© Teresa Arozena entorno natural, si se hace el esfuerzo consciente de incorpo- rar elementos naturales en cada aspecto del diseño”, asegura. Esto es lo que hizo precisamente Menis en MAGMA Arte y Congresos, en Adeje, un edificio que se interpretó como una erupción volcánica y donde se combinó el hormigón con la piedra chasnera típica de la isla. Este gran palacio, proyecta- do como si fuese un nuevo Stonehenge, fue finalista al pre- mio Europa de Arquitectura Mies van der Rohe. “La topogra- fía volcánica de Tenerife ofrece formas únicas y materiales autóctonos como la piedra y la ceniza volcánica que pueden ser integrados en los diseños. Además, las condiciones climá- ticas de las islas, como la abundante luz solar y los vientos ali- sios, pueden ser aprovechadas en la orientación y contribuir a la eficiencia energética y la sostenibilidad”. Precisamente, el juego de luces es lo que más llama la atención en la Iglesia del Santísimo Redentor en Las Chumberas, obra también de Menis, un proyecto contemporáneo que ha sido incorporado a la colección del MoMA de Nueva York, y ganador en 2024 del Frate Sole Internacional Prize, el premio oscar de arqui- tectura sacra. Si la luz y el paisaje juegan a favor de la arquitectura con- temporánea en la isla, hay factores como la humedad y el salitre que históricamente siempre fueron un problema. La arquitectura vernácula de Canarias, que ha pasado la prue- ba del tiempo, ofrece enseñanzas a las nuevas generaciones, como confirma Menis: “Frente a la humedad y la sal, las pie- dras naturales resisten muy bien; la dureza del hormigón, que es una forma de piedra procesada, se ve favorecida si la mez- cla contiene ceniza volcánica”. En cuanto a la humedad, los arquitectos locales favorecen la ventilación cruzada y la ilu- minación natural, jugando con las sombras. Desafíos que se resuelven con ingenio, como dijo Santiago Calatrava, autor de dos de los edificios más icónicos de la isla, el Auditorio de Tenerife, un icono por su perfil ondulado, y el Centro Internacional de Ferias y Congresos: “Si se entiende la arquitectura como un arte, merece la pena dedicarle una vida entera”. ENG In 2008, the Pritzker Prize-winning Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron inaugurated one of their most impor- tant buildings in Spain: TEA (Tenerife Espacios de las Artes). An avant-garde building characterised by natural light that put the Canary Island in the spotlight of contemporary archi- tecture. Two years later, Jacques Herzog himself confessed that his love for this land went even further and he had designed a house in Tenerife of which hardly any images have been published. ‘I love the people, I adore the natives of Ten- erife, they have a culture much closer to their hearts than we Swiss do,’ he said in the newspaper El País. For several decades Tenerife has been committed to new architecture both as a beacon to showcase its cultural her- itage, and also as a message of commitment to the future. In fact, in 2006, when the MoMA in New York dedicated an exhibition to contemporary Spanish architecture, On-Site: New Architecture in Spain, it included several projects built in Tenerife: the School of Performing Arts by GPY Arquitectos (2003) and the Athletics Stadium by AMP Arquitectos (2006). Later, other large buildings were constructed, creating an interesting architectural scenario, all of them taking advan- tage of two essential and identifying factors: the climate and the volcanic landscape. ‘The benign climate and unique land- scape in Tenerife allow for experimentation with the integra- tion of light, natural ventilation and open spaces in ways that would be difficult in other places, and if well used they allow for the creation of bioclimatic architecture’, explains Canarian architect Fernando Menis (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 1951), pres- ident of the Laboratory of Innovation in Architecture, Design and Advanced Tourism of Tenerife. The role of climate in construction Bioclimatic architecture, in which the design of buildings is configured according to the local climate to maximise ther- mal comfort and integrate with the environment, is a con- stant in the work of Fernando Menis. Two of his works are clear examples of this: the garden of the El Tanque cultur- al centre, an ecological restoration of a protected industri- al area in the Cabo Llanos neighbourhood, incorporating banana trees, bushes and native aromatic flora; and Drago Park in Icod de los Vinos, a rehabilitation of an abandoned landscape with a thousand-year-old dragon tree, an endemic species on the island. ‘Architecture in Tenerife has the poten- tial to be a reflection of its spectacular landscape and to be kind to the natural environment, if a conscious effort is made to incorporate natural elements into every aspect of the design,’ he says. This is precisely what Menis did in MAGMA Arte y Con- gresos, in Adeje, a building that was interpreted as a volcan- ic eruption and where concrete was combined with island’s characteristic Chasnera stone. This great palace, designed as if it were a new Stonehenge, was a finalist in the Mies van der Rohe European Architecture Award. ‘The volcanic topog- raphy of Tenerife provides unique shapes and indigenous materials such as stone and volcanic ash that can be integrat- ed into the designs. In addition, the climatic conditions of the islands, such as abundant sunlight and trade winds, can be exploited in terms of orientation and contribute to energy efficiency and sustainability’. Indeed, the play of light is what most draws attention to the Church of the Holy Redeemer in Las Chumberas, also the work of Menis, a contemporary project that has been incorporated into the collection of the MoMA in New York in 2024 was the winner of the Frate Sole International Prize, the Oscar of sacred architecture. While light and landscape play in favour of contemporary architecture on the island, factors such as humidity and salt- petre have historically always been a problem. The vernac- ular architecture of the Canary Islands, which has stood the test of time, offers lessons to new generations, as Menis con- firms: ‘Natural stone resists humidity and salt very well; the hardness of concrete, which is a form of processed stone, is enhanced if the mixture contains volcanic ash’. As for humid- ity, local architects favour cross ventilation and natural light- ing, playing with the shadows. Challenges that are sovercome using ingenuity. As Santia- go Calatrava, the architect behind of two of the island’s most emblematic buildings, the Tenerife Auditorium, an icon for its undulating profile, and the International Trade Fair and Congress Centre, said: ‘If architecture is understood as an art, it is worth dedicating a whole life to it’. Escuela de Artes Escénicas de GPY Arquitectos. // School of Performing Arts by GPY Arquitectos.