| Torres de Santa Cruz | |
| Location: | Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain |
| Coordinates: | 28.4561°N -16.2556°W |
| Start Date: | 2004 |
| Completion Date: | 2006 |
| Architect: | Julián Valladares |
| Floor Area: | 41753m2 |
| Building Type: | Mixed-use |
| Main Contractor: | Ferrovial (Tower I), Candesa (Tower II) |
The Torres de Santa Cruz is a residential complex composed of the twin towers located in the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain). They were designed by Canarian architect Julian Valladares, and were built in the time period between 2004 and 2006.
The towers are 120m (390feet) tall, without the antenna, becoming the tallest skyscraper in the Canary Islands, and the tallest residential building in Spain until 2010[1] (currently occupies third place in the latter category). The Torres de Santa Cruz are also the tallest twin towers in Spain. The towers are considered, together with the nearby Auditorio de Tenerife, one of the best symbols of the economic development of the Canary Islands.[2]
The complex consists of twin towers of 41753m2—of which 9613m2 are below ground, and 32140m2 above ground.[2] One peculiarity is that these buildings were not built at once. Although they are twin towers, Tower I was built by the company Ferrovial, while Tower II was built by the company Candesa.[2]
The Tower I was completed in 2004 and Tower II in 2006, although the refurbishment work on the site began in 2001. After the September 11 attacks, the construction project of the Torres de Santa Cruz was paralyzed for a few years.The original steel plates that were to be used for the cladding of the buildings had to be replaced by more resistant ones because during the Tropical Storm Delta in November 2005, the plates of Tower I (Tower II was still in construction) fell to the street due to strong gusts of wind[3] (they reached up to 140 km/h on the coast). This motivated that Tower II was, during its construction, directly covered by a system of plates of stainless steel with an anchorage more reinforced than before and with a fixation much more resistant. Subsequently, a similar cover was installed on the facade of Tower I, which had suffered the force of the hurricane.[4]
The Twin Towers of Santa Cruz are considered a symbol of the city, along with the adjacent Auditorio de Tenerife.