Oscar Niemeyer

(full name, Oscar Niemeyer Soares Filho). Born Dec. 15, 1907, in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian architect. Member of the Communist Party of Brazil.

Niemeyer graduated from the National School of Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro in 1934. He entered the office of L. Costa in 1932. Niemeyer subsequently was among the founders of the modern school of Brazilian architecture. He introduced new ways of using reinforced concrete and developed its artistic possibilities. These innovations made possible expressive designs characterized by bold forms, ingenious layout, and a sculptural quality. His works in this spirit include a sports and entertainment complex (1942–43) in Pampulha (near Belo Horizonte); the Boavista Bank (1946), the architect’s home (1953), the South American Hospital (1953), and the Hotel National (1970) in Rio de Janeiro; and the Museum of Fine Arts (1955–56) in Caracas, Venezuela.

In 1957, Niemeyer was asked to design the city of Brasilia. His designs for the city are expressive, contrasting the unusual shapes (domes, pyramids, cuplike forms, and arrowlike columns) of the government buildings with the severe geometric forms of the residential complexes.

In the 1960’s and early 1970’s, Niemeyer designed and constructed public buildings in Ghana, Lebanon, France, Italy, and Algeria. Among these was the building for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of France (Paris, 1966–71).

Niemeyer is a member of the Presidium of the World Peace Council. In 1963 he was awarded the International Lenin Prize for Strengthening Peace Between Nations.