Niemeyer-Kugel, Concrete and glass sphere sculpture in Neulindenau, Germany.

The Niemeyer Sphere is a sphere nearly twelve metres in diameter, its shell made of 20 cm thick white exposed concrete with two rounded window areas of 144 triangular panes, set on the upper edge of a historicist brick factory building in Leipzig-Neulindenau. It appears to rest only on the roof edge, but a red reinforced-concrete shaft matching the brick carries it. Inside, three levels hold building services, a café or bar of about 45 m², and a 91 m² lounge at the sphere's equator, reached by a curved staircase.

In 1994 Ludwig Koehne took over the VEB Schwermaschinen S.M. Kirow for a symbolic Deutschmark. A 2011 letter to Oscar Niemeyer led to a meeting; Niemeyer, who died in 2012 aged 104, had already sketched the sphere. Jair Valera and Harald Kern detailed the design, construction ran from April 2017 to June 2020, costing about three million euros.

The sphere is named after Oscar Niemeyer, who sketched its spherical form before his death in 2012; his close collaborator Jair Valera then worked out the details with German architect Harald Kern. It is not a public venue: the concept is built around closed private parties and celebrations, where guests move freely rather than sitting at a fixed table. A drawing of a beach scene by Niemeyer covers a tiled partition wall in the lounge.

The sphere is not open to the public: it is used for private events and closed parties, with guests moving freely rather than seated at a fixed table. The lower level holds building services, the middle level of about 45 m² can serve as a café or bar, and a curved staircase leads up to the roughly 91 m² lounge at the sphere's equator level. A door from the lounge opens onto the neighbouring roof terrace.

The 144 triangular panes use liquid-crystal glass from Merck, made by a Dutch firm, dimmable in seconds without colour shift. The sphere appears to rest only on the roof edge, but a red reinforced-concrete shaft matching the brick carries it. At night, exterior lighting leaves the windows dark so the ball seems to float.