SUBMITTED BY:

KARAN 12609
YAJAN 12629
ASHNA 12635

Oscar Niemeyer
m
"Here, then, is what I wanted to tell you of my architecture. I created it with courage and
idealism, but Also with an awareness of the fact that what is important is life, friends and
attempting to make this unjust world a better place in which to live."
— Oscar Niemeyer.
• WHEN Oscar Niemeyer was a t iny chil d, he woul d dr aw in
t he air wit h his finger s.As soon as he coul d hol d a pencil
his mot her gavehimone, and he dr ew t he samet hing:
fl oat ing, weight l ess shapes, for ming and r efor ming. When,
as a t eenager, he discover ed t he br ot hel s of Rio, his l ines
began t o fol l ow t he cur ves of women, hip, br east and
t high. Infl uencing himt oo, t hr ough ever y por e, wer et he
el l iptical whit e beaches of Br azil , it s sinuous r iver s, t he
r ounded t ower s of it s baroquechur ches, it s heaped- up
mount ains and t he cur l ing waves of t he ocean. Le
Cor busier, t he Swiss-bor n archit ect whose moder nist
ideas he absor bed and t hen subver t ed, t ol d himhe had
Br azil ’s mount ains in his eyes. Not quit et r ue, said Mr
Niemeyer ; he had ever yt hing he l oved in t hem.
• His whol e univer sebeing cur ved l ike t his, it was l it t l e
wonder t hat he sel domembr aced t he r ight angl e, t he
st r aight l ineor t he square. Hewr iggl ed away fr omt hose
aspect s of moder nismas soon as he t ook up archit ect ur e,
under t he t ut el ageof Lúcio Cost a, in 1935. Typicall y, his
buil dings—scat t er edall over Br azil ’s principal cit ies, and
r eaching t heir apogeein t he new capit al, Br asíl ia,buil t
bet ween 1956 and 1960—wer e cur ved or hol l owed for ms
t hat seemed weight l ess, fl oat ing in t he l andscapeor
r efl ect ed in wat er.
5
© A.J.S.VISHNUKANTH
 BIOGRAPHY
 Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (December 15, 1907 –
December 5, 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer was a Brazilian architect who is
considered to be one of t he key f igures in t he development of modern
architecture.
 His explorat ion of the aesthetic possibilities of reinforced concrete was
highly inf luential ont hearchitectureof t helate 20th andearly 21st centuries.
 Hisdesigns were notedf or t heir f ree-f lowingf orms.
 Niemeyer has for t he past seven decades rocked the world's architectural
stage with his fervent belief t hat hard edges are a disgrace to everything
natural in this world.
 Described as t he man who "turned his back on right angles" and lauded for
single- handedly turning reinforced concrete into an art form, Niemeyer is a
legend among young architects, chic designers and almost all of his
countr ymen.
 His talents run beyond architecture: he has designed furniture, taught
philosophy and t ravelledt heworldleavingbehindat rail of stunningdesigns.
 OSCAR ribeiro de l m e i d NIEMEYER so res filho
1907born ON 15 DEC in Rio de Janeir, Brazil.

1928Married Annita Baldo.

l9 34Graduated from Architecture
Dept. of
National Art College in Rio
de Janeiro •

1936Joined the office of Lucio Costa &

Carlos Leon.

1940-42Met Mayor of Belo Horizonte , •

Juscelino Kubitscheck Oliveira, who --- .
became later President of Brazil, and de
signed Pampulha complex buildings for
him.

- - - - - - - - - ---== - : ..:: _: = ==--- ;:....-::........_ f.esmtef

 1945-90Joined the Communist Party.

1952Designed together with Le l 964Questioned by the

•
Corbusier UN Headquarters i n New special police at the out-
break of a military coup

- -
1956AppQinted a chief designer
together with Costa for the new l 965Moved to Paris
capital Brasilia Exhibition at the
Louvre

1957-60Designed the 197OCathedral in

major buildings in Brasilia
Brasilia.

Prese
“I p ic k up my p en. A
building
a p p ea rs . ”

11
Aft er gr aduat ing, he st ar t ed t o wor k in his fat her 's t ypogr aphy house. Even
t hough he was not financial l y st abl e at t he t ime, he insist ed in wor king in t he
archit ect ur e st udio of Lucio Cost a, Gr egor i War chavchik and Car l os Liao, even
t hough t hey coul d not pay him. Niemeyer j oined t he st udio as a dr aft sman, an art
t hat he mast er ed (Cor busier himsel f woul d l at t er compliment Niemeyer 's
'beaut iful per spect ives'). The cont act wit h Lucio Cost a woul d be ext r emel y
impor t ant in t he professional mat ur it y of Niemeyer 's wor k. It was Cost a who,
aft er an init ial fl ir t at ion wit h t he Neocol onial movement, r eal ized t hat t he
cur r ent advances of t he inter nat ional st yl ein Eur ope wer e t he only t r ue
manifest at ion of a contempor ar y ar chit ect ur e. His wr it ings on t he t echnical
t r ut h and simpl icit y which unit ed t he t r adit ional col onial ar chit ect ur e of Br azil
(such as t hat in Ol inda) and t he moder nist pr incipl es woul d be t he basis of t he
archit ect ur e which woul d be l at er r eal ized by Niemeyer and his contempor ar ies,
such as Affonso Eduar do Reidy.

his first work was pampulha church when he was 38 years old. he designed a different kind of
church it was a church nothing but curves to paint the taiils on the façade he called painter
portinari and that building was not accepted for about 3 years, later a smarter bishop came
along and approved it. back then he had the same tendency to develop his design and he did it
for 50 years
 • In 1942, Niemeyer created a series of recreational buildings which borrowed
extensively fromthe expressive Brazilian Baroque style of architecture.

• In 1956 Niemeyer was appointed architectural adviser to Nova Cap - an

organizationcharged with implementing Lucio Costa's plans for Brazil's new
capital.
• The following year, he became its
chief architect, designing most of •Niemeyer continued toworkon
the city's important buildings. Brazilia until 1964 whenhis political
affiliation withthe communist
party forced him into exile in
•The epoch of Niemeyer's France.
career, thesebuildings mark a
period of creativity and • In the late1960s he resumed
modernsymbolism his career in Brazil, teaching at
the University of Rio deJaneiro
and working in private practice.
• He was awarded the Gold
Medal of the American
Institute of
Architecture in 1970.
Presenta
• President kubit schekwhobuilt pampulha,alsobuilt brasilia.
• He camet o his of f iceand saidt o him,
―oscar, we built pampulha, and nowwe will build t he newcapit al‖.That ‘s
whent hebrasiliaadvent urest art ed.and he want ed t o makea dif ferent
kind of archit ecture.He knowt het imewas short but t hat didn‘t f orced
himt o maket hedesignsimpler.

For example

whenhedid t heALVORADAPALACE, hedid t heroof

curved, t he columncurved, a t ypeof columnt hat, back t hen,
didn‘t exist.
The different f orms of t his places brought somesignificance
t o his architecture, and madeit well knownbecause his f ocus
sincehis f irst proj ect, is t o int egrate t hearts

Whenhemakes a building, he will not satisfy until he know

t hat it inspires awe, t hat it inspires f eelings
 ALVORADAPALACE
• The Palácio da Alvorada is the official residence of the President
of Brazil. It is located in the national capital of Brasília, on a
peninsula at the margins of Paranoá Lake. It has been the
residence of every Brazilian president since Juscelino
Kubits chek. The building is listed as a National Historic Heritage
Site.
• The building has an area of 7,000 square metres (75,000 sq f t )
distr ibuted 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.
 I
N
T
E
Banquet hall State Room
R
I
O
r

Music Room Mezzanine

E
X
T
E
R
I
O
R
Presenter
Prescntei
2
© A.J.S.VISHNUKANTH 29
 VIEW FROM EXTERIOR

VIEW FROM WATER LEVEL

VIEW FROM INTERIOR

ARIAL VIEW OF THE BUILDING
When I started to design the Museum of Modern Art for Niteroi, I already had
an idea in mind. An abstract circular form above the landscape, and the site free
of other constructions to better emphasize the building. I did not want to repeat
the usual solutions of a cylinder above another, but to move in the direction of
the design for the Caracas Museum (a design by Niemeyer from 1954), creating
a line that would rise with curves and straight lines from the ground up to the
roof. The exhibition hall would be surrounded by straight walls—I did not want it
glazed—but with exits for the external gallery that would encircle it, integrating
it in the magnificent panorama.
TheOscar Niemeyer Int ernat ional Cult ural Cent re or Cent roNiemeyer is t heresult of t he
combinat ionof a cult ural complexdesigned by t he Brazilianarchit ect Oscar Niemeyer andan
int ernat ional cult ural project .Thecent er is locat edont heest uary of Avilés,Ast urias (Spain).It
was inaugurat ed ont he26 of May 2011.

Thearchit ect described t heNiemeyer Cent reas "Anopensquaret ot hehumankind,a placef or

educat ion,cult ureandpeace".
It is possiblet oseet hebuildings f romdif ferent places,evenf romt heair.It s sizeand whit e, red
and yellowcolours highlight it s locat ionint helandscapeof t het own.

TheBrazilianarchit ect Oscar Niemeyer (designer of Brasiliaandone of t hemost import ant

archit ect s int heworld) was awardedwit ht hePrinceof Ast urias Award f or Art in1989. That
was t heoriginof t herelat ionshipbetweenOscar Niemeyer and t hePrincipalit y of Ast urias.Years
lat er,as apresent f ort t he25 Anniversary of t hePrinceof Ast urias Awards,Niemeyer donat ed a
bigproject t ot hePrincipalit y.His designhas becomea project meant t obeanint ernat ional
ref erenceint hecult ural f ield.It is dedicat ed t oeducat ion,cult ureand peace. This cent reis t he
f irst Oscar Niemeyer's work inSpain,andhehas said hebelieves it is t hemost import ant in
Europe.That is t hereasonwhy it s nameis ― Cent roNiemeyer

© A.J.S.VISHNUKANTH 34
STRUCTURE
• The Niemeyer Centreis formed by five main elements that complement each other
• The open square:a large openoutdoor space for cultural activities. It reflects the Oscar
Niemeyer’s idea of a place open to humankind.
• The audit orium around 1000 seats for concerts, theatre, conferences... Its peculiarit y is not having distinction
betweensocial classes. It includes the Club (a small space for small concerts) and anexhibition roomin the
foyer.
• The dome it’s the exhibitions building.
• The tower sight-seeing tower, restaurant and cocktail lounge
• The multi- purpose building FilmCentre, meeting-rooms, cafe, shop, information point...

The main features in Oscar Niemeyer’s work are the curves. But also the colours: mainly whit e, red, yellow
and blue this is because of the influence in his workof the (Neoplasticism).

Oscar Niemeyer's vision is based onthree pillars education, culture and peace.The CentroNiemeyer tries
to be a magnet for the three elements.The Niemeyer Centre also tries to combine international and
national products.

© A.J.S.VISHNUKANTH 35
Step by step:
The first stone was set onApril 2008. The museum building structure was built in about anhour, as a result
of the use of a pioneer technique for cultural buildings in Spain.This way, it tookabout anhour to set up the
whole structure. Then the “Multipurpose building”at the same time thanthe“Audit orium”. The materials used
were mainly concrete and glass.At the same time the basis of the “Tower”started,but it was not until the
structures of other buildings were almost finished that the works onthe Tower were visible. Anunderground
car park was added to the works. The“OpenSquare”was covered in white concrete. The sides of the
Audit orium were painted in yellow, creating a contrast with the dominant whit e colour. Onone of the sides of
this building, a ceramic art work, designed by Niemeyer, represents the outline of a woman resting. The stage
door was painted in red.This door canbe opento the square, so that shows can take part inside or outside
the building.
The inauguration act tookplace onMarch 2011with a video speechwithOscar
Niemeyer from Brasilia and a jazz concert with WoodyAllen in front of anaudience of more than
10.000 people.

36
 NIEMEYER CENTER IN SPAIN.

Site seeing tower

auditorium
exhibitions building

auditorium
ARIAL VIEW OF CENTERIO NIEMEYER

B
 • Niemeyer is most famous for his use of abstract forms and curves that specifically
characterize every one of his works; he didn’t stick to traditional straight lines, for he is
not attracted to straight angles or lines but rather he is captured by ”free-flowing, sensual
curves… [like that] on the body of the beloved woman. He is a pioneer in exploring the
formal possibilities of reinforced concrete solely for their aesthetic impact. He is currently
104 years old and still working.

THEATER IBIRAPUERA MUSEUM OF SÃO PAULO, BRASIL, INTERIOR OF MUSEUM BRASILIA

PARK BY OSCAR CONTEMPORARY ART OSCAR NIEMEYER
NIEMEYER BRASIL
• NIEMEYER is most f amous f or his use of
abst ract Forms and curves t hat specif ical l y
charact erize every one of his works.
• He didn’t st ick to t radit ional st raight l ines, he is
capt ured by f ree-f l owing sensual curves
• He designed & built curved archit ect ure t hrough
his revol ut ionary usage of concret e.
• His designs were daring mixing innovat ive and
cont emporary
• His buil dings are charact erised by being spacious
and exposed, mixing vol umes and empt y space
tocreat e unconvent ional pat t erns and oft en
propped up by pil ot i4niemeyerwas abl e to connect
t he baroque st yl e wit h modern archit ect ure
• Leading

V
- OSCAR NEIMEYER
1936 – Ministério da Educação e Saúde (English: Ministry of Education and Health) – contributed to the
Le Corbusier project.
1937 – Associação Beneficente Obra do Berço (Association of Charitable Work) – created a vertical
brise soleil.
1938 – Grande Hotel de Ouro Preto
1939 – Brazil’s pavilion at 1939 New York World's Fair – contributed to the Lucio Costa project.
1940 – Church of Saint Francis of Assisi and other buildings at Pampulha in Belo Horizonte,
southeastern Brazil.
1946 – Sede do Banco Boavista (headquarters of Banco Boavista) in Candelaria, Rio de Janeiro.
1946 – Colegio Cataguases (Odessa College).
1947 – United Nations Headquarters in New York City.
1951 – Ibirapuera Park (with landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx).
1951 – JK Building (Juscelino Kubitschek).
1951 – Edifício Copan (Copan Building) 38-story residential building in São Paulo, Brazil.
1952 – Casa das Canoas – Niemeyer’s personal home in Canoas, Rio de Janeiro.
1954 – Residência Cavanelas.
1954 – Museu de Arte Moderna em Caracas (Museum of Modern Art in Caracas) .
1954 – Interbau buildings project in the Hansaviertel district, part of the reconstruction of Berlin.
1954 – Edifício Montreal (Montreal Building) in São Paulo.
1955 – Edifício Califórnia (California Building) in downtown São Paulo (with Carlos Lemos).
1955 – Edifício Triângulo (Triangle Building), São Paulo.
1956 – Edifício Eiffel (Eiffel Building) located in Republic Square, São Paulo.
1956 – Residência Provisória do Presidente da República (Provisional Residence of the
President).
1958 – Hospital da Lagoa (Lagoa Hospital) built in Lagoa, Rio de Janeiro.
1962 – Feira Internacional e Permanente do Líbano (International Fair and Permanent Exhibition Hall in
Lebanon).
1963 – University of Haifa, Israel.
1965 – Sede do Partido Comunista Francês ("PCF") The French Communist Party headquarters, in Paris.
1968 – Centro Musical, São Paulo, Brazil.
1968 – Sede da Editora Mondadori (Mondadori publishing headquarters) in Italy.
1968 – Centro Cívico de Argel (Civic Center of Algiers).
1968 – Mesquita de Argel (Mosque of Algiers).
1969 – University of Science and Technology - Houari Boumediene in Algeria, also known as the
University of International Excellence.
1972 – Bolsa do Trabalho de Bobigny (Stock exchange of Bobigny, France) - auditorium.
1975 – Fata Engineering Headquarters in Italy.
1976 – Casino da Madeira (Pest ana Casino Park) on Madeira Island, Port ugal.
1980 – JKMemorial (Juscelino Kubit schek).
1980 – Masjid Negeri Pulau Pinang (Penang State Mosque).
1981– Ilha de Lazer em Abu Dhabi (Leisure Island in Abu Dhabi).
1982 – Cent ro Integrado de Educação Pública (Int egrated Cent er f or Public Educat ion)
CIEP public school syst em..
1982 – Cent ro Cult ural de Le Havre, "Le Volcan" (Le Havre Cult ural Cent er, "The Volcano”).
1983 – Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí (Sambadrome) in Rio de Janeiro.
1983 – Praça da Apoteose (Apotheosis Square) at t he end of Marquês de Sapucaí St reet .
1985 – Pant eão da Liberdade e da Democracia Tancredo Neves (Pant heon of Liber ty and Democracy Tancredo
Neves).
1987 – Memorial da América Latina (Memorial of Lat in America) in São Paulo.
1988 – Terminal Rodoviário de Londrina (Londrina Bus Terminal) in Paraná, Brazil.
1991– Museu de Ar te Cont emporânea "MAC" (Niterói Contemporary Art Museum).
1991– Parlament o Lat ino Americano (Latin American Parliament) in São Paulo.
1993 – Sambódromo do Anhembi (Anhembi Sambadrome) in São Paulo.
1997 – Caminho Niemeyer (Niemeyer Way) Theater, museums, restaurant, village square.
1999 – Auditório do Ibirapuera (Ibirapuera Auditorium) in Ibirapuera Park, São Paulo.
2000 – Auditório em Ravello, Italy.
2001 – Museu Oscar Niemeyer (Oscar Niemeyer Museum).
2003 – Serpentine Gallery Pavilion.
2003 – Centro Administrativo de Minas Gerais.
2004 – Itaipu Binacional - Brasil (Itaipu Dam in Brazil).
2005 – Itaipu Binacional - Paraguai (Itaipu Dam in Paraguay).
2006 – Centro Cultural Principado de Astúrias (Avilés, Principality of Asturias Cultural Center).
2006 – Natal City Park, Rio Grande do Norte.
2006 – Estação Cabo Branco (Cape White Station) in João Pessoa, capital of the State of Paraíba.
2007 – Teatro Popular de Niteroi (Popular Theatre of Niteroi).
2007 – Centro Cultural em Valparaíso (Cultural Center in Valparaiso) Chile.
2007 – Universidade de Ciências e Informática (University of Information Science) Havana, Cuba.
2008 – Puerto de La Musica, Rosário, Argentina.
2008 – Parque da Cidade Dom Nivaldo Monte (City Park) in Natal, in Brazil's state of Rio Grande do Norte.
2011 – Óscar Niemeyer International Cultural Centre in the Principality of Asturias, Spain.
1957 – Eixo Monument al (Monumental Axis).
1957 – Palácio da Alvorada (English: Palace of Dawn) President ial residence.
1958 – Cat edral Met ropolit ana Nossa Senhora Aparecida Cathedral of Brasília.
1958 – Church of Our Lady of Fatima "Igrejinha".
1958 – Congresso Nacional (National Congress of Brazil).
1958 – Supremo Tribunal Federal or STF (Supreme Federal Tribunal) Federal Supreme Cour t.
1958 – Palácio do Planalto (Palace of t he Highlands) President ial off ice.
1958 – Teatro Nacional Cláudio Santoro (Nat ional Theat er).
1959 – Palácio do Jaburu (Palace of t he Jabiru) Vice-president ial residence.
1960 – Praça dos Três Poderes (Square of t he Three Powers).
1962 – Minist ério das Relações Ext eriores or "Palácio do It amaraty" ( Ministry of External Relations or It amaraty
Palace).
1962 – Minis tério da Jus tiça or "Palácio da Jus tiça" (Minis try of Jus tice).
1962 – Universidade de Brasília main building, t he Cent ral Ins tit ut e of Science (ICC).
1965 – Aeroporto de Brasilia (Project was never built )
1985 – Pant eão da Pát ria e da Liberdade Tancredo Neves (Pant heon of t he Fat herland and Freedom).
1987 – Memorial dos Povos Indígenas (Memorial of t heAboriginal Peoples) .
2002 – Sede da Procuradoria Geral da República Brasileira (At t orney General's Off ice).
2006 – Complexo Cult ural da República (Cultural Complex of the Republic).
Biblioteca Nacional Leonel de Moura Brizola (Nat ional Library of Brasília).
Museu Nacional Hones tino Guimarães (Nat ional Museum Hones tino Guimarães).
2010 – Torre de Televisão Digit al (Brasília Digital Television Tower).
• Member of t heAmericanAcademy of Art s and Sciences (1949)
• Medal of t he Order of Merit of Labour (Brazil,1959)
• Int ernat ional LeninPeace Prize(1963)
• GoldenLionof t heVenice Biennale(1963)
• Honorary Member of t heAmericanInst it ut e of Archit ect s (1963)
• Honorary Member of t heNat ional Inst it ut e of Art s and Let t ers (USA,1964)
• PremioBenit oJuarez ont he occasionof t he cent ennial of t he MexicanRevolut ion(1964)
• MeadvilleJoliot-Curie (1965)
• Piecef or st rings,brass,pianos by t he Swiss avant -gardecomposer HermannMeier dedicat edt o
Niemeyer (1967)
• Knight of t heLegionof Honor (Chevalier delaLegiond'Honneur) (France, 1970)
• Commander of t heOrder of Prince Henry (Port ugal,3 March1975)
• Lorenzoil MagnificoPrizeof t heAccademiaInt ernazionale Medicea(Florence, 1980)
• Commander of t heOrder of Art s and Let t ers (OrdredesArt set des Let t res) (France, 1982)
• Honorary Member of t heAcademy of Art s of t he USSR(1983)
• Prit zker Prizef or Archit ect ure (1988) (wit hGordonBunshaf t )
• Prince of Ast urias Award(1989)
• Honorary Doct orof t heUniversit y of Brasília(1989)
• ChicoMendes Resist ance Medal (1989)
• GoldMedal of t heColegiodeArquit ect os de Barcelona(1990)
• Knight Commander of t heOrder of St .Gregory t he Great ,best owedby PopeJohnPaul II(1990)
• GrandCross of t heOrder of Saint James of t heSword(Port ugal,26 November 1994)
• Honorary doct orat ef romt he Universit y of São Paulo(1995)
• Doct or Honoris Causaf romt heFederal Universit y of Minas Gerais (1995)
• Saurí Order,1st class (DominicanRepublic,1996)
• GoldenLionat t heVeniceBiennale, VIInt ernat ionalArchit ect ureExhibit ion(1996)
• Royal GoldMedal of t he Royal Inst it ut eof Brit ishArchit ect s (1998)
• Order of Solidarit y (Cuba,2001)
• Darcy RibeiroMedal of Merit (St at eBoardof Educat ionof t heSt at eof Rio de Janeiro,2001)
• UnescoAward int he cat egory of Cult ure(2001)
• GrandOf f icer of t he Order of Merit Teachingand Cult ural GabrielaMist ral (Minist ry of Educat ionof
Chile,2001)
• "20t hcent ury archit ect "(Superior Council of t heInst it ut eof Archit ect s of Brazil, 2001)
• KonexAward (Argent ina,2002)
• PraemiumImperiale(Japan,2004)
• Aust rianDecorat ionf or ScienceandArt (2005)
• Pat ronof Brazilianarchit ect ure,declared by LawNo. 11,117,of May 18, 2005
• Order of Cult uralMerit (Brazil, 2007)
• Commander of t he Legionof Honour (Commandeur delaLégiond'Honneur)
(France,2007)
• Order of Friendship(Russia,2007)
• MedalOscar Niemeyer's Communist Part y Marxist -Leninist (2007)
• ALBAArt s Award (Venezuela,2008),Cuba,Bolivia,Nicaragua[78]
• Order of Art s and Let t ers of Spain(6 November 2009)
• Doct or Honoris Causaof t heTechnicalUniversit y of Lisbon(2009)
• 1963 Lenin Peace Prize
1988 Pritzker Prize
1989 Prince of As turias Awards
1998 RIBA Royal Gold Medal
2004 Praemium Imperiale
• He wont hegoldmedal f romt heAmericanInst it ut eof Archit ect urein
1970,t he Prit zker archit ect ureprizef romChicago's Hyat t Foundat ion
in1988 and t hegoldmedal of t heRoyal Inst it ut eof Brit ish
Archit ect s in1998.
 LE CORBUSIER & OSCAR NIEMEYER – THE POWER OF THE OPEN HAND

Open hand in Chandigar h, India is one of t he most The Memorial of Lat in America was
signif icant monument s of t he cit y. inaugurat ed inMarch1989.
The credit f or layingdownit s plangoes to Le Corbusier.
It is a complex space of 85,000
Chandigarh open hand monument has been designed in t he
f orm of a giant hand made f rom met al sheet s t hat square met ers designed by Oscar
rot at es like a weat hercock, indicat ing t he direct ion of Niemeyer.
wind.. The signif icance of open hand is t hat i t conveys t he Sit uat ed in t he cit y of São Paulo,
social message of peace and unit y t hat is ― open to give & Brazil, it is a place where Lat in
opento receive.‖Openhand is t he cit y‘s off icial emblem, cult ureis celebrat ed.
i t was designed int he 1950s by Le Corbusier.
 O s c a r N i e m e y er “ C o n s c i ou s I n s p i
rat i o n ”
Archit ect s t hroughout t he world were invit ed in
1960 to design a Cat hedral for Liverpool. Sir
Frederick Gibberd‘s design was chosen, and
building began in Oct ober 1962. Less t han five
years lat er 1967, t heCat hedral was complet ed.

Oscar Niemeyer‘s Cat hedral of Brasília is often

compared to t he Liverpool Met ropolit an Cat hedral.
Both are circular wit h high spires t hat ext end
from t he t op. However, t he sixt een spires on
Niemeyer‘s cat hedral are flowing boomerang
shapes, suggest ing hands wit h curved fingers
reachingt owardheaven.
The ext erior of t he cat hedral resembles t he
circular plan and ribbed st ruct ure of Liverpool
Met ropolit an Cat hedral, but t he lat t er is clad in
solid mat erial, while t he Cat hedral of Brasília
allows light in and out for almost t he full height of
t he ribs
 Sir Frederick Gibberd Architect The Oscar Niemeyer Architect
Met ropolit anCat hedral of Liverpool England Cat hedral of Brasília
1960 – 196 7 Brazil,est ablished1958, inaugurat ed
in196 0 ,Complet ed: May,1970
Oscar Niemeyer Archit ect SANAAArchit ect s
Universit y of Const ant ineaudit orium Rolex LearningCent er
Algeria1968 Lausanne,Swit zerland 2004-2010

f r om el i in b a r ’s
sk et c h b o o k 2 0 11
N o t e t h e sy mil a r it y in
t h e sh a pe o f t h e
c eil i n g s a n d T h e
c h a n g e in t h e f o o r s….

© A.J.S.VISHNUKANTH
 Oscar Niemeyer Archit ect
Casado Baile dancehall and
rest aurant
Pampulha, Brazil 1940
Oscar Niemeyer about Casa
Do Baile : “It all began with
my first thoughts on
Panpulha. I consciously
ignored the highly praised
right angle and the rational
architecture of T-squares
SANAA– kazuyoSej ima& associat es and triangles in order to
civic cent er of Onishi wholeheartedly enter the
Gumma,Japan2003-05 world of curves and new
shapes made possible by
the introduction of concrete
into the building process”.

O sc a r N iemey er &
SA N A A f r om
el i in b a r ’s sk et c h b o o k
2 0 11
INSPIRATION
AND
FURNITURE

73
The Creator's Words
"H er e, t h en , is w h a t I w a n t ed t o t el l y o u o f m y a r c h it ec t u r e. I c r ea t ed i t
w it h c o u r a g e a n d id ea l ism, b u t a l so w it h a n aw a r en e s s o f t h e f a c t t h a t
w h at is impo r t a n t is l if e, f r ien d s a n d a t t empt in g t o ma k e t h is u n j u st
w o r l d a b et t er pl a c e in w h ic h t o l iv e."
— Oscar Niemeyer. The Curves of Time: the memoirs of Oscar Niemeyer, p176
 He been
ha kidney
d and
battling
pneumonia for
ailmentsa month
nearly
in a Rio de
Janeiro hospital.
His death was
confirmedby a
hospital
spokesperson.
© A.J.S.VISHNUKANTH 77
© A.J.S.VISHNUKANTH 81