National Museum of the Republic

Part of Brasília's Cultural Complex of the Republic, this art museum occupies a striking white dome designed by Oscar Niemeyer and opened in 2006. A single curving ramp spirals up the exterior to an upper entrance, while the vast column-free interior hosts rotating exhibitions of contemporary and modern art. The building's smooth hemisphere, punctuated only by a slim access walkway, has become one of the capital's photographed silhouettes. Together with the adjacent national library it anchors the monumental axis near the Television Tower.