The prestigious Swiss group of architects Herzog & De Meuron has shown interest in knowing the area of the Islote del Francés in Arrecife, where the mayor, Cándido Reguera, intends to create an icon that, initially, was announced that it could be executed by Santiago Calatrava. However, now the owner of Rocar, Jaime Cortezo, has invited one of the Swiss architects, Jacques Herzog, to visit the capital municipality.
Herzog will be in Arrecife on next Monday, July 12, from
5:30 p.m., to learn about the situation of the Islote del Francés in situ and see the real possibilities of this strategic enclave of the city, as reported by the City Council through a statement.
Herzog, who will be accompanied by various collaborators, the owner of Rocar, Jaime Cortezo, and some architects from Gran Canaria, will be received by the mayor of Arrecife, Cándido Reguera, and by councilors Pedro de Armas and Eduardo Lasso. Subsequently, the delegation will go to the Islote del Francés, ending the visit with a dinner at a well-known restaurant in the capital, where the architect will inform the mayor of his first impressions.
The capital's first mayor has expressed his satisfaction with the visit of these prestigious architects and has insisted that the aim is to build an emblematic building for Arrecife, of great height, but also that it is within "a consensual project that generates, above all, employment in the city".
About the architects
Herzog & De Meuron is a prestigious Swiss group of architects made up of Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron. The main headquarters of the studio is located in Basel, although there are currently satellite offices in Madrid, Beijing, London and New York.
The group became known internationally through the Dominus wineries in California; the Pfaffenholz sports center in Basel and with what has been one of its most emblematic and well-known works for the general public, the Tate Modern, in London. Likewise, sports architecture has occupied a prominent place in the studio in recent years, which has designed and executed the St. Jacob stadiums in Basel, the Allianz Arena in Munich and the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Olympic Games.
Within the framework of the urban project known as HafenCity, the Hamburg City Council, in Germany, approved the construction of the Elbe Philharmonic Hall designed by Herzog & de Meuron. A huge glass sail rises above an old port warehouse in Hamburg, housing a large concert hall, offices and a hotel, while the old warehouse is used for parking. The inaugural concert is planned for 2010.
In the Canary Islands they have also carried out works such as the Plaza de España and the TEA (Tenerife Espacio de las Artes), in Tenerife.
