Building of the former headquarters of the Rodríguez López shipping company

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Architecture · Subcategory: Civil architecture · Year: 1948-1950? · Authors: José Enrique Marrero Regalado

This impressive building was erected in the mid-20th century on La Marina street, when this road was still a true balcony overlooking the bay of Santa Cruz, as it did not yet have the wall of buildings that was later built, hiding its views. 

The building was designed by architect José Enrique Marrero Regalado with the aim of housing the headquarters of a company owned by the brothers Álvaro and Conrado Rodríguez López. The company was engaged in the thriving shipping business at the time, linked to the export of fruit, vegetables, preserves and salted fish.  

Marrero proposed an opulent building that would give prestige to the company. The façade, with an aesthetic linked to the neocanario or regionalist style adorned with baroque elements, consists of three sections. The central one is set back, leaving space for a courtyard at the entrance. We highlight the entrance enclosed by a wooden lattice and the artificial stone projection crowned by a coat of arms. The windows, made of carpentry, are an active part of the decoration, with the central one framed by an entablature of baroque characteristics. A wooden balcony closes the third gallery. We find new baroque elements in the basalt mouldings that crown the three sections. The roof of the central volume is a four-sided canopy of Canarian tiles; those of the side sections are flat. 

At the time, the building could be admired by the ships entering and leaving the port of Santa Cruz, as there was no construction in front of it to hide it. Today, in a completely different environment, the building houses the offices and studios of RTVE and the Canary Islands Autonomous Television.

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