8 novembre 2007 - 17 gennaio 2008, Zurich
It opens near Architekturfoyer, Hönggerberg, ETH Zurich, the exhibition “Oscar Niemeyer - Eine Hommage”. The Brazilian Oscar Niemeyer (*1907) is one of the 20th century’s classic architects. Using the possibilities of concrete, he has developed a magnificent formal language characterised by organic contours and volumes that reach out into the space around them. He achieved world renown through his representational buildings for Brazil’s new capital Brasília (1957–1962). The “international style”, which was started by the Bauhaus in Germany and represented by Le Corbusier in Brazil, underwent a unique development in that country, to which Niemeyer made a significant contribution. It was the Brazilian pavilion, designed by Niemeyer and Lúcio Costa, later the town planner of Brasília, at the world exhibition in New York (1939) that drew international attention to Brazil. Niemeyer continued to develop this independent modern style – during the military dictatorship of 1964 to 1984 while in exile in Paris. In the meantime, his oeuvre grew to comprise over 500 buildings and projects. Oscar Niemeyer’s 100th birthday is a good opportunity to pay tribute to his work. The emphasis of the exhibition is on up-to-date photographs of his buildings by the photographer Leonardo Finotti (Lisbon) and portrait photos by Evandro Teixeira (Rio de Janeiro). Documentation and interviews reveal Niemeyer the architect and the personality. An exhibition by the Institut gta, conceptually accompanied by Cristina Casagrande and Remo Halter. Info: tel +41 44 6332963 fax +41 44 6331068 e-mail: ausstellungen@gta.arch.ethz.ch; www.gta.arch.ethz.ch