Up until quite lately, the tallest building in Paraguay’s capital and largest city, Asunción, barely exceeded the 100-meter threshold. In recent years, however, the Paraguayan capital is being dotted with a growing number of residential towers, the highest of which, Torre Icono, is also the country’s tallest building, single-handedly dominating the city’s skyline.
By: Omri Westmark
Date: 00:32 28.12.22
Last Update: 21:27 16.03.23
As more and more nations are cramming their cities with jillions of skyscrapers, one cannot help but wonder where is Paraguay in the never-ending race to the sky. While the country is still decades away from becoming an epicenter of high-rise architecture, it is nevertheless catching the pace with each day that passes.
At a height of 142 meters and 37 stories, Torre Icono (the Icon Tower) is not only by far the tallest building in Asunción, but also throughout the entire country as well. Standing at the intersection of Boquerón and Juan de Salazar y Espinoza streets, the residential tower was officially inaugurated in 2011, albeit its final completion took place three year later.
With extremely slender proportions, the skyscraper is part of a recent global trend across many of the world’s largest cities, where the skyline is inundated with a glut of seemingly gravity-defying residential towers. Besides its conspicuous stature, Torre Icono also introduced the Paraguayans to the concept of lofts, the dominant type of apartment throughout the building. While according to the developers, residents had the flexibility to design their space as they wished to, the majority of whom sticked to the rather traditional Paraguayan layout, where the living room and kitchen are merged into a single unit.
Upon its completion in the mid 2010’s, the slim tower surpassed the 107-meter-tall Wilson Tower, which was built twenty years earlier, subsequently becoming the country’s tallest building. Nevertheless, in 2024, the Petra Tower with its 44 floors and 172 meters of height is expected to strip Torre Icono of its much-coveted title.
In sheer contrast to its dominant role in Asunción’s skyline, the structure lies unassumingly at the street level, entered via a somewhat uninspiring black lattice gate. As the solely residential building is off-limit for visitors, the only way in is by trying your best to convince one of the tenants or the maintenance company to grant you an access. If you do somehow manage to do so, expect a myriad of sweeping views, including a glimpse of neighboring Argentina.
photography by: Omri Westmark
photography by: Omri Westmark
photography by: Omri Westmark
photography by: Omri Westmark
photography by: Omri Westmark
photography by: Omri Westmark
photography by: Omri Westmark
photography by: Omri Westmark
