Oscar Niemeyer in the context of "Brasília"

The headquarters of the United Nations (UN) is on 17 to 18 acres (6.9 to 7.3 ha) of grounds in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It borders First Avenue to the west, 42nd Street to the south, 48th Street to the north, and the East River to the east. Completed in 1952, the complex consists of several structures, including the Secretariat, Conference, and General Assembly buildings, and the Dag Hammarskjöld Library. The complex was designed by a board of architects led by Wallace Harrison and built by the architectural firm Harrison & Abramovitz, with final projects developed by Oscar Niemeyer and Le Corbusier. The term Turtle Bay is occasionally used as a metonym for the UN headquarters or for the United Nations as a whole.

The headquarters holds the seats of the principal organs of the UN, including the General Assembly and the Security Council, but excluding the International Court of Justice, which is seated in The Hague. The United Nations has three additional subsidiary regional headquarters or headquarters districts. These were opened in Geneva (Switzerland) in 1946, Vienna (Austria) in 1980, and Nairobi (Kenya) in 1996. These adjunct offices help represent UN interests, facilitate diplomatic activities, and enjoy certain extraterritorial privileges, but do not contain the seats of major organs.

Urban design is an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on specific design processes and outcomes based on geographical location. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, cities, and regional spaces, urban design considers 'bigger picture' issues of economic, social and environmental value and social design. The scope of a project can range from a local street or public space to an entire city and surrounding areas. Urban designers connect the fields of architecture, landscape architecture and urban planning to better organize local and community environments' dependent upon geographical location.

Some important focuses of urban design on this page include its historical impact, paradigm shifts, its interdisciplinary nature, and issues related to urban design.

Joaquim Maria Moreira Cardozo (August 26, 1897 – November 4, 1978), known as Joaquim Cardozo, was a Brazilian structural engineer, poet, short story writer, playwright, university professor, translator, editor of art and architecture magazines, designer, illustrator, caricaturist, and art critic. He was a polyglot, knowing about fifteen languages.

Cardozo moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1940 and worked with the architect Oscar Niemeyer on some of his major works, including on the Pampulha Modern Ensemble which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Other works include the Monument to the Dead of World War II. Niemeyer described Cardozo as "the most cultured Brazilian there was".