AN ARCHITECT: ÓSCAR TUSQUETS

A Building with Views over the Atlantic

The ‘Alfredo Kraus’ Auditorium and Canary Convention Centre rises majestically out of the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, at the north-west end of the beach at Las Canteras, like a solitary fortress, totally different architecturally from anything nearby.
The architect, Oscar Tusquets, was attempting to create the image of a castle-like building and conceived of this work of enormous dimensions perched on an outcrop of volcanic rock. The concept of the solitary fortress is reinforced not only by the materials used to produce the external finish but also by the sheer volume created by the various geometric shapes which back onto the central hexagonal form of the enormous Symphonic Hall, at once communicating an image of solid weight and compacted strength.
The height of the building is, yet again, reinforced by certain elements such as the turret (there for internal reasons of light) which underline the sheer verticality of the architectural shape. The building is crowned by a skylight cum dome of enormous dimensions which is translucent in its lateral faces although the system works in reverse when the sun sets. Thus, from afar, it seems as if there is an enormous lighthouse beacon perched atop a great solid black mass.
Only two materials are to be distinguished on the permanent background of stone texture and colour which is predominant throughout the work: the stainless steel used along the borders of the hexagon and on the dome of the ‘lighthouse’ and the local wood used for the access to the building.
Turrets, magnificently sheer stone walls, scattered square wooden windows, all aloft an outcrop of volcanic rock convincingly evoke the original concept of fortress standing amidst acres of dunes and craters of volcanic rock, designed to protect the vegetation from the harsh sea breeze, much in the same way as the island farmsteads have protected their crops from the inclemencies of the scouring hot Sahara winds over the centuries.
In the centre of the park where the Auditorium stands at the end of the seafront promenade at Las Canteras, an enormous spherical type fountain marks the strategic geographical position of the Canary Islands in relation to the major Atlantic ports of the three Continents of Europe, Africa and America.