Oscar Niemeyer in 10 Landmarks

The curves found in Brazil's clouds, mountains, and rivers inspired Oscar Niemeyer's innovative and unmistakable style. Hailing from the Laranjeiros neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, he would become the most famous Brazilian architect of all time.

Along with the Golf Yacht Club, the Ballroom, and the Casino (now the Pampulha Art Museum), Pampulha Church forms part of the Pampulha Architectural Ensemble (Conjunto Arquitetônico da Pampulha) and was Niemeyer's first and most important Modernist work.

Two famous painters were involved in building the church: Paulo Werneck, who was responsible for the mosaics on the chapel's side walls, and Cândido Portinari, who created the exterior panel on the rear facade and the paintings inside.

As the first Modernist religious building in Brazil, Pampulha Church faced opposition from the church authorities and was only consecrated in 1959, 15 years after its initial design. Today, the church is considered Belo Horizonte's most important tourist landmark.

It was by invitation from Lúcio Costa, the pioneer of modern architecture in Brazil, that Niemeyer joined the team of architects working on the new Ministry of Education and Health building in Rio de Janeiro, in 1936. Today, the building is known as the Gustavo Capanema Palace.

The team working on the project included young architects Carlos Leão, Affonso Eduardo Reidy, Ernani Vasconcellos, and Jorge Moreira, visual artist Cândido Portinari, landscaper Burle Marx, and sculptors Bruno Giorgi, Celso Antônio, Jacques Lipchitz, and Adriana Janacópulos.

Built at the request of the then minister for education and health, Gustavo Capanema Filho, the building featured some of Le Corbusier's five points of architecture, including pilotis (slender columns) and a free facade. It was opened in 1945 and set a new standard for Brazilian architecture.

When President Getúlio Vargas's suicide caused a national crisis in 1954, financial difficulties forced the BNI to put the project on hold. Building work would resume in 1956, the year Niemeyer left the project to focus on building Brasília, Brazil's new capital.

In 1957, Bradesco Bank (Banco Bradesco) took over construction after buying the bankrupt BNI's assets. It hired architect Carlos Lemos—who had worked in Niemeyer's office in São Paulo—to oversee continuation of the building works, but Copan would not officially open until 1966.

In 1956, Niemeyer was asked by the then president, Juscelino Kubitschek, to build the new government buildings representing the three powers of the Brazilian Republic in Brasília, the country's new capital city.

Three Powers Plaza (Praça dos Três Poderes) is home to the Planalto Palace, the National Congress, and the Federal Supreme Court. Work to build the Planalto Palace—the President of the Republic's headquarters—began on July 10, 1958.

Niemeyer's love of curved lines provided the inspiration for yet another of his iconic works: the Federal Supreme Court Palace, home to the highest court in Brazil (the Supremo Tribunal Federal).

The current Supreme Court building was opened on April 21, 1960—along with the other two government buildings in the Three Powers Plaza (Praça dos Três Poderes)—as part of Brasília's inauguration celebrations.