Oscar Niemeyer, the famed Brazilian architect who created some of the world’s most famous modernist buildings, has passed away at the age of 104. In his life, he became one of Modernism’s most celebrated architects and through his genius, Niemeyer was able to bless the world with delectably curvaceous shapes. Just take a look at some of his work.
Niemeyer passed at the Hospital Samaritano in Rio de Janeiro due to a respiratory infection. Recently, he’s been in the hospital for other illnesses such as kidney problems, pneumonia and dehydration. But his work lives on. He didn’t just create buildings, he birthed a country’s style. He’s famous for saying:
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.
That’s an architect I can get behind.
Niemeyer was tasked to basically build Brasília, Brazil’s capital, and that’s where a lot of his most famous work stands today. If you have any other Niemeyer favourites, drop a picture down below. [AP, NY Times]
Metropolitan Cathedral in Brasília Image Credit: AP
Inside the Metropolitan Cathedral in Brasília Image Credit: AP
Museum of Contemporary Art Image Credit: AP
Esplanade of Ministries in Brasília Image Credit: AP
The National Congress in Brasília Image Credit: AP
National Museum in Brasília Image Credit: AP
National Museum in Brasília Image Credit: AP