Andorinha Building

The Andorinha Building was an apartment building in Rio de Janeiro. It was destroyed by a fire in 1986.^[1]

Andorinha Building
The building in 1938
General information
Architectural style	Art Deco, Brazilian Modernist
Year built	1930–1934
Groundbreaking	1929
Opened	1934
Demolished	1996
Technical details
Floor count	12
Design and construction
Architect	Rino Levi

After its demolition, it was replaced by the Torre Almirante.^[2]

History

The recovered mosaic.

The building was located on the corner of Graça Aranha and Almirante Barroso avenues in central Rio de Janeiro.

On February 17, 1986, a short circuit in a two-way electrical system caused a fire, killing 21 people and injuring more than 50.^[3] Firefighters arrived a few minutes after the fire began, but were unable to take action until an hour later due to problems with their equipment, allowing the fire to destroy five floors in three hours.^[4]

The building had a mosaic panel by artist Belmiro de Almeida. Saved from the fire, the work that was abandoned for nearly twenty years was to be recovered in the beginning of the 21st century, being on display in the neighborhood of Lapa, in the capital of Rio de Janeiro.^[5]

See also

• Joelma Building