NOW Rio de Janeiro
RIO NATURAL MODERNIST
CREATIVE LATITUDES
When the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012) designed his Rio house in 1953, few initially grasped that he was forging a distinctive signature that would permeate the rest of his monumental work. The “Casa das Canoas”, which is open to the public, displays unprecedented harmony between concrete, mountain, water and virgin forest. The windows remove every obstacle between the work and the natural environs. The home’s curved lines imbue the two floors with the city’s easy-going lifestyle, and that microarchitecture is
WHETHER IN ART, DESIGN OR FASHION, INSPIRATION CARES NOTHING FOR TIME ZONES. WHEREVER ON EARTH YOU MAY BE, YOU WILL FIND SOMETHING TO APPRECIATE IN OUR CULTURAL CALENDAR. By Nadia Hamam
mirrored in the monumental presence of the greater structure. It is a messenger, reminding its admirers that, before being the father of Brasilia, the master of concrete was a child of Rio, the place where he grew up and designed his first projects. Large and small works unfold in a satisfying Niemeyer display: the former embody the vision of a builder under communist influence; the latter, particularly private residences, shake loose notions of weight to give expression to human sensuality that is unreservedly cariocan.
> “Casa das Canoas”, estrada das Canoas, 2310 São Conrado.Tuesday through Friday, 1:00-5:00 p.m.
Patricia Parinejad.
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