Born in Rio in 1907, the young Oscar spent his time between his father’s printing shop and the city’s bars and nightspots, seeking the company of the underdogs. His career started in the practice of Lucio Costa, an influential modernist architect, and took off when the mayor of Belo Horizonte commissioned Niemeyer to design some public buildings for Pamphula. From then on, his signature buildings popped up all over Brazil, from the suburbs of Rio to entire areas of Sao Paulo and on to Brasilia, arguably Niemeyer’s most iconic accomplishment. The entire city, built on a dry, empty plateau, is a feat of engineering and sensuality, of concrete and light. By showing the infinite aesthetic possibilities of concrete, and a fresh take on rationalism, Niemeyer influenced entire generations of architects.