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Article: Architect, 101, denied chanceto add final flourish to city he created
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- February 10, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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IT IS probable that at 101 years old, Oscar Niemeyer, the guru of
modernist architecture whose greatest project was the city of
Brasilia, is old enough to withstand disappointment, even as large
as the one he has just suffered. He thought he was on course to
adorn the city's skyline with one last flourish. But now, suddenly,
he isn't.
Brasilia, widely considered an architectural masterwork and an
unparalleled urban catastrophe, will turn 50 next year and it had
seemed natural that it should fall to Niemeyer, who is still working
at the cusp of his second century, to come up with a suitable new
monument to mark the occasion.
Thus was born his blueprint for the "Plaza of Sovereignty", ...