Rectorate of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria · Category: Architecture · Subcategory: Civil architecture · Year: 1919-25 · Authors: Enrique Cañas

At number 30 on calle Juan de Quesada stands the Rectorate of the ULPGC, a building housing the first Secondary School on the island, which then became Military Hospital and now is the university headquarters, in accordance with the refurbishment project by Luis Alemany. The original project was by Enrique Cañas, and according to the works supervision by Otilio Arroyo (1919-1925), it was situated opposite the Guiniguada ravine, and was built in a rectangular shape which had service buildings and courtyards to the rear, taking up the rest of the trapezoidal plot of land. The building stretches out along a symmetrical axis, belonging to the gateway, lobby and events hall. In the central section, through a gateway with a double stairway, is the entrance to the main building, with a domed circle from where the galleries lead off to the side buildings, with centre lines with "classrooms" and service rooms, and two courtyards where there are two staircases with three flights each. The façade has a classist-academic elevation which, over the circle, has the only open small temple in the city. The symmetrical similarity of the volumes is underlined by the gradient and differenciated treatment of each section. 

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