Oscar Niemeyer

Oscar Niemeyer was born in December 15, 1907 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He grew up in
a wealthy family and developed a passion for drawing and art. This passion was what later on
drew him to pursue a career in architecture, where he eventually became one of the greatest
architects of all time.
Niemeyer started his architecture career by studying in Escola Nacional de Belas Artes
(School of Fine Arts) in Brazil.
After finishing architecture school Niemeyer was brought to the well renowned Le
Corbusier’s attention, which resulted into them working together. Niemeyer became Le
Corbusier’s draft man and partner. This partnership did not last for long since Le Corbusier left
Brazil right after. It was then that Lucio Costa, an influential Brazilian architect and urban
planner, decided to work alongside Niemeyer after looking at his work with Le Corbusier. They
went off working on what would be his greatest project of all time, the planning of Brasilia.
Brasilia is a planned city, built in the 1960s, that is now Brazil’s capital.
Niemeyer also worked on projects like the United Nations headquarters in New York and
left around 600 modern buildings around the world making him one of the greatest architects of
the modernist movement.

Casa Das Canoas

Casa das Canoas, or House of the Canoes, was Oscar Niemeyer’s Family home. He
designed this house in 1951 in Rio de Janeiro. A fusion between organic and minimalist
architecture, this house is a modern gem in the middle of the Brazilian rainforest.
Casa das Canoas was built with a specific concept in mind. Oscar Niemeyer wanted to
create a house where he could incorporate his modern architecture style, yet make the house feel
like it belongs to the land and the space around it. This concept led him to focus on two key
points while designing the house. First, he wanted to make sure the house was designed to
respond to its context. Niemeyer wanted the house to freely interact with the environment which
meant it had to adapt to the land it was on. Second, he focused on bringing the outside in. He
created the spaces in the house open and simple allowing everything from outside to reflect on
the inside creating a harmonious space between the structure and the land. Casa das Canoas is
now one of the most significant examples of Brazilian modern architecture.

Works cited

Truitt, B. (n.d.). Oscar Niemeyer: Biography, Buildings & Works. Retrieved October 23,
2019, from https://study.com/academy/lesson/oscar-niemeyer-biography-buildings-works.html.
 Baratto, R. (2018, December 15). Spotlight: Oscar Niemeyer. Retrieved from
https://www.archdaily.com/577579/spotlight-oscar-niemeyer.

Britannica, T. E. of E. (n.d.). Oscar Niemeyer. Retrieved from

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Oscar-Niemeyer

king, A. (2016, August 3). Das Canoas House. Retrieved October 23, 2019, from
https://www.architectmagazine.com/project-gallery/das-canoas-house_o

Lim, R. (2015, November 19). Building information modeling project 2b. Retrieved from
https://issuu.com/reevelcw/docs/building_information_modeling_proje

DesignRulz. (2012, December 8). Oscar Niemeyer's Casa de Canoas, Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. Retrieved from https://www.designrulz.com/architecture/2012/12/oscar-niemeyers-casa-
de-canoas-rio-de-janeiro-brazil/