Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer is nearly 100. “His flowing forms made a modernist statement of Brasilia, the government center that rose from the empty plains of central Brazil. He also helped design the United Nations headquarters in New York City, insisting on the grand curves of its General Assembly building. Now, as he nears his 100th birthday on Dec. 15, Niemeyer has a desk full of projects in his penthouse office overlooking Copacabana Beach.”