Meeting Oscar Niemeyer Today is a very special day. We are on our way to meet the legendary architect and artistOscar Niemeyer in his office in the upmarket Rio de Janeiro neighbourhood of Copacabana. Located on the Avenida Atlantica, it has stunning views of the bay and thelong oceanfront boulevard. Inside, we get a glimpse of how the mind of a creative genius works. The walls arecovered with hasty sketches, detailed drawings and photos of completed projects; thedesks are overflowing with papers and notebooks, and there are books everywhere.Niemeyer receives us in his library, surrounded by his books, and starts talking about Rio,which is for him all about the Brazilian soul – and youth. “Le Corbusier once said that Ihad Rio’s mountains in my eyes,” he says. “I laughed.” While Niemeyer celebrated his 100

birthday in 2007, his mind remains as sharp as aknife and his spirit is young. He is working on all kinds of projects in Brazil and beyond,and even got married in 2007. I mention that it is a great honour for us to meet him, and he replies: “I am very happy tomeet you too, I am happy that young people are interested in my work and that I cantransfer my knowledge and experience to the next generations.”Besides being an architect and an artist, he is also an idealist. He paid a high price for hissupport of communism, and was forced into exile during the military dictatorship in Brazilin the 1960s and 70s. Niemeyer was unhappy to be so far from his beloved homecountry, but working in Paris was a great boost to his international career.