His own House - ‘53

The house that Niemeyer built for himself in 1953 is an excellent example of Freeform Modernism, and an example that could only exist in Brazil. While the thin, flat roof slab and floor-to-ceiling glass walls are certainly central elements of many classic Modernist buildings, particularly Mies’s Farnsworth House and Philip Johnson’s Glass House, the curvilinear outlines in Niemeyer’s residence are uniquely expressive of Brazilian heritage. The Colonial Baroque architecture that dominated Brazil before is very curvaceous, as is its local artwork. Moreover; the eroded hills, winding rivers and shorelines, and rolling landscape of Brazil itself are a clear inspiration for the forms in Niemeyer’s work. As the architect himself states

1943:          Residencia Peixoto

1943:          Itamatary Palace

1959:          Pantheon

1960:          Catedral Metropolitana

1960:          Congreso Nacional

1972:          Le Havre Cultural Centre

1996:          Apartamentos Building (Rio)

1996:          Lady of Fatima

The Creator's Words

"Architecture must express the spirit of the technical and social forces that are predominant in a given epoch; but when such forces are not balances, the resulting conflict is prejudicial to the content of the work and to the work as a whole. Only with this in mind may we understand the nature of the plans and drawings which appear in this volume. I should have very much liked to be in a position to present a more realistic achievement: a kind of work which reflects not only refinements and comfort but also a positive collaboration between the architect and the whole society."

"I have always," says Niemeyer, "accepted and respected all other schools of architecture, from the chill and elemental structures of Mies van der Rohe to the imagination and delirium of Gaudi. I must design what pleases me in a way that is naturally linked to my roots and the country of my origin.