Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho, a Brazilian architect who was born on December 15, 1907 in Rio de Janeiro. At the age of 21, he began work in his father’s typography house, and entered the Escola de Bellas Artes (School of Fine Arts) and graduated as an engineer architect in 1934. Though he graduated in financial difficulty, he worked for free in the architecture studio of Lucio Costa and Carlos Leao; his dissatisfaction with street architecture motivated him to work, as he believed he could make a difference there. Extending beyond art, Niemeyer joined Brazil’s Communist party, eventually becoming its president. Because of his leftist stance, under Brazil’s military dictatorship, his office was raided and he was sent into exile to Europe. When Brazil fell back under democratic rule in the 80s, Niemeyer returned to his home country. Today, he is still involved in over 100 various projects, and is one of the most notable modern architects today.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Oscar Niemeyer’s works are characterized by their spacious and voluminous forms, contain unconventional patterns and are often sustained by pilotis (columns, pillars or stilts). What makes his work so alluring is his use of positive/negative space, and form. Niemeyer’s works are all his own: they are unique in shape and style, and they are unmatched by many other modern architects today.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 (Above) Catedral de Brasilia: Illustrates form- supported by unique pillars that create positive and negative space.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             (Above) Museo Oscar Niemeyer Museum (NovoMuseu) Curitiba, Brazil: Illustrates gravity defiance.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               (Above) Palacio da Alvorada: Illustrates positive and negative space.