Photo © Alan Weintraub/arcaidimages.com Niemeyer's design for the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Oscar Niemeyer died in Rio de Janeiro on December 5th, just ten days shy of his 105th birthday. One of the last living links to the founding generation of Modernist architects, Niemeyer indelibly shaped Brazil’s architectural identity, immortalized in the monumental government buildings he created for the new capital, Brasília. He became a household name there, if not a national hero. Fittingly, Niemeyer’s casket lay in state at the presidential palace, which he designed, before a funeral worthy of a political leader. Photo