Former Headquarters of Banco Hispanoamericano

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Architecture · Subcategory: Civil architecture · Year: 1945 · Authors: José Blasco Robles

Banco Hispanoamericano was the first private financial institution at a national level to build its own headquarters in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The project to house its main office, to be located on a large plot between del Pilar, Valentín Sanz, and Pérez Galdós streets, was prepared at the beginning of 1942 by the architect José Blasco, shortly before his definitive move to the peninsula. Blasco did not participate in the direction and execution of the construction works.  

We are perhaps facing the building that least fits the usual architectural typology of Blasco during the thirteen years he stayed in Tenerife: rationalism. We observe some details that do not align with that aesthetic (balconies with balustrades, semicircular arches, etc.), but nevertheless, the Hispanoamericano headquarters does not renounce rationalist principles.

This is a work of profound formal moderation, ornamental clarity, and variety of textures, combining sober elegance with the precision of slender volumes. The main interior characteristics are the general spaciousness of spaces (basement, main operations hall, upper floors) and the opulence of the materials used.  

Since 1945, the year of its completion, the building has undergone numerous renovations and, after ceasing to be the bank's headquarters, it currently houses the Universidad Europea (European University) headquarters.

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