Oscar Niemeyer

Presentation by : I.V. Anusha

BIOGRAPHY Oscar Niemeyer was a Brazilian architect who is considered

to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture, particularly noted for his work on Braslia, the new capital of Brazil.

Niemeyer studied architecture at the National School of Fine Arts, Rio de Janeiro. In 1934, he entered the office of Lucio Costa, a leader of the Modernist movement in Brazilian architecture. He worked with Costa from 1937 to 1943 on the design for the Ministry of Education and Health building, considered by many to be Brazils first masterpiece of modern architecture. The design reveals the influence of architect Le Corbusier, who was a consultant on the construction. Niemeyer also worked with Costa on the plans for the Brazilian Pavilion at the New York Worlds Fair of 193940.

BIOGRAPHY
Niemeyer received the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1988, the highest award in the profession, for his Cathedral of Brasilia. His design philosophy is - architecture followed the old examplesbeauty prevailing over the limitations of the constructive logic. His designs were noted for their free-flowing forms.

I D E O LO G I E S A N D P H I LO S O P H I E S
Niemeyer is most famous for his use of abstract forms and curves that specifically characterize every one of his works. He didnt stick to traditional straight lines. He is not attracted to straight angles or lines but rather he is captured by FREE FLOWING, SENSUAL CURVES. He designed and built curved architecture through his revolutionary usage of concrete.

BIOGRAPHY
His designs were daring buildings were characterized by being SPACIOUS and EXPOSED, mixing volumes and empty space to create unconventional patterns and often propped up by Piloti. Niemeyer was able to connect the Baroque style with modern architecture leading to a new form of architecture, which had never been built in Brazil before. He believed that Architecture, technology and nature be integrated by with natural elements.

WO R KS
Niemeyers first solo project was the plan for a complex within Pampulha, a new suburb of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. the scheme included a church, casino, dance hall, restaurant, yacht club, golf club, and the mayors weekend retreat, all situated around an artificial lake. The complexs buildings are notable for their free-flowing forms. In 1947 Niemeyer represented Brazil in the planning of the United Nations buildings in New York City.

WO R KS
Among the Brasilia buildings designed by Niemeyer are the Presidents Palace, the Brasilia Palace Hotel, the Ministry of Justice building, the presidential chapel, and the cathedral. In 1961 Niemeyer returned to private practice and for a time lived in Paris and Israel. In 1966 he designed an urban area in Grasse, near Nice, France, and a building for the French Communist Party in Paris.

WO R KS
From 1968 he lectured at the University of Rio de Janeiro. Niemeyers other architectural projects include the Ministry of Defense building in Braslia in 1968 and Constantine University (now Mentouri University) in Constantine, Algeria, in 1969. In the mid-1980s he began rethinking and renovating some of his former designs in Braslia. He changed the shape of the exterior arches on the Ministry of Justice building and replaced the windows of the cathedral with stained-glass panels. He continued to design new buildings, including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Niteroi, Brazil, which opened in 1996.

A LV O R A DA PA L AC E

The Alvorada Palace, or Palace of Dawn, is the official residence of the President of Brazil. The palace was designed by Oscar Niemeyer and inaugurated on June 30, 1958.

One of the first structures built in the Republic's new capital city, the "Alvorada" lies on a peninsula at the margins of Lake Parano. The principles of simplicity and modernity, that in the past characterized the great works of architecture, oriented Niemeyer's project. The viewer has an impression of looking at a glass box, softly landed on the ground with the support of thin external columns.

A LV O R A DA PA L AC E The building has an area of 7,000 square meters (75,000 sq ft.) distributed along three floors: basement, landing and second floor. Located in adjacent buildings within palace grounds are the chapel and the heliport. The basement level houses the movie theater, game room, kitchen, laundry, medical center, and the building's administration.

A LV O R A DA PA L AC E

The ground floor houses the state rooms used by the presidency for official receptions. It is made up of the Entrance Hall, Waiting Room, State Room, Library, Mezzanine, Dining Room, Noble Room, Music Room and Banquet Room.
The second floor is the residential part of the palace, with the presidential apartment consisting of four suites, two guest apartments and other private rooms.

Brazilian National Congress

Oscar Niemeyer designed the National Congress during the late 1950s and early 1960s while he served as chief architect for Brazil's new capital city, Braslia. The complex is composed of several buildings. Shown here is the domed Senate building on the left, the Parliament office tower at the center, and the bowl-shaped Chamber of the Deputies on the right.

Brazilian National Congress

The semi-sphere on the left is the seat of the Senate, and the semisphere on the right is the seat of the Chamber of the Deputies. Between them are two vertical office towers. The Congress also occupies other surrounding office buildings, some of them interconnected by a tunnel. The building is located in the middle of the Monumental Axis , main street of Brasilia.

Brazilian National Congress

Brazilian National Congress

Cathedral of Brasilia

The Cathedral of Brasilia is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Brazil. The concrete- framed hyperboloid structure, seems with its glass roof to be reaching up, open, to heaven. In the square access to the inside are four bronze sculptures with 3ft tall representing the evangelists.

Cathedral of Brasilia

Inside the nave are the sculptures of 3 angels suspended by steel cables. Niemeyer saw a compact and clean concept, a volume occurring with the same purity from any perspective and for times of deep religious expression.

Cathedral of Brasilia
In the air born outside the structure of the earth is a cry of faith and hope, then, the gallery is located in semi-darkness to prepare the faithful to show religious order in the contrast of light and the external effects; the faithful depart from the world and are projected between the cathedral and the infinite spaces. The Cathedral of Brasilia is 40 meters high and holds up to four thousand people. The base of the building is circular and about 60 m in diameter. Its glass ceiling, begins at the floor and is supported by 16 curved columns. Its circular structure prevents the existence of a facade. Its nave is over 70 meters in diameter, so long, despite the circular from the Cathedral. Its interior is decorated with stained glass. The structure itself is the result of 16 identical columns. These columns, which have a hyperbolic section and weigh 90 tonnes, are pointing both hands to the sky.

Cathedral of Brasilia

LIST OF SOME WORKS

1936 Ministry of Education and Health Brazil. 1938 Grand Hotel Ouro Preto Brazil 1939 Brazilian Pavilion USA 1940 - Pampulha Complex Brazil 1946 School in Cataguases Brazil 1947 - UN Headquarters - USA

1951 Ibirapuera Brazil

1951 Housing Complex in Copan Brazil 1951 The JK Building (Governor Juscelino Kubitscheks Complex) - Brazil 1952 House at Canoas Brazil 1954 Museum of Modern Art in Caracas Venezuela 1956 Temporary Residence of the President of the Republic Brazil

LIST OF SOME WORKS

1957 Alvorada Palace Brazil 1957 Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion Brazil 1958 National Congress of Brazil Brazil

1958 - Cathedral of Brasilia - Brazil

1958 Supreme Court Brazil 1958 National Theatre of Braslia Brazil

1958 Presidential Palace Brazil

1962 - International Permanent Exhibition Centre of Lebanon. 1962 Ministry of Justice Brazil 1962 Itamaraty Palace for the Foreign Ministry Brazil 1965 Brasilia Airport Brazil (Not Built) 1966 Headquarters of the French Communist Party PCF France

LIST OF SOME WORKS

1968 - Music Center Brazil (Not Built) 1968 Headquarters of Mondadori Publishers Italy 1968 - Civic Center of Algiers Algeria (Not Built) 1968 Mosque of Algiers Algeria (Not Built) 1969 - University of Constantine 1st round Algeria 1972 Stock Exchange at Bobigny France

1972 Cultural Center Le Havre Le Volcan France

1975 Headquarters of Fata Engineering Italy 1980 Memorial JK Brazil

1981 Leisure Island in Abu Dhabi UAE (Not Built)

1982 Integrated Center for Public Education Brazil 1983 - Sambadrome - Brazil

LIST OF SOME WORKS

1985 Pantheon of the Fatherland and Freedom Tancredo Neves Brazil 1987 Memorial for Latin America Brazil 1991 Museum of Contemporary Art MAC Brazil 1991 Latin American Parliament Brazil 1997 Niemeyer Way Brazil

1999 Ibirapuera Auditorium Brazil

2000 Auditorium in Ravello Italy 2001 Oscar Niemeyer Museum Brazil

2003 Serpentine Gallery Pavillion UK

2003 Administrative Center of Minas Gerais Brazil 2006 Oscar Niemeyer International Cultural Center of Asturias- Spain

Furniture Design