Pérez Alcalde House (Statistics House)

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Architecture · Subcategory: Civil architecture · Year: 1933 · Authors: José Blasco Robles

This is a single-family home designed by architect José Blasco in 1932. The developer, Rafael Pérez Alcalde, Provincial Delegate of the Instituto de Estadística (Statistics Institute), commissioned the technician to design a chalet in the heart of the Los Hoteles neighbourhood that fulfilled a triple function: family home, offices of the Provincial Delegation of the Instituto de Estadística (hence its nickname), and a flat to rent out. Blasco managed to combine the three functions without neglecting the aesthetic task.

It was the first building in the city to follow the rationalist aesthetic inspired by naval constructions or shaped like a ship. Cantilevered terraces protected by tubular railings recall the decks of ships.

On the exterior, a great unity is achieved thanks to the character of the architecture as a plastic work, following the guidelines of simple and open structures, with horizontal windows forming continuous bands along the entire façade.

The impact the work had on the Canarian artistic scene at the time was immediate. Three months after the completion of the house, the magazine Gaceta de Arte , in its July 1933 issue, showcased it as a model of correct architecture to be practised in the city.

This project was continued in two symmetrical residential buildings joined by a party wall that were built on an adjacent plot, closing the entire block between Robayna, 25 de Julio and Pérez de Rozas streets. Unfortunately, one of these buildings was replaced by another construction (on the same corner) that has nothing to do with its surroundings.

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