Serpentine Pavilion - Oscar Niemeyer

The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2003 is designed by the seminal Brazilian architect, Oscar Niemeyer. This, his first project in the United Kingdom, will be sited on the Gallery's lawn from 20 June to 14 September, admission is free.

Niemeyer was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1907, where he graduated from the Escola Nacional de Belas Artes in Rio in 1934, before joining a team of architects collaborating with Le Corbusier on a new Ministry of Education and Health in the city.

Throughout the 1950s, he designed ground-breaking public and corporate buildings in Brazil. From 1958 he became chief architect of Nova Cap, the organisation charged with the creation of Brasilia, Brazil's new capital city. The work he did on this extraordinary project, which included two of his masterpieces, the 1958 - 60 Congresso Nacional and the 1960 Catedral Metropolitana, brought him international acclaim.

In 1964 a political coup forced him into exile in France, where he designed the Headquarters of the French Communist Party, two Universities in Algeria and several important buildings in Italy. With the end of the Brazilian dictatorship he returned to his native country. Among many other international honours, he was awarded the Pritzker Prize for Architecture in 1988.

Oscar Niemeyer says: "I am delighted to be designing the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, my first structure in the United Kingdom. My idea was to keep this project different, free and audacious. That is what I prefer. I like to draw, I like to see from the blank sheet of paper a palace, a cathedral, the figure of a woman appearing. But life for me is much more important than architecture.”

Julia Peyton-Jones, Director of the Serpentine Gallery, says: "Oscar Niemeyer is one of the world's greatest living architects and we are thrilled that he has agreed to design the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2003. It is a privilege to provide a long-overdue opportunity for the British public to see his work at first hand.”

Rudolf Ferscha, Chief Executive Officer of Eurex, says: "We are delighted to be associated with one of London's finest and most accessible contemporary art galleries through our sponsorship of the Serpentine Pavilion 2003 designed by Oscar Niemeyer. Eurex stands for open, democratic access to financial markets. We connect people across borders and in this spirit we support this exciting project.”

Cecil Balmond, Chairman of Arup Europe, says: "We imagine a park and a Pavilion, nature and a piece of architecture, and Oscar Niemeyer intervening to place his magical mark on both. Arup is delighted to be part of this ambition. We remember the ideals of Ove Arup himself, who spoke for an approach to design, where technique is not laboured and where the whole is greater than the parts. In the work of Oscar Niemeyer we find such simplicity and joy at the highest level, a trace that flourishes in Brazil and now happily comes to London and the Serpentine Gallery.”

The progress of the Pavilion build can be followed by visiting: http://www.0lll.com/lud/pages/architecture/archgallery/niemeyer_serpentine. The Serpentine Gallery would like to thank Ludwig Abache for these photographs.

The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2003 is generously supported by: William Hare Ltd; The BDL Group plc; Corus; Keltbray; Saint-Gobain Glass; Schmidlin UK Ltd; John Doyle Group; Clipfine Ltd; Knight Frank; Laing O'Rourke Group; Lovells; Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd; Contech UK Ltd; Hydro Aluminium Rolled Products Ltd; Montagu Evans; Siteco Limited; Bovis Lend Lease Ltd; Davis Langdon and Everest; Penten Construction; T. Clarke plc; Dulux; Hart; Moveman.

The Serpentine Gallery would like to thank and acknowledge the kind assistance of the Brazilian Embassy in London, and the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations in Brasilia.

As in previous years, the Pavilion will be offered for sale at the end of the Summer to contribute towards the costs of this addition to the Serpentine Gallery's Exhibition Programme. Please contact Richard Ford at Knight Frank on 020 7647 6600.

Notes: This is the fourth Pavilion in the Serpentine Gallery's series of Architecture Commissions, following structures by Zaha Hadid (2000), Daniel Libeskind with Arup (2001), and Toyo Ito with Arup (2002). Pressetext

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2003 designed by Oscar Niemeyer