{"id":8154,"date":"2016-11-24T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-11-24T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/architizer.wpengine.com\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/"},"modified":"2022-05-31T07:59:14","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T11:59:14","slug":"architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/tools\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/","title":{"rendered":"Architects\u2019 Sketchbooks: Oscar Niemeyer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sign up for the next One Drawing Challenge to be informed when the next competition opens for submissions: <\/i>One Drawing Challenge<\/i><\/span><\/a>. Be sure to check out the incredible work by this <\/i>year\u2019s finalists<\/i><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

After the vibrant watercolors of Steven Holl<\/a>, the precisely penciled musings of Le Corbusier<\/a>and the minimalistic sketches of Tadao Ando<\/a>, behold the scribbles of the late Brazilian Modernist, Oscar Niemeyer<\/b>. Like Ando, Niemeyer\u2019s concept drawings included only the bare essentials required to communicate his iconic forms, occasionally combined with the source of their inspiration, particularly the reclined female figure.<\/p>\n

Niemeyer emphasized the key elements of the buildings that define his signature style: their striking outlines, designed to create instantly recognizable silhouettes upon the horizon. Often, a smattering of people were included to lend his object-like architecture a sense of scale: In an instant, bowls, vases and flowers were transformed into domes, towers and spires.<\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\n<\/div>\n\n

Via YouTube<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cI remember when I was a kid, about 10 years old,\u201d reflected Niemeyer in an interview published by Motherboard<\/a> in 2012, the year the architect passed away. \u201cI liked to draw in the air with my fingers. My mother would always ask, \u2018Boy, what are you doing?\u2019 I would say, \u2018I\u2019m drawing!\u2019 It was as if I could see the drawing, and I could even correct it, if I had to.\u201d<\/p>\n

This innate sense of how drawings could be manipulated and developed was with the architect from an early age, and transferred itself to the free flowing style of his sketches through the following century of his life. Keep scrolling to view some of Niemeyer\u2019s idiosyncratic drawings, each of which culminated in a truly iconic example of Modernism.<\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\n<\/div>\n\n

Contemporary Art Museum, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; via <\/i>designKULTUR<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\n<\/div>\n\n

French Communist Party HQ, Paris, France; via <\/i>Medium<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\n<\/div>\n\n

Fa\u00e7ade detail for the Palacio da Alvorada, Brasilia, Brazil; via <\/i>designKULTUR<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\n<\/div>\n\n

Pampulha Church, Belo Horizonte, Brazil; via <\/i>designKULTUR<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\n<\/div>\n\n

National Congress Building, Brasilia, Brazil; via <\/i>Festival Architettura<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\n<\/div>\n\n

A multitude of Niemeyer\u2019s sketches<\/i><\/p>\n

For more on Oscar Niemeyer, read our in-depth reflection on the architect\u2019s life and works, and to discover more incredible examples of Brazilian Modernism, check out our definitive guide to masterpieces by Niemeyer\u2019s countrymen and -women across the globe here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sign up for the next One Drawing Challenge to be informed when the next competition opens for submissions: <\/i>One Drawing Challenge<\/i><\/span><\/a>. Be sure to check out the incredible work by this <\/i>year\u2019s finalists<\/i><\/span><\/a>. <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Niemeyer emphasized the key elements of the buildings that define his signature style: their striking outlines, designed to create instantly recognizable silhouettes upon the horizon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"architizer_featured_type":"projects","architizer_featured_image":"1840527","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[],"architizer_project":[],"architizer_brand":[],"architizer_firm":[],"architizer_product":[],"class_list":["post-8154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-practice","category-tools"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nArchitects\u2019 Sketchbooks: Oscar Niemeyer - Architizer Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Niemeyer emphasized the key elements of the buildings that define his signature style: their striking outlines, designed to create instantly recognizable silhouettes upon the horizon.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/tools\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Architects\u2019 Sketchbooks: Oscar Niemeyer - Architizer Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Niemeyer emphasized the key elements of the buildings that define his signature style: their striking outlines, designed to create instantly recognizable silhouettes upon the horizon.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/tools\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Architizer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Architizer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-11-24T20:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-05-31T11:59:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Architizer Editors\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Architizer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Architizer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Architizer Editors\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/tools\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/tools\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Architizer Editors\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/603d06ab16c50644a67ffbe501dac72c\"},\"headline\":\"Architects\u2019 Sketchbooks: Oscar Niemeyer\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-24T20:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-31T11:59:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/tools\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/\"},\"wordCount\":437,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Practice\",\"Tools\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/tools\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/tools\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/tools\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/\",\"name\":\"Architects\u2019 Sketchbooks: Oscar Niemeyer - Architizer Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-24T20:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-31T11:59:14+00:00\",\"description\":\"Niemeyer emphasized the key elements of the buildings that define his signature style: their striking outlines, designed to create instantly recognizable silhouettes upon the horizon.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/tools\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/tools\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/tools\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Architects\u2019 Sketchbooks: Oscar Niemeyer\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Journal\",\"description\":\"Inspiration and Tools for Architects\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Architizer\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.architizer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/favicon.df2618023937.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.architizer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/favicon.df2618023937.png\",\"width\":36,\"height\":36,\"caption\":\"Architizer\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Architizer\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Architizer\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/architizer\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/architizer\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/architizer\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/Architizer\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/603d06ab16c50644a67ffbe501dac72c\",\"name\":\"Architizer Editors\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f89496d84e16fb5c0e55f014cbc8ffe0a7613657bc03c7df713ff79347e82657?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.architizer.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Flogo-600x600-1.jpg&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f89496d84e16fb5c0e55f014cbc8ffe0a7613657bc03c7df713ff79347e82657?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.architizer.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Flogo-600x600-1.jpg&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Architizer Editors\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Architizer\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/author\/architizer-editors\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Architects\u2019 Sketchbooks: Oscar Niemeyer - Architizer Journal","description":"Niemeyer emphasized the key elements of the buildings that define his signature style: their striking outlines, designed to create instantly recognizable silhouettes upon the horizon.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/tools\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Architects\u2019 Sketchbooks: Oscar Niemeyer - Architizer Journal","og_description":"Niemeyer emphasized the key elements of the buildings that define his signature style: their striking outlines, designed to create instantly recognizable silhouettes upon the horizon.","og_url":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/tools\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/","og_site_name":"Journal","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Architizer\/","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Architizer\/","article_published_time":"2016-11-24T20:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-05-31T11:59:14+00:00","author":"Architizer Editors","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Architizer","twitter_site":"@Architizer","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Architizer Editors","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/tools\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/tools\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/"},"author":{"name":"Architizer Editors","@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/603d06ab16c50644a67ffbe501dac72c"},"headline":"Architects\u2019 Sketchbooks: Oscar Niemeyer","datePublished":"2016-11-24T20:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-31T11:59:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/tools\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/"},"wordCount":437,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Practice","Tools"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/tools\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/tools\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/","url":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/tools\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/","name":"Architects\u2019 Sketchbooks: Oscar Niemeyer - Architizer Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-11-24T20:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-31T11:59:14+00:00","description":"Niemeyer emphasized the key elements of the buildings that define his signature style: their striking outlines, designed to create instantly recognizable silhouettes upon the horizon.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/tools\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/tools\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/tools\/architects-sketchbooks-oscar-niemeyer\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Architects\u2019 Sketchbooks: Oscar Niemeyer"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/","name":"Journal","description":"Inspiration and Tools for Architects","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Architizer","url":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.architizer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/favicon.df2618023937.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog.architizer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/favicon.df2618023937.png","width":36,"height":36,"caption":"Architizer"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Architizer\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Architizer","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/architizer\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/architizer\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/architizer\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/Architizer"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/603d06ab16c50644a67ffbe501dac72c","name":"Architizer Editors","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f89496d84e16fb5c0e55f014cbc8ffe0a7613657bc03c7df713ff79347e82657?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.architizer.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Flogo-600x600-1.jpg&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f89496d84e16fb5c0e55f014cbc8ffe0a7613657bc03c7df713ff79347e82657?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.architizer.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Flogo-600x600-1.jpg&r=g","caption":"Architizer Editors"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Architizer\/"],"url":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/author\/architizer-editors\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8154\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8154"},{"taxonomy":"architizer_project","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/architizer_project?post=8154"},{"taxonomy":"architizer_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/architizer_brand?post=8154"},{"taxonomy":"architizer_firm","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/architizer_firm?post=8154"},{"taxonomy":"architizer_product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/architizer_product?post=8154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}