TEA
TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes
TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes, a project promoted by the Cabildo de Tenerife (Tenerife's Island Government), has opened its doors. Open since the end of October, this building designed by Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron and Virgilio Gutiérrez is a truly innovative idea, not just in Tenerife but in all the Canary Islands. This cultural infrastructure has no precedent in the archipelago and comes with a decidedly contemporary vocation aimed at drawing together art generated by new technological changes in our society.
The TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes building covers approximately 20,622 square metres. It is located in the renovated historical centre of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, on the right-hand side of the Barranco de Santos (Saints Gorge), between the Recova Market and the Concepción Church, next to the Museum of Natural History and Man. Its design favours openness to the outside for its interior areas, providing light and dynamism to the whole complex and connecting the old part of the city with the modern: historical Santa Cruz with the 21st century one. In addition, the centre has various common areas: an assembly hall, shop, cafeteria and semi-covered plaza.
The building
The basic idea behind the building is a ground plan consisting of a series of diagonal elements with inclined floors that include a ramp. In this way the public spaces that run through the building come together in the courtyard. The architects have worked on a concept whereby different spaces and activities intermingle.
In this cultural space, as well as a collection of works by the surrealist painter Óscar Domínguez from Tenerife, there is also the Centre of Photography and a library, which is part of the Island's Library network.
The permanent collection is divided into three sections. One dedicated to Óscar Domínguez, the most international artist to come out of Tenerife and of which the Cabildo (Island Government) has the largest collection in the world. There is another more wide ranging exhibition, where you can see the development of Canarian Art over the 20th century through selected works from our most outstanding artists. And the last section covers works by artists from 1975 who have made significant contributions to international art.
The Cabildo continues to promote photography, as it has done over the last 17 years, since 1991 when it created the Centre of Photography of the Island of Tenerife, whose installations have been moved to the TEA. It has areas for reference work or exhibitions of collections, administrative offices, a photographic and restoration laboratory and a conservation department with workshops and collection storage. Herzog & de Meuron have carried out many symbolic projects, such as the conversion of an old power station into a modern art gallery on the banks of the River Thames, the Tate Modern; the Fórum Building in Barcelona; the Allianze Arena in Munich and the Olympic Stadium in Beijing. Furthermore, they have been in charge of the renovation of the Plaza de España and the enlargement of the Harbour Link in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Virgilio Gutiérrez from Tenerife is currently the Dean of the Architects' Association of the Canary Islands. As well as the frequent recognition he has received for his works, he has also formed a partnership with the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron for the development, not only of the TEA, Tenerife Espacio de las Artes, but also for the renovation of the Plaza de España in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes
Avda. de San Sebastián, 10
38003 Santa Cruz de Tenerife
tea@teatenerife.es
www.teatenerife.es
