Oscar Niemeyer

Architect

Birthday December 15, 1907

Birth Sign Sagittarius

Birthplace Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

DEATH DATE Dec 5, 2012 (104)

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About

Pioneer of modern architecture known for designing civic buildings for the planned city of Brasilia, Brazil's capital since 1960. He also proposed uses for reinforced concrete that impacted the architecture of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Before Fame

He graduated from the National School of Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro in 1934. He gained fame for designing the National Congress of Brazil, the Cathedral of Brasilia, the Cultural Complex of the Republic, the Palácio da Alvorada, the Palácio do Planalto, and the Supreme Federal Court.

Trivia

He collaborated on the design of the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

Family Life

He married Anita Baldo in 1928 and had one child, Anna Maria, in 1930. He was grandfather to five, great-grandfather to 13, and great-great-grandfather to seven. He married a second time shortly before his 99th birthday to his secretary, Vera Lucia Cabreira.

Associated With

He was strongly influenced by architect Le Corbusier.