Plaza de España
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
Competition 1998Masterplan 1999-2001Project 2002-2005Realization 2006-2008
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The entire area of the remodeled Plaza de España and the new Plaza de las Islas Canarias is conceived as a single connected public space that functions on two superposed levels: a lower level for heavy traffic which includes the projected railroad and car parks; and an upper level that links the pedestrian zone of the city with the new marina and the sea. There is nothing very radical about this, it is a pattern that has already been applied in many other places, with more or less success, while here it has been promoted especially in the political arena as a means of alleviating congestion. Then what is new and unique about the Santa Cruz de Tenerife project?
Much of today’s Plaza de España and the cargo docks of the Muelle de Enlace is reclaimed land anchored in the steep drop of the Atlantic Coast at great expense and requiring immense quantities of material. Anything that is now constructed there will essentially be an additional crust, a new layer superimposed on what is for the most part landfill. Accordingly, the new structures will not be conventional architecture such as that found elsewhere in the city, but rather a landscape or a topography that stands out against the existing skyline of the city. The new architecture built on top of the reclaimed land will be different in expression from the rest of the city, which has grown and developed on the mainland.
The new Plaza de España and the Plaza de las Islas Canarias will form a crust of land on top of the subterranean flow of traffic, extending to the marina and the sea. Above ground this crust will have the appearance of artificial nature, resembling a lava flow or a sprawling beach. The new beach of Santa Cruz includes many urban facilities and amenities such as cafés, bars, kiosks, bus shelters, meeting places, as well as storage areas for the city’s large celebrations such as Carnaval or the Christmas concert.
All of these facilities are designed as pavilions that nestle in the plaza’s crust. Although they are very different in shape, they all share a more or less remote resemblance to natural forms without imitating them. Their forms echo physical phenomena like the eruption and erosion that have been so instrumental in shaping the bizarre forms of the Canary Islands. An important design element on the new plaza crust is a single round water basin, a huge wading pool for young and old with a fountain in the middle that erupts four times a day indicating high and low tide.
A variety of historical architectural styles circles this huge water basin, which was erected on the foundations and surviving walls of the former “Castillo”: the conservative rigorous City Hall, the “Cabildo” built in the first half of the 20th century; the bold Santander Bank of the 1970s; the somber “Monumento de los Caídos” from the Franco era; and now the buildings we have designed which resemble natural structures or the caves in which the island’s native inhabitants once lived.
Herzog & de Meuron, 2001/2008
Tenerife is the result of volcanic eruption. The steep shores and the abrupt transition from scarce land to the Atlantic is a physical reality which has always determined the urbanization on the island. Therefore the relation between sea and land is not built in horizontal layers, but in singular gestures. The scheme for the new Link Quay focuses on this idea of the singular urbanistic gesture, a gesture of embracing and enclosing. Through this enclosure both the city and the sea will be interlocked: on the one hand Santa Cruz embraces the sea and on the other the sea reappears in the city after having been banned through earlier city planning.
If you approach from the city the enclosed Marina will open up in front of your eyes as a grand open public space. This new space will be part of a sequence of urban spaces, each of them with its own specific quality: Plaza Candelaria - Plaza de España - Arena - Marina.
The Plaza de España, which will be remodelled, is conceived as a public space that functions on two levels: a lower level for heavy traffic, railroad and car parks; and an upper level like a crust that links the pedestrian zone of the city with the new marina and the sea. The new crust will be like a landscape or a topography.
It will look like an artificial nature, resembling a lava flow or a huge beach with many urban facilities, such as cafes, bars, newsstands, etc. It will become the meeting place for celebrations such as the Carnival or the Christmas concert.
There will be numerous round water basins, all varying in size, depth and colour. They may be wading pools, and some will be connected with the sea so that the rhythm of the tides is felt in the city. This new crust is also dotted with small round openings which, through variations in their arrangement will allow more or less light into the pavilions or down to the covered areas.
The new link quay cuts out the Marina from the Atlantic Ocean. If you approach by sea the enclosed Marina will remind you of a magic piece of garden sitting in front of the city and the steep mountains. It will be built out of existing dikes supplemented with platforms, low rise buildings of one or two storeys and palm trees. These buildings are perfectly integrated into this enclosure, they are an active and habitable part of it, and, like a necklace, they embrace the Marina. Pedestrians will walk on their roof top from where the view on to the sea, the Marina and back to the city will be sumptuous..
