Photos

To finish my last afternoon in Tenrife, another kind of architecture, this time modern: a visit to the TEA, Tenerife Espacio de las Artes, a modern exhibition space near the sea. Heree, two veiws taken from the stairs descending to the main exhibition rooms.

And a detailed comment about the building found on a site called www.archicentral.com:
In development since 1999, Herzog & de Meuron’s Tenerife Arts Space (TEA) has officially opened in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in June 2008. Sited on the banks of the Barranco de Santos, a local river, the building is diagonally traversed by a public walkway connecting the town’s two levels. The walkway broadens into a triangular plaza that forms the public hub of the building and is accessible on all sides.

The building is a long volume intersected by a ramp that generates a triangular plaza. Along the facade, over 1,200 openings in 720 different shapes filter the natural light to the inside, while generating an amazing view during night.

The 21,000 square metre complex is made up of two floors which are connected to the main entrance by a winding staircase and houses an institute of contemporary art named after local artist Oscar Dominguez, a photography centre and public library. The concrete exterior has small bubbled, glass-filled openings creating random patterns, while triangular folding planes are seen through the interior.

The perforations were created using a complex formwork system. Here, surfaces with incorporated decorative motifs – a recurrent theme in Herzog & de Meuron’s work – result in a new kind of sensuality which bears out the idea that architecture is also a form of poetic expression.

The intersection of patios and sloping planes generates an alternation of internal and external spaces, some of which frame town-oriented viewpoints, so that there is no clear distinction between the inside and outside. The internal patios bring daylight into the building and establish a series of levels of a compact morphology, allowing for the solid windowless façades on the site’s outer edges.

Two permanent art installations are featured at the art centre. A wall mural in the entry plaza by Juan Gopar and a selection of photographs in the library by Thomas Ruff. The associate architect on the project was Virgilio Gutiérrez Herreros.

For more pictures visit: www.iwan.com.