The Andorinha Building was an apartment building in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. It was destroyed by a

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

in 1986. After its demolition, it was replaced by the

Torre Almirante Torre Almirante is a skyscraper located at the Centro neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, ...

History

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

. On February 17, 1986, a

short circuit A short circuit (sometimes abbreviated to short or s/c) is an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path with no or very low electrical impedance. This results in an excessive current flowing through the circuit ...

in a two-way electrical system caused a

, killing 21 people and injuring more than 50. 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. The building had a

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

panel by artist

Belmiro de Almeida Belmiro Barbosa de Almeida (22 May 1858 –12 June 1935) was a Brazilian painter, illustrator, sculptor and caricaturist. Biography Almeida was born in Serro. His first lessons were at the "Liceu de Artes e Ofícios" (School of Arts and Crafts ...

. 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.

References

{{coord missing, Brazil Buildings and structures in Rio de Janeiro (city) Fires in Brazil Residential buildings completed in 1934 1986 in Brazil Art Deco architecture in Brazil Buildings and structures demolished in 1996 1996 disestablishments in Brazil 1986 fires 1934 establishments in Brazil Apartment buildings

History

See also

References