Although the Canary islands don’t boast as big a compliment of architectural classics as the Spanish mainland there are still plenty of great examples of colonial construction to be enjoyed across the islands.
The capitals of both Gran Canaria and Tenerife have a long and impressive history – as well as many grand buildings to match. Such as the Casa Colon in the old Vegueta district of Las Palmas – a regular resting point for Christopher Columbus before he set sail for the New World.
Whilst on Lanzarote the most impressive concentration of historic buildings is to be found in the old capital of Teguise. Once home to the islands foremost noblemen and politicians. As well as in the countryside – especially around the islands unique wine region – where many vineyard owners created beautiful bodegas and estates.
The signatures of this arhictectural style were largely dictated by the climate of the Canaries. As features such as as patio courtyards, thick exterior walls, small windows, low flat or slightly pitched roofs and covered verandas or terraces were all responses to both the warmth and the wind of the islands.
These thick exterior walls often hide an inner secret – usually in the form of a classic, plant packed Canarian patio. A style which has its roots in Moorish and Andalaucian architecture.
These older edifices were built using volcanic stones to create walls, in a style similar to dry stone walling. These walls were then packed with mud, horsehair and other materials to create an adobe type cement which plugged all of the gaps inbetween. Often these walls would be built to a width of a foot or more, helping to keep the living spaces dry and warm in winter and cool in the summer.
The same basalt volcanic stone is often still used today. Cut and used as quoins on the corner edge of many buildings, creating a striking contrast with the white painted plastered walls. The same material has also been used to create volcanic tiles for external use, such as in the patio garden of the Palacio Spinola or for many of the door sills in modern houses on the island.
There are some fine examples of classic Canarian patios around the island. Although many aren´t open to the public. However one of the best is the centrepiece of the oldest building on the island – at the Palacio de Marques in Teguise, dating from 1455. Which is now a bodega and restaurant. Whilst in Yaiza The La Era restaurant – an old grain store renovated by Cesar Manrique and Luis Ibanez – also boasts a beautfiul patio space.
Manrique took the concept of the Canarian patio to even greater and more modern extremes in the consturcutiuon of the Gran Melia Salinas hotel in Costa Teguise. Where visitors are greeted by the sight of a veritable indoor jungle.
The Palacio Spinola in Teguise also features a number of other typical architectural features of Spanish Colonial style. Such as large and intricately carved wooden shuttered windows. Which were designed to keep out fierce sunlight during the day, whilst the smaller hinged sections could be opened to spy on the world outside or see who was calling at the house.
The Palacio Spinola also boasts a fine example of an internal balcony; a quirky detail which enabled orchestras or choirs to perform during festivities or formal functions – out of sight but still audible to the guests in the salon below.
It is interesting to note that architecture continues to be closely allied with art and artists, as architecture as a profession only became more formalised in the nineteenth century.
Before then, the construction of houses was undertaken by sculptors, builders and painters. Hence Manrique’s incorporation of many traditional Canarian architectural features within his own house in Tahiche is not an unusual development. Manrique also published a book about Canarian architectural design in the 1960´s as a means of promoting and promulagating these traditions.
The unique architectural style of the Canaries was even exported to the United States, as some of the families who fled the volcanic eruptions of 1730-36 created exact replicas of the houses they had left behind in Teguise, when they settled in Texas. For example, the town of San Antonio in the lone star state – home to hundreds of Canarian emigres – could almost be a replica of Teguise.
