"Oscar Niemeyer, born in 1907, is widely considered this century's leading Latin American architect, as well as one of the pioneers of modern architecture. This volume explores the major themes and sources of the most important works from all phases of Niemeyer's career, from the early collaborations of the 1930s and 1940s with Lucio Costa, the spiritual father of Brazilian modernism, to the 1989 Memorial da America Latina in Sao Paulo, a complex that reveals the maturation of Niemeyer's free-form style in the service of his utopian vision. A central theme of Niemeyer's work has been its reflection of the Brazilian jeito, a sinuous and improvisational style manifested in everything from the country's sensual, undulating landscape to its attraction to spontaneous impulses, best known through its vibrant music and dance. The jeito and the milieu of Rio de Janeiro lie at the heart of Niemeyer's free-form style, which emphasizes the inherent plasticity of the native curve over the rigid rectilinearity of the International Style in Europe. A second theme treats the influence on Niemeyer of the poetic style of Le Corbusier. Also considered are Niemeyer's attraction to surrealist biomorphic forms and his desire to express a sense of the fantastic in architecture. A final theme is Niemeyer's search for an aesthetic utopia that would resolve social dilemmas by wishing them away through architecture. Herein lies Niemeyer's strength, for as his architecture reflects the multiple dichotomies of the Brazilian experience, it projects an emotive universality that few architects have been able to achieve."--Publisher.

Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1907, Oscar Niemeyer is recognized as one of the world's most fiercely original architects and the central figure of Brazilian architectural Modernism. The prolific designer of more than 600 buildings, Niemeyer has been in practice for seven decades. Architecture, he declares must be "functional, beautiful, and shocking." Transgressing orthodox Modernist aesthetic doctrine and subverting hegemonic cultural models, his work privileged invention and affirmed spectacle and luxury, pleasure, beauty, and sensuality as legitimate architectural pursuits. This gorgeously illustrated book explores the development of Niemeyer's extraordinary body of ideas and forms as well as his role in the construction of Brazil's modern image and cultural tradition. Through a detailed discussion of his intoxicating experiments in reinforced concrete, the book offers the opportunity to relish the stream of pleasures afforded by Niemeyer's important buildings, including his mid-century projects as chief architect for the new capital of Brasília, and the spectacular Niterói Museum of Contemporary Art, completed in 1996. Providing the first comprehensive analysis of Niemeyer's radical work and dissident perspective, Oscar Niemeyer: Curves of Irreverence sheds new light on the route the architect has followed as well as on Brazilian Modernism as a non-conformist project informed by a nationalist and anti-colonialist stance.

Set against a backdrop of breathtaking natural beauty, Brazil’s striking modernist architecture has long garnered international acclaim. But these well-known works are not fully reflective of the built environment of Brazil, and with this volume, Richard Williams unearths the rich architectural heritage of Brazil. Spanning from 1945 through today, the book examines Brazilian architecture beyond the works of renowned architects such as Oscar Niemeyer and the “Carioca” architects of Rio de Janeiro. Williams investigates issues such as the use of historic architecture, the importance of leisure and luxury, the role of the favela as a backdrop and inspiration for development, and the rapid growth of cities. From the designated world heritage site of Brasilia—a capital city that was planned from the ground up—to the installation work of artists such as Hélio Oiticica, Brazil delves into the origins and far-reaching influence of Brazil’s architectural modernism. At a moment when Latin America is of increasing importance in global business and culture, Brazilwill be an essential read for all scholars of architecture and Latin American history.

The most comprehensive survey and analysis of 20th-century Brazilian architecture.

This guide to modern Brazilian architecture takes us on a tour of over 125 projects designed between 1928-1960. There are works by 33 architects, and each entry gives a brief description, photographs, drawings, and information on visitor access.

Last year marked the fiftieth anniversary of the inauguration of Brazil's capital Brasilia. Designed by architects Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer, it has since become one of the most famous and widely studied urban planning projects. Niemeyer's cathedral, Catedral Metropolitana Nossa Senhora Aparecida; his building for the national parliament, the Congresso Nacional; and the city's 707-foot television tower have become icons of twentieth-century architecture. The entire city, marked by its cross-shaped layout and vast open spaces, was named a UNESO World Heritage site in 1987. René Burri, an internationally celebrated Swiss-born photographer and member of the legendary Magnum agency, visited the city for the first time on a long journey around South America in 1958, when most of Brasilia was a vast building site. He returned many times over more than thirty years, documenting the growth and development of this urban utopia. Besides documenting the buildings in various stages of completion, Burri took portraits of Niemeyer and his workers and photographed Brasilia's street scenes and people: workers with their tools, machinery and building materials, pedestrians on the newly finished streets and squares, and aerial views from the air of the city's first slums abutting brand-new blocks of residential buildings. His images capture the strong sense of a new era and a vibrant atmosphere of hard work and strain; they reflect the huge dimensions of the landscape and the great scale of this project and its ambition to design and build a new capital--and fill it with life. Complete with an essay by eminent architect and scholar of architectural history Arthur Rüegg, René Burri. Brasilia marks the city's fiftieth anniversary and allows readers to look at an extraordinary city through the eyes of an exceptional photographer.

The work of the last living modernist architect.

"Joaquin Nabuco has found art in the architecture, interiors, and landscapes designed by his fellow Brazilians. ... Featured designers include the painterly and ardent recycler, Hélio Pellegrino; impressionistic landscape and golf course designers, Sonia Infante and Antônio Azeredo, and the global modernist giant, Oscar Niemeyer. ..."--Book jacket.

This autobiography is of the man known mainly for his collaboration with Le Corbusier, Oscar Niemeyer. It looks at his buildings in Brasilia and Pampulha, renowned for their striking and visionary style. It reveals his philosophy and many passions."

The utopian design and organization of Brasília—the modernist new capital of Brazil—were meant to transform Brazilian society. In this sophisticated, pioneering study of Brasília from its inception in 1957 to the present, James Holston analyzes this attempt to change society by building a new kind of city and the ways in which the paradoxes of constructing an imagined future subvert its utopian premises. Integrating anthropology with methods of analysis from architecture, urban studies, social history, and critical theory, Holston presents a critique of modernism based on a powerfully innovative ethnography of the city.