Brutalism in Tenerife: the House of Architects photographed by Roberto Conte

As a photographer and lover of brutalism, I had long been waiting for the opportunity to see with my own eyes the headquarters of the Association of Architects of Tenerife and to photograph it. Its full name is Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Tenerife, La Gomera y El Hierro, and it was built between 1966 and 1971 by a group led by Javier Díaz-Llanos La Roche and Vicente Saavedra Martínez, both architects born in Tenerife and graduates of the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura (Higher School for Architecture) in Madrid in 1960.

Their experience in the Spanish capital had a strong influence on these island-born architects, who, upon returning to Tenerife, left a deep and lasting mark on the modern legacy of the Canary Islands as a whole.

One of the most striking features is the imposing exterior shape of the main building, where windows are irregularly arranged from floor to floor, and rotated at 45 degrees from the facade.
As a photographer, when composing the images, one immediately perceives the relationship between the verticality of the structure and the horizontality of the vast forecourt, playing an important role both in visual and functional terms. 

Exposed concrete is undoubtedly the most important material feature of the entire building, with the imprints of the wooden formwork left clearly visible – also finding ways for a powerful expression in the staircase area, with the vertical texture of its walls.

When moving to the inside, the constant chromatic relationship between the grey concrete elements and the brown tiles covering the stairs, floors, and some walls immediately catches a photographer's eye. The same tones are echoed in the wood of the handrails, doors, and moldings, and in the meeting room with its surprisingly organic shapes.

The headquarters of the Association of Architects of Tenerife, designed by Saavedra and Díaz-Llanos, still serves the same function for which it was built. It has undergone very few modifications from 1971 to today, and it is still possible to appreciate the great care expressed by many of the project’s details, making it an intriguing witness of its time.

All photos are property of Roberto Conte