Workshop Venue
The Workshop will take place in Belo Horizonte, capital of the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais. Belo Horizonte, and will be held in the Royal Savassi Hotel (www.royalsavassi.com.br), located just one block from the Praça da Liberdade (Liberty Square), one of most beautiful and pleasant a meeting points in the city.
In this opportunity, the 5th International k0-Users Workshop pays homage to Oscar Niemeyer, the world-wide renowned Brazilian architect who turned 100 years old in 2007. He is one of the most important names in international modern architecture. Through the years, Niemeyer has made Belo Horizonte more and more beautiful with several buildings, like the Niemeyer Building in Praça da Liberdade (Freedom Square) and the famous architectural complex in Pampulha consisted of the São Francisco Church (Igreja de São Francisco), the Ballroom House (Casa do Baile), the Pampulha Musem and others.
Oscar Niemeyer is the architect who introduced the sexy Brazilian curves to the international modern architectural style through projects such as Brasília the capital of Brazil, the United Nations headquarters in New York, Housing, Germany, and, most recently, the Niterói Contemporary Art Museum, Brazil.
Accommodation
Hotels rooms will be reserved at the Royal Savassi Hotel (www.royalsavassi.com.br) (fax: +55 31 32613144; phone: +55 31 32476666) at a special rate. At the right time, the information about hotel accommodations will be here so that each workshop participant shall take care of his/her own hotel reservation.
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte, founded in 1897, is the capital of the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais and was the first Brazilian city to use urban planning. It is located around one hour by plane from Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Brasília, important cities in the Brazilian scenario. Brazil’s 3rd largest city, it is the home of 2.5 million inhabitants that contribute to its fast industrial development as the country’s leading export in mineral ore, precious stones, diamonds, nickel and the plant of FIAT automobile manufacture. Belo Horizonte’s main attraction is the Pampulha residential district that surrounds a lake. Juscelino Kubitschek, mayor of Belo Horizonte (president of Brazil, developed this area in the 50's in the 60’s - who built Brasília). Pampulha holds testimony to the first essays of 3 men who achieved world renown: Oscar Niemeyer, Roberto Burle Marx and Cândido Portinari. Oscar Niemeyer, after this project dedicated his time to design Brasília and many other international projects.
Roberto Burle Marx, a landscape artist, has several projects that are known by the public, such as the Copacabana sidewalks made of colored granite stones and Rio de Janeiro’s Flamengo Park as well as several other landscape projects in Europe and private homes. Candido Portinari, a painter is recognized as one of Brazil’s top artists.
Belo Horizonte is and a pleasant place to live in, being an important economical and cultural center.
(http://www.brazil4you.com/cidades/?CodCid=19&TComp=true)
Links
About Niemeyer:
http://www.greatbuildings.com/architects/oscar_niemeyer.html
http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-27352.html#backtoarticle=523409
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/editors-choice
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2007/12/25/arts/20071226_oscar_slideshow_index.html
http://www.floornature.com/articoli/articolo.php?id=16&sez=6&lang=en
About Belo Horizonte:
http://images.google.com.br/images?ndsp=18&um=1&hl=pt-BR&q=Fotos+Belo+Horizonte&start=0&sa=N
Information about Brazil:
http://www.blumar.com.br/novo_site/general_new.cfm?lang=2&emp=1
