Copacabana · Rio de Janeiro

Edifício Guahy

A 1932 Art Deco survivor with sharp-cut balconies that nearly fell to the wrecking ball in 1995.

Landmark building

About the building

The Guahy stands at Rua Ronald de Carvalho 181, on the corner of Rua Ministro Viveiros de Castro, one block back from the Lido end of the beach. Designed by Ricardo Buffa and built in 1932, it is one of the most distinctive Art Deco buildings in Rio: geometric, crystal-cut balconies project from a stone-dust facade, and the entrance carries stylized Indigenous motifs in the Marajoara-influenced Deco style of the period.

It is a small residential building by today's Copacabana standards, which is part of the appeal — low unit count, period detail, and a corner position on a quiet street a few minutes from both the beach and the Cardeal Arcoverde metro.

Address: Rua Ronald de Carvalho 181, Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro

History

Built in 1932, the Guahy belongs to the same early-Deco generation as the Itahy and Itaoca, when developers gave their buildings Tupi names and ornamented them with national motifs rather than imported European ones.

The building nearly disappeared in 1995, when new owners sought to demolish it. The permit was denied, the Guahy was restored instead, and it is now documented as a protected example of carioca Art Deco — one of the neighborhood's clearest preservation wins.

What's around

Copacabana Beach (Posto 2) 3 min walk
Metrô Cardeal Arcoverde 7 min walk
Praça do Lido 2 min walk
Santos Dumont Airport 20 min by car

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