Kavanagh Building

The Kavanagh Building is a landmark of South American modernism, a rationalist tower rising above Plaza San Martín in the Retiro district of Buenos Aires. Completed in 1936 and designed by the local firm Sánchez, Lagos and de la Torre, it stood for years as the tallest reinforced-concrete building in the world and remains a defining silhouette on the skyline.

Its significance is both architectural and social. The stepped, streamlined massing broke from the ornate French styles that dominated the neighbourhood, announcing a confident, forward-looking city. Legend holds that Corina Kavanagh commissioned the tower partly to spite a rival family, deliberately placing its bulk to block the view between their palace and the Basilica of the Blessed Sacrament, which the building's setbacks still frame at a precise angle.

It occupies a commanding corner of Retiro, overlooking the green sweep of Plaza San Martín and close to the grand hotels, railway terminus and parks of northern downtown. The apartments were luxurious for their day, fitted with central air conditioning and high-speed lifts, and the address has kept its cachet ever since.

For visitors, this is a building to read from the outside, as most floors are private residences. Walk the plaza to appreciate the asymmetrical setbacks and the way the pale concrete catches the afternoon light, then follow the sightline toward the basilica to see the famous framed view. The surrounding streets reward an unhurried stroll past belle-époque mansions and the Torre Monumental. A designated national historic monument, the tower rewards anyone interested in how Buenos Aires embraced the machine age while its neighbours clung to Parisian nostalgia. Its 105-metre height and clean, unadorned geometry influenced a generation of Argentine architects who followed its lead away from Parisian revival and toward modern design.