Oscar Niemeyer

for his upcoming 102nd birthday and for the election of Rio de Janeiro to host the Olympic games on 2016, i dedicate few lines to Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (born Dec. 1907 in Rio). he graduated as architect engineer in 1934. although he had some financial difficulties at that time, he decided to work for free (some things never change...) in the architecture studio of Lucio Costa and Carlos Leao. Niemeyer was involved in two important projects commissioned to the office, the new headquarters for the Ministry of Education and Public Health in Rio and the Brazilian pavilion at the New York's world fair (1939). both projects had all the elements of what was to become recognized as the Brazilian modernism. in 1940 he was commissioned to design a series of buildings in a new suburb of Belo Horizonte called 'Pampulha'. the church of São Francisco de Assis in Pampulha provoked some controversy and the conservative church authorities refused to consecrate it until 1959 (because of its unusual form and some art work inside). in 1947, his worldwide recognition was confirmed when Niemeyer was invited to be part of the international team (Board of Design) working on the design of the UN headquarters in New York. Niemeyer's proposal was approved by the Board of Design, but he eventually gave in to pressure by Le Corbusier and they submitted a common proposal. during the late 40's and the 50's he continued to design projects in Brazil and South America until he was requested in 1958 by the new elected president of Brazil to design the new capital of the country. Niemeyer organized a competition for the masterplan of Brasilia and the winning project was of his old master Lucio Costa. Niemeyer however would design the buildings that became a UNESCO world heritage site. in 1966, following the military coup and the dictatorship, Niemeyer went to exile in Paris. Niemeyer that was a member of the Communist party (Fidel Castro once said that Niemeyer and he were the last communists of this planet) lost commissions and his office in Rio was raided. in the mid 80's, with the return on democracy, Niemeyer returns to Brazil. he was involved in the design of new buildings in Brasilia and in other cities around the country. in 1996 (age of 89...) he design what many consider his greatest work: the Niteroi Contemporary Art Museum. in the last years, he is still involved in the design of new projects and art works around the world. unbelievable.