"It was the drawing that led me to architecture, the search for light and astonishing forms."
The legendary architect's success undoubtedly resides in his attachment to the history of Brazil, its modernization.
"His career coincided with the modernization of Brazil. He was a genius at a time when architecture wanted to reinvent itself radically," says Frederick Fleurette, professor of architecture at the University of Brasilia (UNB).
He leaves a work of astonishing plastic force and expression, a visionary disproportion, a reference to the history of Brazil and architecture, helping give the country a modern visual voice from the 1940s onwards.
As an architect, he has been always faithful to the concrete curves that gave him his international fame.
Oscar Niemeyer was born on December 15, 1907, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He landed his first major project in 1941, planning buildings for the Pampulha Architectural Complex. His designs were noted for their free-flowing forms. Other projects included working on the United Nations building and designing the Contemporary Art Museum in Niterói and major buildings in the capital city of Brasília.
The first Brazilian to win the Pritzker is died at 104 on December 5, 2012.
