The wavy façade
Niemeyer's signature.
Casa de América — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Francisco Anzola — CC BY 2.0 · Gabriel Fernandes from São Paulo, Brasil — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Copan Building is an icon of modern Brazilian architecture on Avenida Ipiranga in central São Paulo. Oscar Niemeyer shaped its famous wavy façade, and it was completed in 1966, so it turns sixty in 2026. It rises 115 metres over 32 floors, with 1,160 flats from small studios to three-bedroom homes, more than seventy shops at street level, and the largest reinforced-concrete structure in the country. It was meant to bring different walks of life under one roof; the original plan included a hotel that was never built, and the name is an acronym of the developer, the Companhia Pan-Americana de Hotéis e Turismo. The rooftop reopened to visitors in September 2026 after six years closed: a guided visit of about half an hour, R$50, booked in advance on the building's website, on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at set times. The lift takes only eight people to the 32nd floor, followed by a staircase to the roof, so it is not wheelchair accessible.
Niemeyer's signature.
Over the centre.
Seventy shops.
Avenida Ipiranga 200, Centro, São Paulo
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