“You could call Niemeyer the last of the true believers, but he was more than that: an extraordinary blend of passion, arrogance, and naivety, seasoned, I suspect, with more than a little craftiness,” Goldberger writes. “Other than his mentor, Le Corbusier, whose name was inextricably connected to modern architecture in France, I cannot think of a modern architect whose career was so profoundly tied in the public mind to the life and culture of his country. Niemeyer was not just an architect who came from Brazil; he was Brazil, as much as Pele or the samba.”
Maybe there is something to that. His fans are not merely remembering Niemeyer; they are grieving for a national symbol of Brazil. At any rate, the outpouring of affection for Niemeyer continues over social media. ARCHITECT has collected just a few examples of Twitter tributes to Niemeyer.
Lindsey M. Roberts is a freelance writer outside of Seattle, specializing in interiors and design, and a former assistant managing editor at ARCHITECT. Her work has appeared in National Geographic, Gray, Preservation, and The Washington Post, for which she writes a monthly column about products for the home.
