The Skyscraper

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Architecture · Subcategory: Civil architecture · Year: 1974 · Authors: Carmelo Rodríguez Hernández

This enormous building, located in the lower part of Tres de Mayo Avenue, is popularly known as "The Skyscraper." It was designed in the late 1960s by the architect from La Laguna, Carmelo Rodríguez, as a commission from the Cámara de la Propiedad Urbana de Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Urban Property Chamber of Santa Cruz de Tenerife). Located on the borders of the former Cuatro Torres neighbourhood, the building was constructed by the company Dragados y Construcciones.

The structure rises 85 metres above ground and has 24 floors; on each of them there are seven dwellings. Six lifts and several long staircases make access to the upper floors possible. On the ground floor there are several commercial premises. It is surprising that garages and parking spaces were not planned for the residents, an aspect also missed in another high-rise project designed by this architect: the Sindicato building on Méndez Núñez Street.

"The Skyscraper," with its mastodontic appearance, has a stylistic connotation linked to the dehumanised and simple architectural typology that was vigorously practised during the 1960s and 1970s, which caused so much damage to the historic ensembles of the main population centres of the Canary Islands.

Inaugurated in July 1974, the building, from its origins, caused a huge visual impact due to its slender figure that could be seen from almost every corner of the town. At the time, some voices in Santa Cruz society defended this type of architecture for the new Santa Cruz, with the mistaken impression that huge high-rise constructions were the solution demanded by the city in its urban development. Fortunately, these ideas were not carried out and the slender building on Tres de Mayo Avenue soon became a kind of constructive anecdote.

Until the appearance of the Torres de Santa Cruz, already in the 21st century, "The Skyscraper" was for decades the tallest building in the city. Today, accustomed to its impressive appearance, it is an everyday part of the urban silhouette.

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