Oscar Niemeyer, Father of Brazilian Architecture, Dies at 104

Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, a pioneer in the use of reinforced concrete to produce soaring, curvaceous forms, died Wednesday, his doctors said. He was 104. Niemeyer, who won architecture's top award the Pritzker Prize in 1988,  revolutionized the field for his generation, leaving behind him more than 600 works in Brazil and across the world.

Published

6 months ago

Categories

World, Arts & Society

Topics

South America

People

Oscar Niemeyer

Places

Brazil, Brasilia

Transcript

SCRIPT It was to be his last appearance. At 104 years old, Oscar Niemeyer was getting involved one more time in the Rio carnival….at the Sambodrome which he built nearly 30 years ago. To the end, this most famous of Brazilian architects never stopped taking an interest in the discipline he loved so much. It was that, perhaps, that kept him going for more than a century. SOUNDBITE 1, Oscar Niemeyer (Portuguese, 11 sec): "I try to adapt and I try to think as though I were younger. It makes a difference. The interests I had in life when I was young are the same as I have today." It's in the capital Brasilia that he made his greatest mark. Slender constructions, whose curves put some in mind of Brazilian women. Among them, the cathedral, the ministries, and Parliament, with its two inverted hemispheres. It all meant that when he reached his centenary, the world took notice. SOUNDBITE 2, Oscar Niemeyer (Portuguese, 21 sec): "This centenary thing, I don't place much importance on it. The important thing is that we can create a system where you can also help others. That's the problem, that what political struggle is all about. To make a better, more brotherly world." And politics was never far away for this committed communist. In the 1960s, he fled the Brazilian dictatorship and found refuge in France, where he built around 20 works including Paris's Communist Party headquarters. When he went back home in the 80s, he stayed true to his convictions -- and always hailed the work of president Lula. SOUNDBITE 3, Oscar Niemeyer (Portuguese, 17 sec): "It had been a long time since Brazilians could smile. Now things are different. Brazil is doing better thanks to Lula's work. He gave confidence back to Brazil and to all of Latin America." As did Niemeyer, one of the continent's greatest architects. He leaves behind him more than 600 works across the world, embodying his own humanist vision of architecture. = SHOTLIST = -GVs Niemeyer with wife at Rio Sambodrome, Feb 2012 -GVs in Rio office, Apr 2007 -SOUNDBITE, Rio de Janeiro, Apr 2007 -GVs landmarks in Brasilia, Nov 2011 -GVs receiving Legion d'Honneur two days before his 100th birthday, Rio, Dec 2007 -SOUNDBITE -STILL examining designs for Senegal projects, Rio de Janeiro, Jan 1992 (SOURCe: AFP PHOTO / ANTONIO SCORZA) -STILL with Fidel Castro, Jun 1999, Rio de Janeiro (SOURCE: AFP PHOTO / VANDERLEI ALMEIDA) -STILL during exile in France, Le Havre, Feb 1977 (SOURCE: AFP PHOTO) -GVs at Communist Party headquarters, Paris -GVs at 100th birthday celebrations, Dec 2007 -SOUNDBITE -GVs Brasilia church interior -GVs pigeon house, Brasilia