Auditorio de Tenerife

Twenty years

It took twenty years from approval to the first earth moved

As early as 1970 there was agreement that an auditorium for the islands should be created, and the El Ramonal site was approved in 1977. A design by Antonio Fernández Alba was dropped after a conceptual shift. In 1989 the government began talks with Santiago Calatrava, and groundbreaking finally began in 1997.

The shell

A white broken-tile skin was fitted over a metal shell

In 2001 the 17 larger metal panels that form the jacket were installed. In 2002 the concrete and the white trencadís plasterwork of the exterior were completed. Much of the surface is covered with white trencadís, while colourful trencadís decorates the retaining walls of the plaza.

17larger metal panels forming the jacket

Opening

Prince Felipe opened it on 26 September 2003 with a Penderecki fanfare

The auditorium was officially opened on September 26, 2003 by Prince Felipe, accompanied by his mother Queen Sofia. The inaugural concert was Fanfarria Real by Krzysztof Penderecki. It is the home of the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra.

The cost

The final spend was more than double the budget

The original construction budget was 30 million euros, but the total spend amounted to 72 million euros. Bill Clinton visited in July 2005 for a conference, the first visit by a former U.S. president to the Canary Islands.

The name

It was renamed in 2011, and most people keep the old name

On January 28, 2011 the Cabildo de Tenerife approved renaming it Auditorio de Tenerife Adán Martín, in memory of Adán Martín Menis, the driving force behind its construction. Many citizens and media were against the change, and most of the population still calls it just the Auditorio de Tenerife.