State Public Library in Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Cultural spaces · Subcategory: Libraries and archives · Year: 1977 · Authors: Javier Díaz-Llanos, Vicente Saavedra

In 1968 the architects Javier Díaz-Llanos and Vicente Saavedra drew up the plans for the building of the Casa de la Cultura in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The idea was to house in a single building the Provincial Historical Archive, the also Provincial Public Library, and other spaces dedicated to cultural activities. A site was suggested for its location on the west flank of the estate called "El Sequero", a space that would later become the public park of La Granja. The architects designed the cultural complex with the idea of naturally fitting it into the urban recreational space where it was to be established.

The building of the Casa de la Cultura in Santa Cruz responds to aesthetic criteria committed to modernity, where exposed concrete and clearly identified volumes stand out on their own. At park level, spaces were located to house the Historical Archive, an exhibition hall and a theatre. The second level was allocated to the Library and all the facilities related to its function (reading room, deposit, storage, offices, etc.), and finally, the upper spaces were designed to accommodate various cultural activities, highlighting the polygonal modules that crown the building, intended to host workshops for plastic arts and small conference and meeting rooms.

The works to carry out the complex were prolonged over time and after several adjustments to the original concept, the building was completed in 1975, although it was not until February 1977 that it was definitively opened to the public.

Today it continues to function as a dynamic cultural centre. Although the Historical Archive has been moved to another headquarters located on the outskirts of the city of La Laguna, the Casa de la Cultura still houses the State Public Library, the exhibition hall and the "La Granja" theatre, as well as being the headquarters of the Filmoteca Canaria and the offices of the Legal Deposit and the Intellectual Property Registry.

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