10 Things You Should Know About Oscar Niemeyer

Niterói Contemporary Art Museum, Brazil
  1. Niemeyer, with Lucio Costa, designed the Brazilian Pavilion for the New York World's Fair
  2. His first executed work was a maternity clinic
  3. He worked with Le Corbusier on the preliminary plans for the Ministry of Education Building in Rio de Janiero, Brazil
  4. Niemeyer began his career in architecture before he graduated from university
  5. He was a member of the United Nations Headquarters Design Committee
  6. He considered the Modern Art Museum in Caracás, Venezuela as marking an important shift to minimalism in his designs
  7. Niemeyer was head of the design group responsible for creating the first public building in the world to be expressed in the modernist architectural medium (Ministry of Education Building, Rio de Janiero)
  8. Mayor Fiorella LaGuardia made him an honorary citizen of New York City in 1939
  9. With the assistance of 60 architects, Niemeyer conceived, developed, and produced final drawings for all the important federal buildings for Brasilia in less than two years
  10. Niemeyer will celebrate his 102nd birthday on December 17, 2009.
Modern Art Museum, Venezuela