Oscar Niemeyer

Hello. My name is Oscar Niemeyer, and I was an architect who loved to dream up buildings that looked like amazing sculptures. I was born on December 15th, 1907, in the beautiful city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Growing up, I was surrounded by incredible nature—the curving mountains, the winding rivers, and the waves of the ocean. Instead of straight lines, I saw beauty in swoops and swirls. I loved to draw, and I decided to study architecture at the National School of Fine Arts, where I graduated in 1934. I knew I didn't want to make boring, boxy buildings; I wanted to create buildings that were full of surprise and freedom, just like the nature I loved.

After I finished school, I started working in the studio of a wonderful architect named Lùcio Costa. I also had the chance to work with another famous architect from Europe named Le Corbusier. They taught me a lot about a new style called modern architecture. In the 1940s, I got my first big project: designing a group of buildings called the Pampulha Architectural Complex. This was my chance to show everyone my ideas. I used a strong material called reinforced concrete to create buildings with amazing curves and flowing shapes. One building had a wavy roof that looked like the hills around it. A few years later, in 1947, I was invited to New York City to be part of a team designing the United Nations Headquarters. It was so exciting to help create a building where people from all over the world would come to work for peace.

My biggest adventure started in 1956. The president of Brazil, Juscelino Kubitschek, had a giant dream: to build a brand-new capital city for Brazil right in the middle of the country. He asked my friend Lùcio Costa to design the city's map, and he asked me to design all the most important buildings. We called the new city Brasília. I wanted the buildings to be more than just buildings—I wanted them to be art. I designed the National Congress building with two big bowls on the roof, one facing up to the sky and one facing down. For the Cathedral of Brasília, I designed curved columns that look like hands reaching up to pray. It was a huge job, and we worked very fast. In 1960, Brasília was officially opened as the new capital. It looked like a city from the future.

Even after Brasília was built, I never stopped designing. I created buildings in my home country of Brazil and all around the world. One of my favorites is the Niterói Contemporary Art Museum, which I designed when I was almost 90 years old. It was finished in 1996 and sits on a cliff overlooking the water. It looks like a beautiful flower or even a flying saucer that has just landed. For my work, I received many honors. In 1988, I won a very special award called the Pritzker Architecture Prize, which is one of the highest honors an architect can receive. It was wonderful to know that people appreciated my dream of making the world a more beautiful and surprising place.

I continued to draw and dream up new buildings for my entire life. I lived to be 104 years old. Today, my buildings stand as a reminder that you don't always have to follow straight lines. People from all over the world visit Brasília to see the futuristic city I helped create. I hope my work inspires you to look for the beauty in curves and to use your own imagination to build something new and wonderful.