| Description: |
On the occasion of Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer's 100th anniversary, the" New York Times" wrote, """In the 1940s, '50s and '60s he established himself as one of Modernism's greatest luminaries, infusing stark abstract forms with a beguiling tropical hedonism that reshaped Brazil's identity in the popular imagination and mesmerized architects around the globe.""" To this day, over seven decades since one of his first projects--a 1936 collaboration with Lucio Costa and Le Corbusier--Oscar Niemeyer is still practicing. A technical pioneer and one of the 20th century's most important architects, Niemeyer has designed close to 700 realized and unrealized buildings and, most notably, was the architect for the principal monuments in Brasilia, his homeland's futuristic capital city and his undisputed major masterpiece. |
| Synopsis: |
Brazilian curves: A uniquely sensual modernism in Brasilia and beyondUntil his death at age 104, Oscar Niemeyer (1907 2012) was something of an unstoppable architectural force. Over seven decades of work, he designed approximately 600 buildings, transforming skylines from Bab-Ezzouar, Algeria, to his homeland masterpiece Brasilia.Niemeyer s work took the reduced forms of modernism and infused them with free-flowing grace. In place of pared-down starkness, his structures rippled with sinuous and seductive lines. In buildings such as the Niteroi Contemporary Art Museum, Edificio Copan, or the Metropolitan Cathedral in Brasilia, he brought curvaceousness to the concrete jungle. In the futuristic federal capital of Brasilia, he designed almost all public buildings, and thus became integral to the global image of Brazil.With rich illustrations documenting highlights from his prolific career, this book introduces Niemeyer s unique vision and its transformative influence on buildings of business, faith, culture, and the public imagination of Brazil.About the series: Each book in TASCHEN s Basic Architecture series features: an introduction to the life and work of the architect the major works in chronological order information about the clients, architectural preconditions as well as construction problems and resolutions a list of all the selected works and a map indicating the locations of the best and most famous buildings approximately 120 illustrations (photographs, sketches, drafts and plans)" |