Niemeyer

(Hardback)

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Description

Until his death at age 104, Oscar Niemeyer (19072012) was something of an unstoppable architectural force. Over seven decades of work, he designed approximately 600 buildings, transforming skylines from Bab-Ezzouar, Algeria, to his homeland masterpiece Braslia.

Niemeyers work took the reduced forms of modernism and infused them with free-flowing grace. In place of pared-down starkness, his structures rippled with sinuous and seductive lines. In buildings such as the Niteri Contemporary Art Museum, Edifcio Copan, or the Metropolitan Cathedral in Braslia, he brought curvaceousness to the concrete jungle. In the futuristic federal capital of Braslia, he designed almost all public buildings, and thus became integral to the global image of Brazil.

With rich illustrations documenting highlights from his prolific career, this book introduces Niemeyers unique vision and its transformative influence on buildings of business, faith, culture, and the public imagination of Brazil.

About the series

Born back in 1985, the Basic Art Series has evolved into the best-selling art book collection ever published. Each book in TASCHENs Basic Architecture series features:

an introduction to the life and work of the architect

the major works in chronological order

information about the clients, architectural preconditions as well as construction problems and resolutions

a list of all the selected works and a map indicating the locations of the best and most famous buildings

approximately 120 illustrations (photographs, sketches, drafts, and plans)

Author Bio

Philip Jodidio studied art history and economics at Harvard and edited Connaissance des Arts for over 20 years. His TASCHEN books include the Architecture Now! series and monographs on numerous major architects, including Norman Foster, Tadao Ando, Renzo Piano, Jean Nouvel, and Zaha Hadid.