AMP Arquitectos, Santa Cruz de Tenerife

A few years ago, the Spanish agency AMP received international recognition thanks to the government building in the Canary Islands. Everyone hailed its expressive analogy with the landscape. Built in concrete with an irregular finish, combined with local stone and wood, the building sharply contrasted with the minimalism that dominates contemporary Spanish architecture in a spectacular manner. Indeed, Felipe Artengo Rufino and José Pastrana have a sculptural approach to architecture. Their creative impulse draws its inspiration from the immediate surroundings, a land rich in contrasts, made of volcanic rock, deserts and exuberant vegetation, a land only limited by the infinite horizon of the Atlantic Ocean. This essential aspect also characterises these architects' latest works, putting the emphasis on concrete in combination with local materials, forceful buildings directly inspired by the Canaries' landscape. The location's own resources, especially as an insular place, enables research to evolve and a clearly defined architecture to be developed. For AMP, thinking about architecture in the context of the archipelago means interpreting its power and beauty in a critical way, by searching for its essence, not only from the morphological point of view, but also by interpreting it as a constructive principle. Every reference to the genus loci is transformed into a subtle metaphor.

Symbiosis between the environment and the architecture, the Tenerife Athletic Stadium is designed like a geological accident, a crater, materialised through tiers that match the site's topography.

Each building is the result of a detailed observation of the place itself, and its geological, climatic, urban, sociological and cultural components. Each building reveals the great palpable lines of this spectacular environment in a clear way. And, the architects affirm that "the point of departure for every new project is a moment full of tension and emotion when all of the preceding parameters regarding the achievement of a formal expression shift". However, time's effects on their work are essential. In fact, the aging process of concrete, stone and wood stimulates perpetual change that is continually accentuating the force of the architecture.

Legends of the pictures

1. Felipe Artengo Rufino and José María Rodríguez-Pastrana
2. The Seat of the Government of the Canary Islands - 2000
Concrete and stone facades surround the building. The challenge was to create inclined plans which appear light.
3. Laurel Building - 2001
The parcel's cramped dimensions and characteristics necessitated a compact building. Large screens protect the apartments from onlookers and the façade from the setting sun. Grooved bands allow for illumination and ventilation.
4. Tenerife Athletic Stadium - 2006
A complicated project, the stadium is a monumental building with unconventional volume measurement, because, without being imposing, it seeks to integrate itself into the urban fabric.
5. Magma Convention Centre in South Tenerife - 2006
A sophisticated composition put together with irregular and coarse volumes under a white roof recalling the molten lava of the surrounding environment.
6. Visocan Towers in Ańaza - 2007
Designed based on the location's physical characteristics, the two residential towers appear like gigantic sculptures with irregular windows scattered across the façade.
7. Los Cristianos Port Development Project - 2007
This major project, winner of the architectural contest, illustrates the AMP's sensitive approach within the urban context for the transformation of the port area where the city meets the sea.