Uso e re-uso do edifício do Museu Oscar Niemeyer MON

Oscar Niemeyer designed a building for the Instituto de Educação do Paraná- IEP (Paraná Education Institute) in Curitiba in 1967, which has never been used as a school. This building is located next to the Civic Center, projected by David Azambuja team, Lucio Costa’s disciples, in the early 1950’s. Two years later, using the same typology, Niemeyer designed the classroom pavilion at Constantine University in Argel. During the period when the architect lived abroad from Brazil, he explored the use of naked concrete structure at its most, an essential concept of “Brutalism”. The main pavilion of the IEP, painted white, measuring 205m x 45m, was originally conceived to hold classrooms, being refurbished into exhibition rooms. This structure was built with beam-walls of 5,50m high, a central inner space of 65m and side balances of 20m. According to the original sketch, the architectural work should have more complementary pavilions. During the structural project of the building, Niemeyer has made another request: the wood signs of the structure should be apparent, one of “Brutalism” characteristics. In 1978, the building was firstly occupied as the headquarters of State Secretaries. This adaptation was designed by Luiz Forte Netto, an architect from São Paulo state, graduated at Mackenzie University, and one of the founders of the Architecture School at Paraná Federal University - UFPR. After the building became vacant, in order to meeting the requests made by the city intellectuals, Niemeyer was invited to transform the building into an art museum in 2002. The main request of the new program was that the main exhibition room, meant to contemporary art, should have a high ceiling, made up of two curving shapes. This main room, built on a pedestal, became the symbol of the museum. According to his usual work methods, Niemeyer used geometric shapes contrasting with the free design of the footbridges access. The most interesting space of Oscar Niemeyer Museum – MON is the pilotis under the giant concrete structure, one of the most important public spaces in the city. In a decade, Niemeyer’s re-used project transformed this building into one of the most visited museums in Brazil.