Pampulha Dance Hall, Modernist dance hall in Pampulha district, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

The Casa do Baile consists of two intersecting circles: one holds the main hall, the other the rear service area. From this base extends an undulating concrete canopy supported by columns, ending in a small amoeba-shaped volume faced with decorative tiles. The building sits on an artificial island in Lake Pampulha, linked to the shore by a concrete bridge. The structural design was by engineer Albino Froufe, and the landscape by Roberto Burle Marx.

Juscelino Kubitschek, mayor of Belo Horizonte, commissioned Oscar Niemeyer in 1942 to design buildings around Lake Pampulha. The Casa do Baile opened in 1943 as a restaurant and dance hall on an artificial island. After gambling was banned in 1946, the adjacent casino closed, and the Casa do Baile ceased operations in 1948. It reopened in 2002 as an architecture and design center.

The name Casa do Baile ("Ball House") recalls its 1943 opening as a restaurant and dance hall meant as popular entertainment for Belo Horizonte. Gambling's nationwide ban in 1946 closed the neighbouring cassino, and the Casa shut in 1948. Since 2002 it has run as a reference centre for architecture, urbanism and design, with temporary exhibitions, seminars and a 53-seat auditorium.

The building sits on an island accessible only by bridge, making it easiest to reach via public transportation from central Belo Horizonte or through organized guided tours. The setting on the lake means visitors should allow time to walk across the bridge and explore the surrounding area.

The canopy ends in a small amoeba-shaped volume faced with decorative tiles, and in front of it sits a circular stage ringed by an amoeba-shaped pool. Niemeyer said this was the project where he explored curves most freely. A 2016 UNESCO listing led to the demolition of a later entrance booth.