Rodin Museum Tenerife. Adaptive Reuse of the Viera y Clavijo Cultural Park, an iconic landscape and cultural space in the Canary Islands

The Viera y Clavijo Cultural Park is an iconic landscape and cultural space in the capital of the Tenerife island, Spain. Built in 1903, it has been used as a cultural complex, made up of the Pérez Minik Theater and the Colegio de la Asunción, a former neo-Gothic church, later transformed into the first school for girls in Tenerife. The only example of a neo-Gothic religious building in the city, the school has been listed as a heritage building since 1986.

Rethinking The Future Awards 2022
Second Award | Cultural (Concept)

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The park houses extensive gardens that contain some botanical jewels such as its immense Ceiba (Ceiba pentandra) whose crown extends over a diameter of more than 20 meters. In the gardens, there is also the bronze sculpture by Joan Miró, the Femme Bouteille, which was donated to the city in the mid-1970s.

The site is located at the intersection of some urban circulations of great relevance and it connects its lower area (ravine) with one of the entrance avenues to the city. However, the progressive urban development, the existing perimeter fence and the proximity of the ravine contributed to its growing isolation from the rest of the city while narrow and scarce sidewalks makes walking around it unsafe.

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The core concept of the redesign is the respect for both the pre-existent architecture and nature – vegetation, ravine and topography – while integrating the client’s brief, which requires the rehabilitation of the main building, the construction of underground parking lots and an use proposal for the former theater’s remains.  The former school and chapel will be rehabilitated and the current park will be expanded in the form of a green ring. A small Ceibas forest will be planted to accompany the existing specimen and educational urban orchards will be included. To restore the connection with the city, the existing fence will be removed and new accesses to the park will be opened so to establish a fluid mobility in the city across this large green area and to enlarge the sidewalks around it.

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After its rehabilitation and redesign, the Viera y Clavijo Cultural Park will be a green and open public space spread over 15,000 m2 in the heart of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, overlooking the sea and the ravine and playing a major role in restoring the connection between the low and high parts of the city. Moreover, it will house the second Rodin Museum in Europe.

The philosophy of the Km0 architecture is applied as an economic and sustainability strategy: everything is designed to use locally sourced materials, techniques, companies and craft. The Circular Economy is prioritized through the use of recycled aggregate, limestone and picón (local volcanic stone). The design is based on the use of natural elements such as daylight, trade winds for cross ventilation and the collection of rainwater for irrigation of the greenery. Durable materials that improve with aging will also be used to ensure low-cost maintenance in time.