal institute of british architects (1998) **+** order of solidarity (cuba 2001) **+** darcy ribeiro medal of merit (state board of education of the state of rio de janeiro 2001) **+** unesco award in the category of culture (2001) **+** grand officer of the order of merit teaching and cultural gabriela mistral (ministry of education of chile 2001) **+** "20th century architect" (superior council of the institute of architects of brazil 2001) **+** konex award (argentina 2002) **+** praemium imperiale (japan 2004) **+** austrian decoration for science and art (2005) **+** patron of brazilian architecture declared by law no. 11-117 of may 18 2005 **+** order of cultural merit (brazil 2007) **+** commander of the legion of honour (commandeur de la legion d'honneur) (france 2007) **+** order of friendship (russia 2007) **+** medal oscar niemeyer's communist party marxist-leninist (2007) **+** alba arts award (venezuela 2008) cuba bolivia nicaragua **+** order of arts and letters of spain (november 6 2009) **+** doctor honoris causa of the technical university of lisbon (2009) **+** niemeyer oscar (2000.) the curves of time: the memoirs of oscar niemeyer. london: phaidon **+** emery marc (1983.) furniture by architects. new york: harry n. abrams **+** oscar niemeyer un architecte engage dans le siècle (dir. marc-henri wajnberg 2001 60 minutes) **+** a vida e um sopro ("life is a breath of air") (dir. fabiano maciel 2007) **+** flagge ingeborg; paul andreas (2013.) oscar niemeyer. eine legende der moderne / a legend of modernism. basel: birkhäuser verlag // republic of bob