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Top Brazilian architect, Oscar Niemeyer, checks out Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome. The exhibit is preparing for the upcoming Carnival festivities.

Internationally renowned Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer visited Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome on Wednesday.

It's the final phase of construction, less than two weeks before Carnival kicks-off.

The renewal of the Sambadrome was a way of paying a tribute to Niemeyer's work.

[Eduardo Paes, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro]:
"This is the second construction to be ready for the 2016 Olympics. We have already finished the Athletes' Park, and the Sambadrome renovations are a way of concluding Niemeyer's work for Rio de Janeiro's Olympic dream. Being able to do the Carnival festivities here in a moment like this, when the city is getting ready for the 2016 Olympics, is a way of honoring this place. This is a touristic destination. Every one that comes to Rio de Janeiro thinks of the Christ the Redeemer statue, the Maracana stadium, the Sugarloaf Mountain and the Sambadrome."

The renovation of Sambadrome, the venue for Rio's Carnival parades was among Niemeyer's 15 ongoing projects.

The Sambadrome was inaugurated in 1984 and with this latest renovation it will be able to admit 72,500 people - 12,500 more than last year.

Niemeyer, a native of Rio de Janeiro, still works at his office in Copacabana beach.

Niemeyer, 104 years old, is responsible for the design of several structures in Brazil including the government buildings in the capital city Brasilia and Niteroi's Contemporary Art Museum.

His projects abroad include the headquarters of the United Nations in New York, the Mondadori publishing company building in Milan and the headquarters of France's Communist Party.