Design 360: TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes@Arch

5.23.2009

TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes@Arch

Herzog & de Meuron
TEA
Tenerife Espacio de las Artes
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Canary Islands, Spain

Photo © Iwan Baan

“The new Cultural Center is not only a place of encounter for people but also a place of intersection for the landscape of the contemporary city, the old city with its skyline along the barranco and the archaic topography of the barranco itself.”
Herzog & de Meuron (1999-2008)

Located in Santa Cruz’s restored old quarter the TEA is a multi functional exhibitions center, a lively place for people of all generations and with various interests, where the different activities and spaces of the Center are interfusing and interflowing.

Photo © Iwan Baan

A public path cuts diagonally through the building complex connecting the top of the General Serrador Bridge with the shore of the Barranco de Santos.

Photo © Iwan Baan

The path literally cuts through the large reading room of the Biblioteca Insular where large glass screens allow for views inside and outside the generously open space of the library.

Photo © Iwan Baan

On its way down to the Barranco the path is widening, transforming itself into a triangular, semi-covered space in the heart of the Cultural Center.
This triangular public Plaza, enlivened by the Museum Café and Restaurant, orients visitors towards the building complex and the Lobby; conceived as a spatial continuation of the Plaza.

Photo © Iwan Baan

In the Lobby a large spiraling staircase, behind the Museum Shop and Ticket counters, connects to the upper and lower museum level.

Photo © Iwan Baan

The upper level has skylit galleries in various sizes adapting to the requirements of the Oscar Dominguez Collection. The lower level, housing the Centro de Fotografía Isla de Tenerife, can be subdivided to match the needs of temporary exhibitions. Ceiling heights on both levels are close to 6 meters.

Photo © Iwan Baan

The building’s exteriors are finished in dark grey colored concrete, pierced by small pixel-like glass-filled openings, in random patterns, that filter the natural light to the interior. The perforations were created using a complex formwork system.

Photo © Iwan Baan

Photo © Herzog & de Meuron

“The building typology of our design for the TEA is based on courtyards. The elongated courtyards are important in many ways, providing daylight, views and orientation for the visitors and users of the museum spaces and the library. One of them, between the office and museum wings of the building complex is planted with typical plants of the Island. From the very beginning of the design process we operated with courtyards, also because we wanted to connect the new Centro typologically with its existing neighbour building, the Antiguo Hospital Civil which has recently been transformed into the Museo de la Naturaleza y el Hombre. However it took a while before we understood that all different activities and functions of the Centro should be assembled under one continuous roof structure rather than break down into individual wings. This is also one of the reasons why the elongated courtyards do not appear like embraced exterior spaces but rather like interior spaces that are being left open. The spatial interplay between inside and outside integrates rather than separates the very diverse urban landscapes which are so fascinating in Santa Cruz.”
Herzog & de Meuron (1999-2008)

Drawing © Herzog & de Meuron
Ground Floor Plan

Drawing © Herzog & de Meuron
First Floor Plan

Drawing © Herzog & de Meuron
Second Floor Plan

Drawing © Herzog & de Meuron
Longitudinal Section through inner courtyard

Drawing © Herzog & de Meuron
Section through Exhibition Space

Site Area: 8,800 square meters
Building Footprint: 7,753 square meters
Gross Floor Area: 20,600 square meters

Completed: 2008

Client: Cabildo Insular de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Architects: Herzog & de Meuron
Project Team
Partners:
Jacques Herzog
Pierre de Meuron
David Koch
Partner Architect: Virgilio Gutiérrez Herreros
Project Architect:
Astrid Peissard
Benito Blanco Avellano
Luis Jàtiva Quiroga
Alexander Franz
Project Team:
Jose Luis Berrueta
Gustavo Garcia
Nicolas Grosmond,
Sara Jacinto
Diego Martínez Navarro
Monica Ors Romagosa
Lara Semler
Lys Villalba Rubio
Benjamin Wiederock

Design Development 1999-2003
Project Architect:
Astrid Peissard
Daniel Mallo
Miquel Rodriguez
Project Team:
Béla Berec
Blanca Castañeda
Stefan Dambacher
Diana Garay,
Ana Inacio
Peter Jenni
Matei Manaila
Sonia Neves Campos
Reto Pedrocchi
Raquel Ramalheira
Camilo Rebelo
Frank Schneider
Claudia Thomet

Architect Planning/Construction:
Herzog & de Meuron
Virgilio Gutiérrez Herreros Arquitecto
Structural Engineering:
Dionisio Castro Pérez
Martínez Segovia Pallas y Asociados
Construction Management:
Virgilio Gutiérrez Herreros, Architecto
Quantity Surveyor: Topografía Canaria SL
HVAC Engineering: Techne Ingienería
Plumbing Engineering:
Virgilio Gutiérrez Herreros, Architecto
Mechanical Engineering:
Techne Ingienería, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Electrical Engineering:
Techne Ingienería, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Light Consulting: Ove Arup, London, UK
Acoustics: Estudi Acústic Higini Arau, Barcelona, Spain
Contractor: OHL S.A.