The Alas Building ( es, Edificio Alas) is a Rationalist residential and office building located in the San Nicolás section of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

. It stands at a height of 141 metres (463 ft) and houses 41 floors. Alas was the tallest building in Buenos Aires between 1955 and 1995, when it was surpassed by the Le Parc tower. It has long been a vital part of the skyline of Buenos Aires, together with other, neighboring buildings on

Leandro Alem Avenue Avenida Leandro N. Alem is one of the principal thoroughfares in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a commercial nerve center of the city's San Nicolás and Retiro districts. It joins Avenida del Libertador and Avenida Paseo Colón, its northern and ...

, such as the similar Comega Building (1930), as well as those built in the International style during the 1970s (notably the Catalinas Norte development). Recently, however, it was overshadowed by the construction of several towers in the Puerto Madero area; as of 2009, it remains the 20th tallest building in Argentina. The building was commissioned in 1950 by President

Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine Army general and politician. After serving in several government positions, including Minister of Labour and Vice President of a military dictatorship, he was elected ...

for the Association of Unionized Latin American Workers (''ATLAS, S.A.''); he ordered that plans include an underground bunker for use in case of war or a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

. Perón, however, did not seek refuge there during the 16 June 1955 bombing of Plaza de Mayo by the

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with th ...

in an attempted coup, nor was he able to do so during his eventual overthrow, three months later.Page, Joseph. ''Perón: A Biography'' New York: Random House, 1983. The building was transferred to the Argentine Air Force after the 1955 coup, and renamed ''ALAS'' ("wings"). The bunker was later converted into Argentine Public Television studios. These were relocated to Figueroa Alcorta Avenue in 1978, though two underground floors are still in occupied by parking spaces, a gym, the boiler room, bike racks and other amenities.

References

{{coord, 34, 35, 57, S, 58, 22, 14.1, W, source:eswiki_region:AR_type:landmark, display=title Office buildings completed in 1951 Buildings and structures in Buenos Aires Residential skyscrapers in Argentina Skyscraper office buildings in Argentina