When we talk about something emblematic we associate it with the iconic, with majestic volumes. Is it perhaps an incorrect interpretation?
Certainly iconic usually leads to something majestic, but I consider that this term could also be applied to places like the American Bar, designed by Adolf Loos, in the city of Vienna, which is only 2.50 meters wide by 4 meters wide. long, or to the Olivetti store in St. Mark’s Square in Venice. That’s why I prefer to talk about reference architecture. In architecture, dimension is not important, and let me explain: what is relevant is quality. In that sense, what I classify as reference architecture is not directly related to size.
But a building with a large volume impacts, overwhelms, attracts attention and provokes attention, the gaze.
Sometimes, the fact of the location causes the architecture to be more or less visible. For example, the Auditorium of Tenerife, the work of Santiago Calatrava, is tremendously visible: a public infrastructure installed in a place that lent itself to erecting a large sculptural building. The architect thought of it that way and the client accepted that formula. And now the headquarters of the College of Architects in Santa Cruz de Tenerife comes to mind, the work of architects Vicente Saavedra and Javier Díaz-Llanos, a formidable reference for our union, internationally recognized, which is located in an iconic place, Las Ramblas, as is the sculpture Lady Tenerife, by Martin Chirinoand what I would call architecture between blocks: a simply perfect work.
The functionality of the Torun Auditorium, in Poland, a work of his nominated and awarded internationally, has become an icon of that medieval city. A model to imitate?
I have no doubt and it is not just saying, but I am relying on the data. There are between 400 and 500 events a year, from Carnivalopera concerts, car presentations…, in a town that has a number of inhabitants very similar to the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
That’s where space management comes in, of course.
From the concern and interest shown by the property, to the management’s management work, which are fundamental.
Precisely, does another of your works, the Magma Arte & Congresos, represent that paradox of a building that, being iconic and visible, has become invisible?
Certainly. In Adeje, in the south of Tenerife, where there is practically no reference architecture, this place has disappeared as a reference. Those geometric blocks that emerge from the ground, that project the force of our nature, surprising, with changes in scale and a complex technical resolution, represented my school, a second university, and the one that prepared me to take the leap outwards. To this day it causes me enormous discomfort to see his state of abandonment, his paralysis. They don’t even have the detail to call me when they modify something.
The friendliest face would be that of the Church of the Holy Redeemer, located in the lagoon neighborhood of El Cardonal, recognized with the Faith & Form International Prize for Religious Art and Architecture.
What I would highlight, beyond the award, which has its importance, is, above all, the fact that this church has put a depressed neighborhood like Las Chumberas, which has experienced an ordeal with the structural problems of its blocks of buildings, , on an international level, becoming a source of pride for the neighbors, an element of identity that has also turned it into a true icon. It is a building generous with public space, where I have experienced the acoustic potential of concrete, demystifying its supposed ineffectiveness in this aspect. It is also a space designed to encourage reflection, meditation, a meeting point between different cultures, where a person, regardless of their race, condition or belief, can come to meet themselves in the temple or meet in the cultural center. . We have created a place where there was no place.
Is a building a place?
A work must be conceived for the place where it is going to settle. My house, for example, has an architecture of calm lines, a house included in the block, with a unique way of finishing it.
He borrows the concept of gastronomy and formulates what he calls kilometer zero architecture. What does that philosophy contain?
It is a commitment to the naked truth of the materials that make up each concept of an architectural project, a proposal that is projected to investigate the benefits of culture to build a better future; It is basically a response to the problems of architecture but also of society, in general, which means adopting a position towards life, prevailing in the face of the doubts that arise in any time of crisis.
By the way, together with Sweet Xerach has promulgated a manifesto. Is it understood as a declaration of principles?
This document includes our commitment to promote and extend the kilometer zero philosophy to the field of architecture in order to stimulate the economy of the places and environments where we build or rehabilitate, thus reducing the impact of construction on the quality of the environment. This proposal is reflected in the creation of buildings integrated into the surrounding natural landscape and that propose a fairer redistribution of wealth to, in this way, achieve a consensus with the natural and urban environments in which architecture operates. With the philosophy of kilometer zero, architecture better adapts to people’s reality, thus returning to origins and logic. Everything involves developing a taste for contemporary, quality architecture that respects the landscape.
And regarding plans, what would be the main lines?
The main lines are summarized in consuming and working with good, clean and fair products; respect the natural landscape that surrounds the buildings; encourage the use of local materials, from the neighborhood or as close as possible, when building or rehabilitating; reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere caused by the transportation of construction materials; encourage the direct sale of these products from the retail supplier to the builder and preferably use local labor. For a building to be considered within the Kilometer Zero philosophy, it must have at least 2 main local materials; 30% of them must be local and at least 50% purchased from suppliers established within a 200 km radius of the construction site and none of these materials must cause harm to human health.
And the Viera and Clavijo?
Regarding this project, which is in the completion phase, I would like, above all, for the hand of the architect not to be noticed. We have a unique building, neo-Gothic style, the only one of its kind. It is well built, but on the verge of falling to the ground, and fortunately we have caught it at the limit moment. Yes, I would like our intervention, even if it violates some conservation laws, not to be noticed, to go unnoticed. Our purpose is for people to feel the place as always, to make it their own. This space has a garden that is a fantastic opportunity. I hope that the work can be finished soon and that the contractor will provide us with a magnificent building as soon as possible.
The truth is that the headquarters of the Rodin Museum fell definitively from the initial project.
A real shame and from my point of view a major mistake, caused by political interests. The project had been conceived to house a great museum for the city and the Island, prepared to remain for the next hundred years, with pieces by a genius like Rodin, the father of sculpture, along with works by local artists. It is nothing more than that miscegenation to which the critic was referring Eduardo Westerdahlwho conceived the Island as a space always open to friction with the international.
Does architecture aspire to be timeless?
At least that’s how I conceive it, not as a simple removable element.
Would the building that houses the headquarters of the Presidency of the Government be an example?
It’s ugly for me to say it, because he was the one who designed it, but in fact it has unique elements such as an old wooden balcony recovered from the Hamilton family building, which harmonizes in a perfect combination with the stone. When I brought it up to him then president of the Government of the Canary Islands, Jerónimo Saavedra, he told me that he wanted a palace and what we conceived was that, a palace, yes, but with a timeless sense. As a creator, I would like it to continue functioning in 500 years as the palaces of Florence do, which were first owned by a family, then hospitals, also schools and now they have become the headquarters of institutions, but they continue to be active, alive. .
And urban policies?
Urban planning is our great pending subject. The Islands are pecked, poorly resolved, from a planned urbanism without love or vocation, from speculative concepts. And it is not just about recovering what is in poor condition, but about redirecting it.
And urban policies?
I remember from my time as a student that the subject that was considered the most important was urban planning, because in the end it was the lawyers who ended up being the planners, when I believe that it is a part of a multidisciplinary whole that an architect-urban planner should coordinate. .
Reason and emotion, where is the limit?
I am a methodical person, who loves to control structures, costs, everything that represents the intrinsic act of building, because in addition to the obvious aesthetic value I always try to keep my feet on the ground. Although it is true and I confess it openly, sometimes my head floats.
