In the 1960s, the city of Buenos Aires decided to develop an area that had been almost forgotten for years, located in a prime location between the port of Retiro and the city’s economic center. This strip of land, known as Catalinas Norte, was divided up and sold to various companies with the aim of constructing office towers or hotels. The first building to be constructed was the Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel between 1969 and 1972, and the first office tower was the Torre Conurban (1969-1973), a 25-story building with two faces: a modern facade opening onto the river to the east with a glass curtain wall and a west-facing facade overlooking the city, inspired by industrial brickwork. Among the buyers of plots was IBM, which planned to build an office tower to house its Argentine headquarters. After an initial project was shelved, a new design was presented by Argentine architect Mario Roberto Álvarez, and the building was finally inaugurated in 1983 after four years of construction.