The scheme for two Essential Services Buildings (ESE) in the Canary Islands, drawn by Fernando Menis and his team, has been unveiled. Resulting from a public tender held in 2021, the twin projects are sited on the islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife, and will accommodate facilities from which to manage emergencies and prevent health risks, natural disasters, and cyberattacks, among other things, besides attending to the public. Each ESE, amounting to about 23,000 square meters, will take in a staff of more than 500, and is designed with a protective outer ring, in the manner of a buttress forming a large open inner space where the actual building will rise. The highly ductile concrete structures will ensure correct structural performance during earthquakes and other extreme phenomena, allowing deformation without affecting resistance.

The buildings feature grooves for vegetation – 2.8 meters wide and 300 meters long –will bring natural light and air into the three upper floors. Protected by horizontal louvers, the facades are executed with double glass sheets – low-emission and with solar control. In both buildings a data processing center will generate heat that will be used to climatize the rest of the complex, helping to reduce energy consumption. On the roof are a heliport and photovoltaic panels. The two buildings are intended to be completed in 2025.

Gran Canaria

Tenerife