It hovers 16 meters off the ground, like a UFO. Some call it “spaceship architecture.” Niemeyer called it a flower. The MAC Niterói (Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói – located in Rio de Janeiro) is one of those unique structures that forces you to stop and stare (maybe even share).

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Designed by Oscar Niemeyer and opened in 1996, MAC Niterói is something straight from a James Bond film. Sitting on the edge of a cliff in Guanabara Bay, the saucer-shaped structure is propped up by a single piece of concrete thanks to the work of structural engineer Bruno Contarini. 

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A shallow reflecting pool hugs the base, reinforcing its illusion of lightness. Inside the structure, visitors have a 360° view of Rio’s skyline, Sugarloaf Mountain, and the sea. The custom ceiling to floor glass window panels are angled at 40° to kill glare and maintain an optimal viewing experience. The central hall is open, without support columns breaking up the space- relying on only 6 support columns within the upper deck to carry the radial beams in the ceiling- an engineering feat used to preserve the open feeling found inside the central hall.

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Forgoing symmetry, Niemeyer designed a spiral staircase that winds up to the entrance like a space-age red carpet event. Every turn while on the grounds gives visitors a new vantage point with minimal interruptions of the surrounding mountains- the staircase and other edges of the structure frame and flatter the curves of the landscape, rather than fully obstructing them. 

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The building and its grounds are more than just a flex of Brazilian modernism– The MAC is an important fixture for Brazil’s art world. MAC houses pieces ranging from the 1960s to 1990s, within a permanent collection of 1,217 works endowed by art collector João Sattamini (who participated in the questionable acquisition of the land on which to build the museum, but we’re here to talk architecture right now) and since its opening been a host for the work of countless Brazilian artists and space for fashion, music, and film. 

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“What attracts me are free and sensual curves. The curves we find in mountains, in the waves of the sea, in the body of the woman we love.”

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He wasn’t kidding. This building is pretty damn curvy.