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By Soo Kim
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The world’s tallest buildings have been concentrated in Asia in recent years. But a new structure rising in South America is expected to become the world's tallest residential tower upon completion.
The Senna Tower in Brazil will soar to 1,785 feet in the coastal city of Balneário Camboriú and aims to be a symbol of a “new era” for tall buildings. Upon completion, the tower will surpass the height of the tallest building in the United States—the One World Trade Center in New York City, which stands 1,776 feet high—and is expected to be the tallest building outside Asia, based on the latest height data from The Skyscraper Center of the Council on Vertical Urbanism (CVU).
Speaking to Newsweek at the 2026 Vertical Urbanism (VU) Summit of the CVU, civil engineer Stephane Domeneghini, executive director of Talls Solutions, who is leading the project, said the Senna Tower is an **“**icon for the new generation.” That is why the tower’s name comes from Ayrton Senna, the late Brazilian race car driver who won dozens of Grand Prix titles before he died in a crash during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
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“The project is named Senna Tower because Ayrton Senna is a hero for Brazil and represents the best version of Brazil,” Domeneghini said, noting that locals admire the athlete’s history.
According to the engineer, there are expected to be six or seven more years of work to go before the tower’s completion “because we have some restrictions in Brazil.”
“We can work only from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day and not during the weekends," Domeneghini said. "So, it's very different from the other markets like New York, Dubai, and China, where they may work 24 hours a day. We cannot, so we are facing this challenge.”
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Under construction since last year, the tower’s foundation has been finished, and the team is poised to showcase “the superstructure,” the portion of the building that is above ground level, including the columns, beams, walls, and floors, by the end of next year, Domeneghini said.
The Senna Tower hopes to be “a message of a new era; a new generation of a new country,” Domeneghini noted, adding “we know that we are a very rich country with resources, minerals, energy, food, agriculture…we are the future.”
“The Senna Tower represents this new vision that we understand we are precious. We have a place on the planet, and Senna Tower is kind of a pinnacle, an image that represents this,” she said.
Record-Setting Engineering and Design
The upcoming tower boasts several groundbreaking features, including the use of the first tuned mass damper, one of the most advanced technologies for stabilizing tall structures, among supertall buildings in Latin America. Supertall towers are buildings that are around 984 feet or taller.
Domeneghini told Newsweek that the foundation used for the Senna Tower is “very unique and very innovative,” noting that “it’s the first time for a supertall to do this kind of small piles, CFA [continuous flight auger] piles.” Piles are long, vertical column-like structures used in deep foundations.
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Domeneghini said the company has worked with Professor Harry Poulos—a civil engineer from Australia who has been a consultant on some of the tallest skyscrapers, including the Burj Khalifa, the current world’s tallest building—as a part of their research and testing.
“It's very unique, very innovative, and I'm pretty sure it [this method] will be replicable for supertalls around the world because it's much faster,” she said, noting that their work on the Senna Tower was done 40 percent faster than regular piles.
Upon completion, the Senna Tower also aims to become the first residential supertall building in Latin America to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum status, the highest global environmental certification awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council.
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A ‘Very Different’ New Wave of Tall Buildings
Domeneghini says that the Senna Tower is just the latest in a “big wave of tall buildings in Brazil” that has been underway, noting that her company is already involved in projects that are around 984 to 1,312 feet tall.
Asked what she believes is most unique about the Senna Tower, Domeneghini said: “The Senna Tower carries a soul that is very different from every other project, not only supertalls. It represents a hero's journey…carries a message, a very clear message for all people.”
The engineer said this all-residential building aims to be connected to its community and the city in which it is set. She says this is a “complete opposite” approach from that of other supertall “billionaire buildings” we might see in other major cities, where such supertall residential towers are often placed “far from the city because the client wants exclusivity.”
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The Senna Tower aims to offer “luxury that connects to the city” and be “an iconic symbol for all the people, not only for the clients.” The tower will feature an observatory level as well as shops, leisure and entertainment facilities, and restaurants open to the public on its ground level.
“If we want a new era, a new generation of Brazil and Brazilians, you have to impact more than the 200 or so clients buying this project…you have to impact all people,” Domeneghini said.
The Senna Tower is “much more than a building,” and Domeneghini hopes it will show people that they “can also create their own journey” and that “they don't have to go to Europe and America to build a good life.”
She noted: “We need these people in Brazil” to help build the future of the country.
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Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Sirena Bergman and Anthony Murray.
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