Andraus Building

Brief Information

The Andraus Building was first called “House 50”: it was the fiftieth project of the Andraus construction company, built in 1957–1962 to a design by the Polish architect Mayer Botkowski. This alone makes the skyscraper not just a high-rise, but a kind of company signature on the corner of Avenida São João and Rua Pedro Américo in the historic center of São Paulo.

Today, the building is understood through a sharp change in function. Before the 1972 fire, it housed company offices, while the basement and first floors were occupied by the popular Pinari store; after repairs, government offices were installed here. That is why the local nickname “Pinari Building” matters: it preserves the memory not of the current purpose, but of the lower floors, which once gave the entire tower its everyday name.

What to notice right away

It makes sense to look at Andraus as a vertical building whose history is distributed across its floors. The lower part is connected with the former Pinari store and the start of the fire: the blaze began on the second floor after an electrical overload. Because of this, the first levels here are no less important than the overall height: they explain both the old nickname and the turn in the building’s fate.

The upper part offers another key. When the emergency staircase could not be used, many survivors climbed to the top floor and stayed there until the fire was extinguished; people were evacuated from the roof by helicopter. Therefore, the 32 floors and height of 115 meters are perceived not only as the parameters of a skyscraper. In this building, the lower part recalls its former commercial life, while the upper part recalls how the very form of the tower became part of the rescue.