Curitiba

Curitiba, a metropolitan area of 3.636 million,¹ with 1.864 million in the city proper,² is located on a plateau inland from the Sierra do Mar (Sea Range) in Paraná State, South Region, Brasil (Brazil). The city grew rapidly in the late 20th century. The tallest building as of the spring of 2016 is Universe Life Square (499 feet, 2014). The previous tallest building was Evolution Corporate (449 feet, 2004). The tallest residential tower is the Edifício (building) Champagnat I (423 feet). Another form of residential drama is achieved by Suite Vollard (164 feet, 2001). Each floor's apartments rotates 360 degrees in different directions and with different colored glass from its neighboring floors. The main building of the Museo (musuem) Oscar Niemeyer (98 feet, 2002), dedicated to architecture, design and visual arts, and named after Brasil's famous architect, is shaped like an airfoil on a post. The Ópera de Arame (Wire Opera house, 47 feet, 2006) is named because it used steel tubes in its construction. Other famous buildings include the Torre das Mercês (also called the Panoramic Tower), an observation tower (360 feet, 1991) and the Palácio (palace) Avenida (58 feet, 1929).³

The city is served by Afonso Penal Airport, one of Brasil's busiest.⁴

External references

Aerial view of skyscrapers in Curitiba, Paraná State, Brasil (Brazil)

Historical Maps

Footnotes

1. 2012 figure from world-gazetteer.com, accessed February 6, 2013.
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_cities_in_Brazil, accessed August 31, 2015.
3. Information about buildings is from emporis.com, accessed May 18, 2016. The museum's focus is from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Niemeyer_Museum, accessed May 18, 2016. The source of the opera house's name comes from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_Opera_House. accessed May 18, 2016.
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_busiest_airports_in_Brazil, accessed August 31, 2015. Selection criterion: those with over one million passengers in 2015.