Casa Ruiz

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria · Category: Architecture · Subcategory: Civil architecture · Year: 2005 · Authors: Magüi González

In the San Cristóbal neighbourhood, facing the sea, even before the current promenade was built, architect Magüi González drafted a magnificent project in 2001 for the private home of owner José Ruiz.

The work is an appropriate and intelligent response to the interpretation of a complex environment, bordering a fishing village, the beach and an imposing motorway. 

The ensemble presents an exterior appearance in concrete that gives the false impression of being unfinished and effectively connects with all the popular constructions around it. On the sea-facing side, there are stone and concrete bases, railings made with fishing nets, joinery in copperised pine and large frosted or transparent glass panels (one of which features a "cut-out" by artist Kirsten Mosel). The opposite facade, facing the motorway, is configured in a completely different way: blind, with a grooved texture, in cement, on which the rust from the drip edges will leave its mark over time. 

The interior spaces are distributed over two floors and a habitable basement, all open-plan and interconnected. Equivalent areas: basement, intended for enjoyment and leisure; beach level, social life with living room, kitchen, dining room and terrace; and the upper floor, for private matters with bedroom, bathroom, dressing room and viewing terrace. Three spaces whose function is determined by the location of the few pieces of furniture in the house. The roof, also habitable, functions as an outdoor room with garden and pool. 

The house was completed in 2025. It received the Oraá Award for architecture in the Canary Islands and was also recognised outside the archipelago, becoming an architectural and residential reference for the entire city.

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