蓝天下，一栋美丽的建筑物矗立，乃由16根柱子构成。这些白柱从一个大圆圈开始架构，然后内弯形成一个钟铃的样子。柱子几乎相互碰触，但却往上延伸出去。柱与柱的间隔里，一片片玻璃墙形成一个环形形状。有蓝白绿色的玻璃装饰。从外头看，建筑物有如多只张开的手，在手腕处连结。建筑物内有天使的雕饰。这正是著名的巴西利亚大教堂。这个基督教大教堂和其他重要的建筑物都是在同时期所建造的，也都是由同一位伟大的建筑师所设计兴建。

Every country in the world has a capital city. The capital is where the leaders of the country live and work. Many capital cities are ports on the ocean. In the past, one such city was Rio de Janiero. It was the capital of Brazil. But the port of Rio de Janiero was extremely crowded. There was not enough space for all the people who lived there. And the business of the huge country of Brazil was concentrated in a very small area.
世上每个国家都有首都。首都是国家领导居住工作之处。许多首都座落在海港。过往一个例子就是 里约热内卢，曾是巴西的首都。但因人口过于拥挤，没有土地足供人居住，导致巴西国家的商业反集中在小地区。

In 1956 Brazil elected a new president - Juscelino Kubitschek. He wanted to move the capital city. This was not a new idea. People had talked about moving the capital city for many years. The name had even been chosen: Brasilia. President Kubitschek decided it was time to finally build Brasilia. But who would design the important buildings? President Kubitschek wanted Brasilia to be beautiful. He wanted it to be modern. So he chose a skilled and experienced Brazilian architect to build Brasilia. His name was Oscar Niemeyer.
1956年巴西有个新总统-库比契克， 他想迁移首都。这个想法不新，人们已经多年谈论此事。甚至都选了新首都名，巴西利亚。库比契克总统决定，建都巴西利亚是时候了。但要由谁来设计重要的建筑物呢？库比契克总统要巴西利亚成为一座美丽又现代的城市。因此，他选了一位经验丰富，技巧熟练的巴西建筑师Oscar Niemeyer. 奥斯卡.尼迈耶来担负此重任。

Niemeyer was born in Rio de Janiero in 1907. He was a well respected architect by the time he was 30 years old. Niemeyer was a great artist. His designs were very different than other buildings at the time. Most other buildings had straight lines up and down. Niemeyer liked to build using half circles and curves. Many of his designs had rounded parts. Niemeyer used these shapes because he saw them in nature. In a book about his life, he explains how he was inspired by the beauty of Brazil:
尼迈耶是1907年在里约热内卢出生。当他30岁时，已经是为人尊敬的建筑师。尼迈耶是一位了不起的艺术家。他的建筑设计和当时代的建筑物很不同。当时候，多半的建筑物都是向上向下的线条。尼迈耶却喜欢用半圆形和弧形的造型。他所设计的建筑大半包含有圆形，因为他观察到大自然中有这些形状。在一本关于他生平的书内，他曾说到巴西的美怎么给了他灵感：

“I did not use traditional architecture designed with straight lines and squares. I boldly entered the world of curves by using concrete. This purposeful protest came from the environment in which I lived. My design came from Brazil’s white coasts, its huge mountains, its old traditional churches, and its beautiful women.”
"我并没有使用传统的直线和方块的建筑设计。我大胆地用混凝土来表现各样的曲线美。这个特意的举动乃源自我所居住的环境。我的设计是源于巴西的白色海岸，高耸的山岭，古旧的教堂和美丽的妇女。"

尼迈耶为巴西利亚所设计的，灵感也来自大自然。大教堂从一开始构想就掌握了自然界的形状为本。为了要搭建这些形状，他用了混凝土的建材。这乃是灰色建筑物的材料，是用沙土石头混合水泥而成的。当这个建材是湿的，就能够把其塑膜成型。混泥土干了后，就固定坚挺。使用混凝土给了尼迈耶 许多自由空间来设计和兴建有意思的建筑物。

Niemeyer was very excited to design the main buildings of Brasilia. He saw the new capital as a chance for a fresh beginning for Brazil. He described his ideas for Brasilia’s buildings:
尼迈耶很兴奋要设计巴西利亚的主要建筑物。他认为新的首都将是代表巴西的崭新开始。他这样的描述他设计的构思和意念：

"When planning the government buildings for Brasilia I tried to push the use of concrete to its limits. I wanted to be as light and detailed as possible.  I wanted it to seem as if the buildings barely touched the ground."
"当策划巴斯利亚政府公用建筑物时，我就尝试把混凝土的作用发挥到极致。我要它能很轻盈又讲究细节。我要让建筑物感觉上就只是轻轻碰触地面而已。"

This seems like an impossible thing to do - to make heavy concrete seem like it is floating. But Niemeyer achieved it! Niemeyer designed a building called The Palace of the Dawn. It was a house for Brazil’s president. This building looks like it is floating above the ground. It has curved white points around it. They are very light and beautiful. A lake around the palace reflects these curved shapes.
要使厚重的混凝土给人漂浮的感觉- 这几乎是不可能作得到的，但尼迈耶作到了！他设计了一个叫"黎明宫殿"的建筑，是总统的官邸。这个建筑物被白色弧形尖端所围绕，看来就象漂浮在地面上一般，非常的轻盈美丽。环绕宫殿四周有个湖，可以映照出这些曲线的线条。

 

Niemeyer also designed the National Congress. This government building has many parts. The biggest part is two tall towers that rise straight up into the air. On one side of this is a white building. It is shaped like a bowl that a person would eat out of. On the other side is a building in the opposite shape. It is a dome, which is rounded on top like a bowl turned upside down. These shapes are not the usual design of government buildings. Niemeyer told the BBC:

尼迈耶也设计了国会大楼。这个政府的建筑物有许多的部分。最大的是两个直直拔地而起的高塔。此外，一边是一个白色建筑物，样子像我们吃饭的碗。另一边则形状相反，顶头是圆的，像碗被倒置了的一个圆拱形状。这些形状一点都不像一般政府所在处会有的设计。他对英国国家广播的记者说：

"If you go to see Brasilia, the important thing is this: you may or may not like the buildings, but you could never say you had seen something similar before. Those fine columns, the buildings like a bird’s feathers touching the ground, all that creates an effect of surprise.”
"你若是去到巴斯利亚，重要的是：你可能喜欢或不喜欢这些建筑物，但你不会说这些我好像似曾见过。那些大柱子，那些像鸟的羽翼碰触地面的建筑，总都会创造出让人惊奇的果效来。"

Niemeyer believed that building Brasilia was an important project for the whole country. Building the new city would be a way to give people jobs. It did not take any special education to build with concrete. So, many different people could help build Brasilia. Niemeyer designed and built Brasilia in only four years. Brasilia became the official capital of Brazil in 1960.
尼迈耶相信巴斯利亚的建筑对整个国家而言是很重要的。兴建新首都将带给人们工作机会。用混凝土建盖大楼，并不需要什么特别教导。也因此，许多不同的人可以参与建造巴斯利亚，尼迈耶用了仅仅四年时间来设计兴建巴斯利亚。1960年巴斯利亚正式成为巴西的首都。

Niemeyer also hoped that his buildings would bring people joy. Niemeyer believed that all people should enjoy the buildings of Brasilia. He believed that architects should inspire and serve other people. He told the Biography Channel website:
尼迈亚也希望他设计的建筑能带给人欢乐。他相信所有的人都该能以喜悦的心欣赏巴斯利亚的建筑。他相信建筑可以带给人灵感也服务人们。他告诉网络传记频道说：

"It is important that the designer think of more than design. The architect's role is to fight for a better world. One where he can produce an architecture that serves everyone not just a group of important people."
"身为设计师，重要的是要思想超越设计的内涵。建筑师的角色乃是努力使世界更美好。在那样的前提下，他好能兴建一个建筑物来服务每一个人，不是只服务重要的人们而已。"

Today, Niemeyer’s buildings do just this. Brasilia is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The United Nations believes that these buildings are important cultural structures. People from all over the world come to Brasilia to see Niemeyer’s buildings. Their beautiful design continues to inspire people – and will continue to do so for many years.
当今，尼迈耶的建筑设计，正达到这目的。巴斯利亚现在是聯合國教科文組織世界文化遗产之一。联合国相信这些建筑物是宝贵的文化建筑。世界各地的人来到巴斯利亚观赏他的建筑物。它们美丽的设计至今继续带给人灵感，也将仍旧如此。