Perhaps the name Torre Paulista doesn’t sound familiar, but its presence has probably caught your eye during a walk around the capital. Better known as “the abandoned building on Paulista Avenue”, the building intrigues passers-by with its bold curved shape and, above all, for being empty on one of the capital’s busiest and most cosmopolitan thoroughfares.
Anyone who sees the building today, with its neglected façade, broken windows and covered in graffiti, can hardly imagine it in its best days. Before it was abandoned, however, the Paulista Tower once housed bankers and almost became the city’s first Hard Rock Hotel.
Torre Paulista: learn about the history of the abandoned building on Avenida Paulista
The building, erected in 1972 at 949 Avenida Paulista, was designed by architects José Gugliota and Jorge Zzupim, two great names in modernism and brutalism in Brazil. Since its inauguration, when it was still called the Aquários Building, the Paulista Tower has stood out for its curved and slender design, tapering all the way to the top.
With 19,000 square meters, the building is opposite the Gazeta Building, right in the heart of São Paulo’s frenzy. For decades, it accompanied the financial aura of the region and housed the headquarters of the Japanese bank Sumitomo, until it was occupied by commercial offices.
From luxury to decadence
In 2018, the Hard Rock group announced plans to set up its first hotel in São Paulo, choosing the Paulista Tower to house the development. The project called for a 230-room themed hotel combining the property’s bold architecture with the chain’s musical identity.
With the announcement, all the tenants had to leave their rooms. But the renovation never got off the ground and the building has been empty and dilapidated due to lack of maintenance ever since .
At the moment, Hard Rock itself makes no mention of the building on its official website, which reinforces suspicions that the hotel idea will not go ahead. Meanwhile, the Paulista Tower remains “the abandoned building on Avenida Paulista”, with no useful use, causing curiosity and indignation among those who witness its decay.
