Santa Cruz De Tenerife (EFE).- The Parliament of the Canary Islands has inaugurated this Tuesday the expansion of its headquarters in a rehabilitated building around a patio, a symbol of Canarian tradition, a 14-meter vertical garden and references to each island in the archipelago, with images of its mountains and the sea that unites them.
The inauguration of the new parliamentary offices has coincided this Tuesday with the 40th anniversary of the first session held by the Parliament of the Canary Islands, on May 30, 1983, after the approval the previous year, in 1982, of the first Statute of Autonomy of the region.
The architect director of the rehabilitation project, Carlos Schwartz, has indicated during the inauguration that he trusts that from today the building will be “stimulating” and will contribute to making a better Canary Islands, after recalling that the works have brought “surprises and difficulties”. which even led to a “very deep” investigation into the structure of the property.
The building, which is located opposite the Parliament building, was built in 1947 and the Autonomous Chamber acquired it in 2005, to opt for its rehabilitation in 2018.
However, there were “many problems” to solve and in fact only its structure and floors were saved, explained Carlos Schwartz, since the building, with three floors and a tower, was built “in a disorderly manner”.
“The first objective was to create a space that was as orderly as possible, provide it with elevators and stairs, and clean up the patio, which had added structures and excesses, so that an axis of symmetry was created on the plot,” Schwartz detailed.
Finally, a “very flexible, open-plan and bright property has been achieved that has a patio, a symbol of Canarian tradition, and in which we have gone further with a very strong commitment by providing it with a 14-meter vertical garden, practically the height of the building”, he added.
And since the sea “we couldn’t bring it”, the possibility of including his images as an element that unites the islands “and part of their mountains” did arise.
The acting president of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, has praised the way in which a listed and protected building has been refurbished to turn it into a 21st century property and which is “annexed to the house of the word, where the Statute is defended of Autonomy, the Economic and Fiscal Regime and self-government”.
The Parliament of the Canary Islands, recalled Torres, is the symbol of a decentralized land and islands “separated by the sea but united in the defense of democracy, freedom and the progress achieved in the last 40 years”.
The president of the regional Chamber in office, Gustavo Matos, has asserted that today is “a day of emotions” and a metaphor for 40 years of self-government in the Canary Islands, since the building with which the Parliament expands its headquarters registered difficulties in its rehabilitation that have been resolved through dialogue.
“It is the misfortunes that we have been encountering along the way that have led us on May 30 to have a much better Canary Islands than 40 years ago,” assured Gustavo Matos, for whom the Canarian people have demonstrated their ability to win the challenges of the future and overcome difficulties.
“As a people, we have the necessary instruments to steer this ship towards a future full of hope”, concluded Gustavo Matos. EFE