Oscar Niemeyer

Oscar Niemeyer, born Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida de Niemeyer Soares (Rio de Janeiro, December 15, 1907 – Rio de Janeiro, December 5, 2012), was a Brazilian architect.

He was one of the most famous and important international architects of the 20th century. Among the pioneers in the exploration of the constructive and expressive possibilities of reinforced concrete, he collaborated for several years with Le Corbusier.

Although he was a defender of utilitarianism in architecture, his creations lack the blocky coldness that postmodern critics often criticize. His buildings reflect the use of dynamic forms and curves so sensual that many admirers have seen him as a sculptor of monuments rather than an architect. At times, some critics have considered this stylistic feature of his as a flaw.

Niemeyer said that his architecture was strongly influenced by Le Corbusier, but in an interview, he assured that this "did not prevent my architecture from going in a different direction". Niemeyer was best known for his use of abstract shapes and curves and wrote in his memoirs:
"I am not attracted to right angles or to the straight line, hard and inflexible, created by man. I am attracted to sensual and fluid curves. The curves that I find in the mountains of my country, in the sinuosity of its rivers, in the waves of the ocean, and on the body of the woman I love. Curves make up the entire universe, the curved universe of Einstein."
Wikipedia: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Niemeyer