I can’t start this article without first thanking the perseverance. Congratulations Elsa Guerra. Yes, I know this has been a team effort, initially with Joaquín Casariego and ultimately, working hand in hand on this project was Noemí Tejera.
But you, Elsa, an architect, a Canary Islander, have been the one who has truly endured it all and who has been there from start to finish. So, thank you and congratulations.
In Santa Cruz, since March 10th, we finally have a reason to celebrate, because reaching the sea in Santa Cruz is something that brings great joy to every “chicharrero”. We now have a place where there is no need to buy a share or jump over forbidden and dangerous bridges to enjoy the sea, and that place is at the new beach and pools of Valleseco, next to the city’s two private marinas.
From what I have heard, the discussions between the Santa Cruz City Council, the Port, and Coastal Authorities have been numerous and have lasted for many years, but all’s well that ends well, and hopefully it will serve as an example for the private clubs to renew their way of reaching the sea and for public institutions to continue everything planned up to the Auditorium.
In the words of the masterminds behind the Charcos de Valleseco Beach in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, this piece of open space by the sea that they have brought to us with the necessary creativity they were able to achieve is “defined from the Sol y Sombra proposal, winner of the public competition called for this purpose, which also includes the Valleseco Sand Beach, whose Basic Project obtained a favorable Environmental Impact Declaration in 2012.” Once again, we see that things in architecture progress slowly in these islands, and it’s almost never the architects’ fault. Or almost never.
The architects tell us that “due to administrative reasons, the execution of the two areas was proposed separately, based on their definition in the Modification of the Special Plan of the Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Valleseco Coastal, with final approval in April 2019″.
Views of the recent intervention by Elsa Guerra and Noemí Tejera inaugurated in Los Charcos de Valleseco, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. / josé ollé
“Its definition and design result from the concept of ‘coastal plain’, so common on the Canary Islands, where leisure combines swimming in the sea with staying in intertidal zones. Hence its rocky formation, and the multiple forms proposed for the shoreline contact with the sea”.
The Charcos de Valleseco are incorporated as one of the great public open spaces in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, as well as being a coastal area opening up to the sea for the leisure and enjoyment of the city’s residents. The length of contact with the sea reaches 340 meters, not counting the South Breakwater and the CIDEMAT front on both sides, whose urbanization and construction will soon be addressed.
Let’s hope that the City Council is aware that there is an article in the 2017 Public Sector Contracts Law, Article 168.2, which allows them to directly hire the authors because they are the intellectual authors and have already gone through a public tender process. Let’s hope they do not resort to the current unfortunate relationship that public administrations are having with third parties like Tragsa, Gesplan, or Gestur, which create intrusion in architecture instead of being public entities that promote high-quality architecture, as all public coastal infrastructure should be, especially on an island, considering the disasters that are looming due to climate change.
I love the access boardwalks, the plazas, the railing-free walks (I adore them), the terraces, the stairs to watch the waves, the sun decks, the green and wooded areas that will grow and become a beautiful public park by the sea… and I love the smell of the sea.
Dulce Xerach Pérez, lawyer and PhD in architecture
