Victoria Tobacco Factory

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Architecture · Subcategory: Industrial architecture · Year: 1922 · Authors: Antonio Pintor y Ocete

The tobacco industry on the Island is indissolubly linked to the Zamorano family, importers of raw tobacco. In 1871 Luis Zamorano Villar arrived in the Canary Islands, founder of the "El Desengaño" factory, located at number 11 La Marina street. One of his four sons, Luis Zamorano González, after learning the trade with his father, decided to become independent and founded the Victoria factory, in the surroundings of La Paz square.

For the new building, designed in 1921 by the architect Antonio Pintor, two sets with different uses were erected: on one hand, a family home, and on the other, the factory itself.

The factory, located behind the house, shows us a completely renewed typology, stripping the container of all superfluous elements and limiting the wall to the essential supporting elements that the construction techniques allowed at that time. Large glazed walls give light to the interior, essential in the factory's production process. On the other hand, innovative models of European industrial architecture of that time are linked, in which glass and concrete are naturally combined.

Inside there is an approach to the free plan, with many interconnected spaces. Over the years, this interior was partly modified to house, for many years, a now disappeared cinema.

As for the house, it incorporates interesting decorative elements such as recessed garlands, pierced parapets and ostentatious cornices. It is a clear example of the housing of the city's upper bourgeoisie, not only because of its ornamental appearance but also because of its rich volumetry. Today it houses a bank office.

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