Pampulha Modern Ensemble, Niemeyer's visionary project, 20 years before Brasilia City...

20 years before Brasilia City, Pampulha Modern Ensemble has been the first visionary and large-scale project of Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer…

The Pampulha Modern Ensemble (Portuguese: Conjunto Moderno da Pampulha)  is a visionary urban project conceived by architect Oscar Niemeyer in the city of Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais) in 1940.

Twenty years before Brasilia City, Oscar Niemeyer conceived this utopist and modernist project, in collaboration with the landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx and Brazilian innovative artists.

The project was ordered by Juscelino Kubitschek, who was Belo Horizonte’s mayor at this time. Sixteen years after, Kubitschek became president of Brazil, and launched the building of Brasilia CIty, still with Niemeyer…

Pampulha was designed around an artificial lake and includes modernist buildings such as a casino, a ballroom, the Golf Yacht Club and the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi.

The Ensemble comprises bold forms in concrete, while fusing architecture, landscape design, sculpture and painting into a harmonious whole. It reflects the influence of local traditions, the Brazilian climate and natural surroundings on the principles of modern architecture.

In July 2016 the site was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.