The Niterói Contemporary Art Museum (MAC Niterói) is a museum located in the city of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro. Designed by the architect Oscar Niemeyer, the MAC has become one of the postcards of the city.
Built in 1996, the architectural complex stands out on the landscape by the boldness of its contemporary features of circular lines, which makes it resemble as a chalice or a flying saucer. The MAC Niterói presents the bare and hard concrete in a round, smooth and modern shape.
The four-storey-structure with 16 meters high and 50 feet in diameter rises from the floor in a single cylindrical base and is inscribed in a square of 2,500 m². An 817-square metre reflecting pool that surrounds the cylindrical base gives lightness to the building. The building also has a winding ramp that leads to its interior.
Located on top of Boa Viagem Lookout, on Niterói’s seafront, the museum, with its futuristic façade, enables visitors to enjoy panoramic views from the courtyard as well as from the inside through its huge glass windows that divide the building on two strips. In the basement is also an area for storage of books, a bar, a restaurant and an auditorium for conferences. MAC Niterói is intended primarily to contemporary artwoks, all dated to the twentieth century, and has the second largest collection of contemporary art in Brazil.
Address: Mirante da Boa Viagem, s/n – Boa Viagem – Niterói – Rio de Janeiro Opening Hours: From Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm.
