The Alas Building () is a
Rationalist residential and office building in the
San Nicolás section of
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
,
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
. It is 141 metres (463 ft) high with 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 part of the skyline of Buenos Aires. As of 2009, it was 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 military officer and Statesman (politician), statesman who served as the History of Argentina (1946-1955), 29th president of Argentina from 1946 to Revolución Libertad ...
for the Association of Unionized Latin American Workers (''ATLAS, S.A.''). He ordered that plans include an underground
bunker
A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...
for use in case of war or a
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup
, is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
. Perón, however, did not seek refuge there during the 16 June 1955
bombing of Plaza de Mayo
On 16 June 1955, 30 aircraft from the Argentine Navy and Argentine Air Force, Air Force bombed and strafed Plaza de Mayo, the main square of the Argentina, Argentine capital Buenos Aires. The attack targeted the adjacent Casa Rosada, the seat of ...
by the
Argentine Navy
The Argentine Navy (ARA; ). 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 the Argentine Army, Army and the Argentine ...
.
[Page, Joseph. ''Perón: A Biography'' New York: Random House, 1983.] The building was transferred to the
Argentine Air Force
The Argentine Air Force (, or simply ''FAA'') is the air force of Argentina and one of three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic. In 2018, it had 13,837 military and 6,900 civilian personnel. FAA commander in chief is Brigadie ...
after the 1955 coup and renamed ''ALAS'' ("wings") and the bunker was later converted into
Argentine Public Television studios. These were relocated to
Figueroa Alcorta Avenue in 1978. Two underground floors are occupied by parking spaces, a gym, the boiler room, bike racks and other amenities.
References
{{Portal bar, Argentina, Architecture
Office buildings completed in 1951
Buildings and structures in Buenos Aires
Residential skyscrapers in Argentina
Skyscraper office buildings in Argentina