Ireneo González Training Centre (Mutual Aid and Free Education Society)

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Architecture · Subcategory: Civil architecture · Year: 1877-94 · Authors: Manuel de Oraá

The Mutual Aid and Free Education Society was created in 1869 by Bernabé Rodríguez Pastrana, then mayor of Santa Cruz, with the aim of: on one hand, providing financial assistance to workers who lost their wages due to illness, and on the other, offering education under dignified conditions which the city lacked. 

The original project for the building was drafted in 1877 by the architect Manuel de Oráa, designing a large-scale building for Santa Cruz at that time. Its construction was delayed over the years and combined traditional construction techniques with innovations that were firsts in the area. Masonry was used complemented with ashlar, pinewood tar, and lime, alongside prefabricated iron pieces. Gumersindo Robayna was the author of the allegorical sculptures of commerce and industry that crown its façade, signed and dated 1890. Inside, a large central courtyard distributes the rooms.

The building has undergone numerous changes of use throughout its history: Secondary Education Institution (the first institute in Santa Cruz), School of Arts and Crafts, School of Fine Arts; always subject to various renovations that have altered its original interior appearance. Currently, it houses the Royal Canarian Academy of Fine Arts of Saint Michael the Archangel.

The small space left free in front of the building became a square. Initially, it was named Plaza de la Constructora, after the private company that urbanised the area; today it is dedicated to the priest and former teacher of the old institute, Ireneo González, honoured with a bust.

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