Oscar Niemeyer: Houses [Hardcover]

Alan Hess (Author), Alan Weintraub (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 16, 2006

Oscar Niemeyer is one of the greatest architects of our time. Hugely influential, his work has added a new dimension to modern architecture in the twentieth century. The designer of Brasilia showed that the rhythmic, sensuous lines of Brazilian Modernism were as legitimately modern as the rectilinear lines of the Bauhaus. Oscar Niemeyer Houses showcases the houses built by this seminal modern master in a lavish format that finally does justice to his extraordinary work. Viewed as a collection, these houses serve to demonstrate the wide range of Niemeyer's prodigious genius. The designs show a personal and eclectic facet to Niemeyer's creative imagination, a side of the master little known and under-appreciated. Often built for family members or major clients, they show a wealth of solutions that respond to a wide range of sites: the steep hillsides of Rio, the Atlantic beach shore, the rain forest, and the residential neighborhoods of Rio and Sao Paulo. This celebrated work stands as an enduring and notable tribute to one of the last of the international masters of Modernism.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Internationally renowned architect Niemeyer is generally known for his public structures, but as this oversize book of more than 200 photographs and illustrations highlights, his home designs also displayed great skill and artistry. His work is marked by sculptured modernity, where structure and composition follow the form of natural irregularities. The text provides an overview of the three major periods in Niemeyer's house-designing career: from 1936 to 1953, 1953 to 1963, and 1963 to 2005. The author focuses on more than 20 major residential works, showing how Niemeyer used space and light to connect interior and exterior views. Panoramic photographs of homes throughout the world, including Niemeyer's own home in Brazil, capture the architect's ability to create a context of modernity in nature. Fascinating reading and viewing for anyone interested in modern architecture. Vernon Ford
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Alan Weintraub is a widely published photographer whose most recent books are Frank Lloyd Wright: Houses and Bay Area Style.

Alan Hess, an architect and architecture critic of the San Jose Mercury News, is the author of Googie: Fifties Coffee Shop Architecture, and with Alan Weintraub, The Architecture of John Lautner.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Rizzoli (May 16, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847827984
• ISBN-13: 978-0847827985
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 1.1 x 11.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #407,665 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular Homes Designed in Brazil, September 25, 2006

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oscar Niemeyer: Houses (Hardcover)

Mention modern residential architecture and Frank Lloyd Wright comes to mind along with some of the designs coming out of places such as Scandinavia. At just about the bottom of my list would be houses designed in Brazil. This book points out how clearly wrong such thoughts would be.

The houses designed by Oscar Niemeyer cover a period of seven decades, an extraordinaty time span to expect to see creative design being done. Several of the houses are small, to fit on tiny, difficult building lots. Some are spectacular palaces that use unexpected curves to great dramatic effect.

The vast majority of his houses were design for and built in Brazil. But in addition he designed houses for clients far away from Brazil including the US, France, Israel, Norway and others.

Mr. Niemeyer is better known for his public building, especially those of Brasilia where he designed most of the main buildings. At 98 years old, he is still an active designer, producing still more striking buildings.

This book gives a detailed look at some twenty of the homes he designed while providing brief mention of several others. The pictures of the homes were taken by Alan Weintraub and are of supurb quality. The printing matches the photographs to produce an extremely attractive book.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BRAZILIAN MODERN, October 25, 2006

By 

Shannon Deason (Houston) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oscar Niemeyer: Houses (Hardcover)

Niemeyer's houses are like modern art deco, they exude elegance and elan. This book does a fine job of captureing what makes his work so special, through the crisp images and interesting text. I was familiar with Niemeyer's public work, which frankly I not a huge fan of, but not his house designs, which I must say I appreciate much more than his civic work, I mean Brasilia is a mess, an urban "1984" nightmare, but his houses are much more serene and elegant. Nice book, highly recommended to anyone with a love for architecture.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new facet from this marvelous Brazilian architect, November 5, 2006

By 

Antonio P. B. Neto (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Oscar Niemeyer: Houses (Hardcover)

This is a marvelous edition of a particular unknown facet of Oscar Niemeyer (Houses). He is a Brazilian architect that built an international reputation because of public spaces solutions. This book offers a detailed timeline view of private houses projected by him.