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I worked for 3 months in a building projected by Oscar Niemeyer. It was an horrible experience. The building is on this foto [1], the Jetsons-like structure in

I worked for 3 months in a building projected by Oscar Niemeyer. It was an horrible experience. The building is on this foto [1], the Jetsons-like structure in the front didn't exist back then. It was just the long white slab on the back, without windows. Behind there is a preserved rainforest. The place is very humid and, for aesthetic reasons, the building had no windows and horrible ventilation. It was cold and very moldy and respiratory diseases were very common among the staff. As some people say in Brazil, as an architect, Niemeyer was a very good sculptor. However, some brazilian disciples of him (e.g: Ruy Ohtake) are actually careful about the comfort and well being within their projects. [1] https://curitibaspace.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Museu-Oscar-Niemeyer-MON-Curitiba-Space-2.jpg https://curitibaspace.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Muse...

xroche 4y ago
> As some people say in Brazil, as an architect, Niemeyer was a very good sculptor. We indeed have a lot of those fancy buildings from famous architects, mostly from the 70s. They all share a common pattern: - a repressed artist who became an architect - a beautiful piece of concrete modern art on the outside and that makes fancy design magazine photos - an oppressive building and a complete failure in term of comfort/ergonomy Another example is the "Espaces d'Abraxas". But there are even worse examples when you look at brutalist architecture.
Gibbon1 4y ago
Theory of mine is that there are things that go into how buildings look, materials and current tradition. But also the actual tools an architect uses. Oscar Niemeyer like others of his ilk were really really fond of drafting machines. Drafting machines encourage long straight lines and right angles. CAD is the same except now with splines.
woliveirajr 4y ago
Oh, "the eye" museum. Totally disconected from the surrounding and famous just because it was projected by Niemeyer. Worst cost/benefit with a questionable esthetic.
rbanffy 4y ago
Coming from personal experience, his buildings are a mixed bag. In São Paulo, the Copan building is an amazing architectural and social experiment - it has from single bedroom studios to much bigger units, in a building that was intended to bring those different social contexts together. OTOH, other buildings are woefully impractical. Niemeyer was a brilliant sculptor, but living and working in his sculptures is frequently challenging. Still, most of the time it's like living in a utopian science-fiction movie. And that's insanely cool by itself.
- blowski 4y ago
  The Pampulha Church in Belo Horizonte is beautiful. The apartment block in the centre much less so.
lvxferre 4y ago
That crap also looks like an eyesore. And if anything, that clown bullshitting that it's an abstracted Parana pine makes it even worse. I wish that it was replaced with something in the old colonial style. A man can dream, right. (Also, the problems that you're highlighting are easy to explain if you remember that Niemeyer assumes a tropical country, not a temperate and rather wet city. He simply failed to take the environment into account.)

xroche 4y ago

> As some people say in Brazil, as an architect, Niemeyer was a very good sculptor. We indeed have a lot of those fancy buildings from famous architects, mostly from the 70s. They all share a common pattern: - a repressed artist who became an architect - a beautiful piece of concrete modern art on the outside and that makes fancy design magazine photos - an oppressive building and a complete failure in term of comfort/ergonomy Another example is the "Espaces d'Abraxas". But there are even worse examples when you look at brutalist architecture.

Gibbon1 4y ago

Theory of mine is that there are things that go into how buildings look, materials and current tradition. But also the actual tools an architect uses. Oscar Niemeyer like others of his ilk were really really fond of drafting machines. Drafting machines encourage long straight lines and right angles. CAD is the same except now with splines.

woliveirajr 4y ago

Oh, "the eye" museum. Totally disconected from the surrounding and famous just because it was projected by Niemeyer. Worst cost/benefit with a questionable esthetic.

rbanffy 4y ago

Coming from personal experience, his buildings are a mixed bag. In São Paulo, the Copan building is an amazing architectural and social experiment - it has from single bedroom studios to much bigger units, in a building that was intended to bring those different social contexts together. OTOH, other buildings are woefully impractical. Niemeyer was a brilliant sculptor, but living and working in his sculptures is frequently challenging. Still, most of the time it's like living in a utopian science-fiction movie. And that's insanely cool by itself.

blowski 4y ago
The Pampulha Church in Belo Horizonte is beautiful. The apartment block in the centre much less so.

lvxferre 4y ago

That crap also looks like an eyesore. And if anything, that clown bullshitting that it's an abstracted Parana pine makes it even worse. I wish that it was replaced with something in the old colonial style. A man can dream, right. (Also, the problems that you're highlighting are easy to explain if you remember that Niemeyer assumes a tropical country, not a temperate and rather wet city. He simply failed to take the environment into account.)