"Brazilian modernist Oscar Niemeyer’s 1960 National Congress Building in the country’s new capital of Brasília was designed as a national symbol: futuristic, progressive, but distinctly regional. Composed of a doubled tower and white dish and dome structures atop a low horizontal building, this sculptural complex houses the Senate, Chamber of Deputies, secretariat offices, and committee rooms. The building has recently been made newsworthy again by anti-democracy protests held in its large public spaces. Niemeyer’s modernism reflects the clean lines of the International Style but with added whimsy and an inherent connection to organic forms. In 1987, his National Congress Building became the first modernist structure and first structure under a century old to be designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. This article originally appeared on Architectural Digest." - Elizabeth Fazzare