The cabildo government of Tenerife (CC-PP) is set to approve a credit amendment in the plenary meeting this Thursday aimed at financing, with one million euros, the technical project required to undertake the renovation of the Adán Martín Auditorium, an iconic building-sculpture which, as described by the island’s president, Rosa Dávila (CC), “is deteriorating.” A report from the 2022 administration estimates the required work at no less than 24 million euros (a substantial contrast to the 2.6 million mentioned by the Minister of Culture, José Carlos Acha, several months ago) and highlights the necessity of closing this “temple” of music for at least a year, particularly in the areas most adversely affected by the renovations. However, the most pressing issue at present is that the island administration has claimed that the project would be financed by the architect Santiago Calatrava, the creator of the renowned “property,” and that they had entered into the necessary negotiations. Yet, the renowned architect has now stated that “he is not capable of overseeing the voluntary management of the repair work at the Auditorium, which is why he declines to undertake it personally.”
This is precisely what is stated in the credit amendment prepared by CC and PP for the Thursday plenary, where it is intended to approve this amendment because, according to the brief statement provided, “there exists the potential for the Cabildo to initiate a procedure for its auxiliary execution, through the tender for the administrative contracting of the project management service and the oversight of the execution of the works.”
The title of the amendment and the opening of the text somewhat encapsulate the circumstances surrounding an auditorium that was estimated to cost 26.7 million approximately 25 years ago and ultimately saw that figure triple to 74 million, to which we must also add this million from the new project, the 22 million calculated in 2022 due to “inadequate execution of the works by the contractors,” as noted by Calatrava, and whatever else needs to be considered due to inflation or new assessments or complications since that time. The heading somewhat mirrors the notion of “Cheyén” (at least, supposedly), stating, “Auditorium Repairs…”, while the clarification of the amendment indicates that this file is due to “concealed defects in the executing work” of what was presented as an emblem of the Island. Obviously, these “flaws” are not only hidden but also very apparent, as various parts of the “sculpture” have been demonstrating, as shown in these images.
While the necessary work had originally been estimated at 2.6 million, an initial comprehensive assessment in 2017 raised this figure to 15.2 million, with the 2022 assessment indicating 24 million, though that amount is likely to continue increasing. This reflects what it truly means to “have a Calatrava in your life,” as expounded in the book We Wanted a Calatrava: An Architectural Journey Through Seduction and Repudiation by Llàtzer Moix, which examines the legacies left by the architect across various regions of the globe.
The insular Socialist Group had warned that Calatrava might avoid the costs related to the drafting project, but the CC and PP government countered this with claims about the supposedly lost four years from 2019 to 2023 and asserted that they had negotiated properly with the architect. However, for now, the plenary session on Thursday will approve the expenditure of that one million euros, and the PSOE has expressed its “discontent, as we had insisted on decisive action regarding this issue, whilst the Dávila government extended the timeframe granted to Calatrava. Ultimately, the president’s indecisiveness is a cost borne by all citizens of Tenerife.”
