Papadaki - The Work Of Oscar Niemeyer

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mane roe THE WORK OF OSCAR NIEMEYER REINHOLD Original from Digitized b igitized by Goosle UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

With the participation of the younger generation, the field of architectural activities became considerably larger: from a metropolitan to a world-wide movement. It is only then that we begin to notice regional characteristics being expressed in the new buildings, as the stylistic formula responsible for the architecture of Saint Petersburg, Washington, Delhi and Canberra was losing ground. (This formula, widely applied during the nineteenth century, knew neither geographical boundaries nor had any climatic inhibitions.) Attention was given to local materials, to the technological research at hand, to the regional economy; finally, the ethnic heritages were accepted as a justification of a way of life. The preoccupation with regional realities often resulted in contradictory architectural soluDigitized by Google tions. For instance, the answer to the problem of environmental control on the North American continent took strict technological directions. The research of Robert L. Davison for the "engineered wall", a material for the outer shell of a building to be manufactured according to specifications for thermic insulation, sound absorption, impermeability, structural strength, appearance, etc., is a typical example of a trend. Processed materials for outer shells combined with new devices to maintain desirable air and temperature standards and an invariable quantity and quality of artificial light tend to produce building designs and building forms for the "technological man who is able to free himself of his natural surroundings; (eventually, in reversing the procedure, a man could also be the product of specifications). On the other hand, in South Hard shell and porous skin. Above: windowless factory at Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 1948, designed by Lacy, Atherton, Wilson & Davies; Ben Shall, photographer. Opposite page: building with sunscreen (see pages 61). Original from UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

America, the same problem of environmental control seeks constructional and, therefore, plastic solutions. The result is a conditioned or modified natural environment. The development of the sunscreen with its multitude of forms and interpretations is an attempt to maintain minimum barriers between a shelter and the outdoors. Here natural and artificial environments tend to fuse with each other but this does not necessarily mean that plastic forms are in the way of nature" or that they try to participate in a landscape instead of being the dominant feature. However, such contradictory manifestations in contemporary architecture should not be taken as the result of confused attitudes; they are rather proofs of the vitality of the modern movement and they tend to enrich the architectural vocabulary. Oscar Niemeyer Soares Filho of Brazil belongs to this younger generation of architects. He was born the 15th of December, 1907. After his formal education at the Barnabitas College, he entered, in 1930, the National School of Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro to study architecture, and he obtained his degree four years later. But his professional shaping was to be influenced by the impact of two personalities, namely Lucio Costa and Le Corbusier. Niemeyer, out of school and desiring to acquire professional experience, joined the office of the architect Lucio Costa, a man combining professional ability with unusual erudition. Fully aware of the architectural problems of our time, Costa, as the architect for SPHAN (Servico do Patrimonio Historico e Artistico Nacional), was responsible for the restoration of many of Brazil's historical buildings and particularly those in the town of Ouro Preto with their pure colonial baroque. While Niemeyer's association with Costa lasted over a period of years, his contact with Le Corbusier was a brief one. When the latter came to Brazil, appointed by the Minister of Education, Gustavo Capanema, and at the suggestion of Lucio Costa, to work out the plan of a campus for the University of Rio de Janeiro, Niemeyer had the opportunity to be one of the collaborators. During the three months that it took to establish the project, Niemeyer's faith in the role of contemporary architect had been strengthened. Acquiring an insight into the mastery of the art of space and assurance with which to undertake large site planning, he was able later to produce the broad designs for the Athletic Center of Rio de Janeiro and the Aeronautical Training Center of Sao Jose dos Campos. Moreover, Niemeyer's design approach was to be conditioned by the vestiges of colonial baroque and by the climatic and physical aspects of his country. The luxuriant Baroque of Portugal, born among the austere Iberian contours, never had such an appropriate setting as in the tropical and sub-tropical backgrounds of many parts of Brazil. On the other hand, humidity and high temperatures compel a generous use of architectural space as much as landscapes, ranging from fantastic to magnificent, make mandatory their incorporation into the architectural theme. Thus we see in Niemeyer's buildings views carefully selected Original from UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

Project for the University of Rio de Janeiro campus by Le Corbusier, 1936. On the top (M) is the hospital and medical school with buildings for pediatrics, dentistry, etc.; below and left, faculty and students clubs; in the center, the square building is a Museum of knowledge, a building type so dear to Le Corbusier (see Mundaneum, by same), with a theater next to it; below the museum and from left to right, is the Low faculty (D), library, aula magna, administration building and the faculties of Literature and Philosophy (LPS); at the bottom are the Arts and Engineering buildings. Opposite page: perspective view of the campus with the medical buildings in the foreground. Le Corbusier in his book "Des Canons, des Munitions?" (1938) gives the following credit for this project: "'L.-C. in collaboration with the CIAM group of Rio: Lucio Costa, Carlos Leon, Reidy, Oscar, etc. and framed, breezes trapped and channeled, spaces with their own interior horizons, providing the inhabitant with more than a minimum or "sufficient" living environment. While the functional or operational areas of his buildings are rigidly calculated, Niemeyer is able to conceive and justify the empirical space that creates distances, perspectives, islands of repose, necessary for a normal intercourse of human beings under the same roof. And his wandering, baroque inspired lines, becoming structural realities through the reinforced concrete frame, intermarry with the sinuous contours of the small alluvial valleys and the enclosing high mountainous formations. Finally, it should be noted that Niemeyer is fortunate enough to be among a group of painters and sculptors who are in pursuit of parallel if not similar aims. The idea of cooperation of all kindred talent for a common end was revived long ago, but little has been done to replace the current procedure of subcontracting arts as added amenities. It is in Niemeyer's work, like the church at Pampulha or the monument to Ruy Barboza, that we see the first consistant attempt towards a functional coexistance of the major arts. We would like to bring to the attention of the reader a fact that made necessary the inclusion of so many projects in this volume instead of finished work. Because of local conditions a great deal of time elapses between the establishment of an architectural scheme and the erection of the building. For instance, the MinOriginal from UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN