The hexagonal Symphony Hall of Auditorio Alfredo Kraus

The Auditorio Alfredo Kraus is an auditorium in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, one of the most unique buildings in the capital of Gran Canaria. Created by Óscar Tusquets and built between 1993 and 1997, it opened on 5 December 1997 as a lighthouse to protect Las Canteras beach. The building bears the name of tenor Alfredo Kraus in homage and gratitude to his work on the island.

In the main hall, there is an enormous window of around 100 m2 that allows a view of the Atlantic Ocean while attending a concert. The building serves as the headquarter of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Gran Canaria and hosts events such as the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival and the Canary Islands Music Festival. The complex also contains the Palacio de Congresos de Canarias.

The Symphony Hall has a capacity of 1,656 people and a hexagonal shape designed for extraordinary acoustics. It houses a spectacular organ with 2,750 pipes, making it one of the largest in the Canary Islands and the only secular organ on the island of Gran Canaria. The organ was inaugurated on 21 October 1999 with a concert in the presence of Princess Irene of Greece.

In November 2002, the auditorium was extended with two new halls: San Borondón and Alegranza. In November 2010, the range of venues was completed with the inauguration of a multi-purpose hall. Also designed by Óscar Tusquets, this hall incorporates a mechanism for collecting the seats to accommodate all kinds of events.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons