Tenerife Espacio de las Artes, Herzog & de Meuron by Iwan Baan

Feb 2009

By Nico Saieh — Filed under: Architectural Photography , Museums and Libraries , Herzog de Meuron, Iwan Baan, Spain

Architecture photographer Iwan Baan just shared with us a photo set of the latest Herzog & de Meuron building in Spain, the Espacio de las Artes at Santa Cruz, Tenerife. Another H&dM building for Spain, after the Caixa Forum (Madrid) and the Forum building (Barcelona).

With over 20,622 sqm, the building includes a public library, a contemporary art museum, the Photography Centre of the Tenerife Island, a store, a cafe/restaurant and several public use spaces for the community.

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.

During the opening, Jaques Herzog said that this building will change the image of Tenerife, and along with the Calatrava auditorium will turn the city into a cultural focus.

And now, the photographs by Iwan Baan:

38 comments »

Artem says:

эстетично ! но брутально и серо (где веревка и мыло) :)

# February 6, 2009 at 06:59

Stefan says:

I’m speachless.. It’s really fantastic! Great job! Congrats again H&dM

# February 6, 2009 at 07:04

casper says:

just beautiful

# February 6, 2009 at 08:56

yan says:

The most exciting images of a public building I’v ever seen. Awesome spatial experience!
H&dM are the shiznit…

# February 6, 2009 at 10:24

rypat says:

well done H&dM.
and congrats to Iwan Baan, for such phenomenal photographs.

# February 6, 2009 at 11:14

Pausanias says:

This is so boring. I couldn’t find anything to criticize in this project. It’s so damn beautiful. Could you post more pictures so that we can find its flaws?…

# February 6, 2009 at 12:07

dennis says:

wtf?!? …those walls look like they’re 2ft thick of solid concrete… i wonder how many cu yds of concrete it adds up to?

# February 6, 2009 at 13:07

Fran says:

they’re only 30cm (1ft) wide, in canary islands walls don’t need insulation inside, so its just the structural thickness needed.. that may help. ;)

# November 3, 2009 at 13:28

Erling says:

I digg the graphic concrete walls. Nice job.

# February 6, 2009 at 14:21

Wyatt O'Day says:

This firm is just way too good. Amazing project

# February 6, 2009 at 15:13

roadkill says:

do you hAVE ANY DRAWINGS…. IT WOULD HELP UNDERSTAND THE SPACES AND LAYOUT A BIT BETTER,

# February 6, 2009 at 16:12

Ala says:

The punctured concrete wall is really great. The rough texture choice is very fantastic.

Dear ArchDaily, could you please post some drawings? Especially concrete wall section detail would be great.

H&dM did almost the same structure in the La Ciudad del Flamenco, Spain. I am wondering the concrete wall is made of glass fiber reinforced concrete without any iron bars.

Does anyone know about the construction of the wall?

Special Thanks, ArchDaily, for creating this website.

# February 6, 2009 at 17:23

odris says:

amazing project

# February 6, 2009 at 20:59

simon says:

the best feature of this proyect is the natural lighting through fiber optic to the cristals

# February 6, 2009 at 21:23

avila says:

Ok, as always in Herzog et De Meuron’s work the inner spaces, the details and the architectural path are great but this building is only conceived in 2D!
What about the urban insertion of his huge grey barren roof that all the city is bound to see. The pictures showing the urban insertion from other buildings of the city are appaling. It’s a shame in such beautiful city. Does anybody sees that?

# February 7, 2009 at 09:03

David Basulto says:

For those asking for drawings:

I have contacted HdM office several times to ask them for projects to feature on AD, and they always say that HdM doesn’t want to publish their projects on the Internet.

Sad…..

Thank god we have Iwan :)

# February 7, 2009 at 09:49

El emilior says:

I agree with Avila. I´m not spanish but it`s a inappropiated building for this city. It seem like an ugly stone. And the roof..what happened??. If there is an awful thing in architecture, that`s walking along a wall….great contribuition for the city!!!!.

# February 7, 2009 at 17:47

arq00 says:

The project is incredible as so is the wall BUT, I find it too jail-like. The walls toward the street look depressing for city. It´s a grat project, but it looks like it should me in the dessert or something.

# February 8, 2009 at 13:22

Richie says:

I pretty much agree with a couple of the above posters in that I find the interior spaces and wall treatments to be excellent but as an object in the city it just seems to be this monolitic slab of drabness.. hopefully not too many people will see it in that aerial view.

# February 8, 2009 at 18:39

flip says:

WHY ARE YOU WORRYING ABOUT THAT ROOF..PEOPLE CAN’T FLY..

# February 9, 2009 at 00:23

Juni says:

That’s right unless if you care about birds interests or if you are god.

# August 7, 2009 at 03:30

Jean Nouvel says:

I want to start a petition prohibiting Herzog & de Meuron to do more “architecture”. Please stop providing press to bland, conventional spaces wrapped in a veil of seductive yet banal surfaces. There is no quality in this project, nothing that contributes to the urban morphology, only self referential, narcissistic contributions that damage the discipline of architecure.

# February 9, 2009 at 07:33

jinane says:

amazing Project

# February 9, 2009 at 15:45

sedakurt says:

nice architecture…

# February 9, 2009 at 16:30

is jean nouvel here, THE JEAN NOUVEL???

# February 10, 2009 at 02:41

hisham says:

there is a nice contradiction between the negative and positive spaces , outdoor and indoor, solid and void…..
very nice ..

# March 16, 2009 at 08:39

but when it comes to the relation of the project with its urban context ………it is a disaster …specially when we see the air view ….

# March 16, 2009 at 08:41

HDEM says:

I totally disagree with the comments about this not fitting in urban context -

it beautifully sit on the subtle slope (last picture!)
elegant juxtaposition of old + new -

# March 19, 2009 at 15:50

lupino says:

Es un bloque apabullante y horrendo en medio de un espacio urbano construido durante siglos. Desgraciadamente habrá que esperar unos quinientos años para ver si este esperpento de la economía ¨global¨ armoniza con su contexto. No hay discusión acerca del gasto energético de este edificio que debe ser estratosférico.

# May 7, 2009 at 09:50

kheng says:

what do you thinks this project

# July 26, 2009 at 14:14

boil says:

Where can i buy those water drop lighting feature ? it’s very
cool!. Anyone know? thanks!

# August 7, 2009 at 00:05

Miles Lanham says:

The concrete is a lot darker than you would expect, as it is mixed with (or at least aims to mimic) the black lava rock that is characteristic of Tenerife. I visited last week – not a lot of books in the library, looking very minimalist still!

As for ‘fitting in’ with the urban environment Santa Cruz like much of Tenerife is a real mess of styles – they seem to have gone for islands of quality like TEA and the Auditorio, (and to a lesser extent the new Bus Station and Cortes del Ingles) and will then tidy up in between.

# November 14, 2009 at 18:58