06/12/2012 11:06 AM
Acclaimed Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer has died at the age of 104, it has been revealed.
The designer is credited with coming up with the plans for some of the most famous modernist buildings of the 20th century in destinations around the world.
In the 1960s he worked on the governmental buildings of his homeland's capital Brasilia, while he also played a role in co-designing the city itself, which was built from scratch on the Central Plateau.
His other work also included a partnership with Swiss-born modernist architect Le Corbusier, with the pair designing the UN building in New York, while he is responsible for the Communist party headquarters in Paris and Hyde Park's Serpentine gallery summer pavilion in London.
He has been described by Brazil's president Dilma Rousseff as a "genius", who added that it was a "day to lament his death. It is a day to acclaim his life".
Niemeyer's influence on modern architecture has been huge and he helped to shape the 20th century along with a vision of the future by incorporating daring designs into his work.
This can also be seen in the work of the likes of Zaha Hadid and Toyo Ito, who have taken inspiration from him.
In his Curves of Time book written in 1998, Niemeyer explained his thinking behind his designs: "Right angles don't attract me. Nor straight, hard and inflexible lines created by man. What attracts me are free and sensual curves. The curves we find in mountains, in the waves of the sea, in the body of the woman we love."
Niemeyer's skill was recognised many times throughout his life, picking up the gold medal from the American Institute of Architecture in 1970. He also won the Pritzker architecture prize which is handed out by the Hyatt Foundation in Chicago and the gold medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1998.
The architect is expected to buried in his home city of Rio de Janeiro on Friday (December 7th).
Contact us for a security fencing quote.
The designer is credited with coming up with the plans for some of the most famous modernist buildings of the 20th century in destinations around the world.
In the 1960s he worked on the governmental buildings of his homeland's capital Brasilia, while he also played a role in co-designing the city itself, which was built from scratch on the Central Plateau.
His other work also included a partnership with Swiss-born modernist architect Le Corbusier, with the pair designing the UN building in New York, while he is responsible for the Communist party headquarters in Paris and Hyde Park's Serpentine gallery summer pavilion in London.
He has been described by Brazil's president Dilma Rousseff as a "genius", who added that it was a "day to lament his death. It is a day to acclaim his life".
Niemeyer's influence on modern architecture has been huge and he helped to shape the 20th century along with a vision of the future by incorporating daring designs into his work.
This can also be seen in the work of the likes of Zaha Hadid and Toyo Ito, who have taken inspiration from him.
In his Curves of Time book written in 1998, Niemeyer explained his thinking behind his designs: "Right angles don't attract me. Nor straight, hard and inflexible lines created by man. What attracts me are free and sensual curves. The curves we find in mountains, in the waves of the sea, in the body of the woman we love."
Niemeyer's skill was recognised many times throughout his life, picking up the gold medal from the American Institute of Architecture in 1970. He also won the Pritzker architecture prize which is handed out by the Hyatt Foundation in Chicago and the gold medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1998.
The architect is expected to buried in his home city of Rio de Janeiro on Friday (December 7th).
Contact us for a security fencing quote.
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