Niemeyer's 1996 concrete disc perched impossibly above Guanabara Bay. The 50-meter-wide UFO-like museum features a curved ramp spiraling to the floating gallery. From the eastern windows, the museum's curved edge aligns perfectly with Sugarloaf Mountain's slope, framing Rio's entire geography into a single panorama.

Three late-period Niemeyer buildings line Niterói's waterfront: Roberto Silveira Memorial, Teatro Popular, and JK Memorial (2007-2009). White concrete forms against blue water demonstrate his late-period minimalism. No entrance fees or guided tours—just pure architectural statements locals use for jogging and wedding photos.

Edgar de Oliveira da Fonseca's 1979 concrete cone rises 75 meters, holding 20,000 people in a space both vast and intimate. Four curved concrete panels meet at the top, forming a crown-shaped opening. French artist Evelyn Tannus's stained glass windows cast shifting colored light patterns across the interior throughout the day.

Affonso Eduardo Reidy's 1958 museum appears to float on delicate piloti above Roberto Burle Marx's surrounding landscape. Glass walls compose views of Sugarloaf Mountain while Burle Marx's native plants complement the clean geometry. The café still uses original furniture by Sergio Rodrigues—a complete mid-century Brazilian design environment.

Niemeyer's 1985 prototype school turned monumental architecture into a template for public education. The covered playground became the organizing principle, with classrooms arranged around a gathering space. Painted in primary colors, 500 similar schools were built across Brazil—modernism's social promise applied to children's lives.

Burle Marx's 1.2 million square meter masterpiece transformed 1960s landfill into parkland with over 17,000 trees from 240 species. Highways run beneath grass-covered tunnels while pedestrian paths connect beaches to inland neighborhoods. Revolutionary proof that cities should showcase their natural environment rather than suppress it.

Burle Marx's wave-pattern sidewalks stretch 4 kilometers along Rio's southern beaches using traditional Portuguese stone-laying techniques. Individual pieces cut and laid by hand follow mathematical principles based on wave formations—an abstraction of the ocean crashing meters away. Constant maintenance and repair has become part of Rio's urban rhythm.

Niemeyer's 1984 Carnival venue channels 90,000 spectators along a 700-meter parade route with concrete bleachers funneling crowd energy toward performers. From above, the structure resembles a woman in a bikini—a playful Niemeyer gesture. During off-season, it serves as school and community center, proving spectacle architecture can serve everyday needs.

Niemeyer's 1953 private residence in São Conrado built around existing boulders—one emerges through the living room floor, others define the swimming pool edges. Glass walls dissolve interior-exterior boundaries while strategic openings create cross-ventilation eliminating need for air conditioning. Access requires advance arrangements through Instituto Niemeyer.

Burle Marx's 40-year landscape laboratory in Guaratiba, an hour west of Rio. The 365,000-square-meter UNESCO World Heritage estate cultivates over 3,500 plant species in gardens organized by ecological region. Plants discovered in Brazil's interior were studied here before appearing in urban projects worldwide. Tours bookable through IPHAN.