Drawings for the Bid of Fitting Furniture and Interior Design of the New Branch of the Island Council of Gran Canaria

These drawings are part of the documentation that the sculptor Juan Márquez (1903−80) presented as part of his bid for the furnishing and interior decoration of the new offices of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria (Council of Gran Canaria), located at Bravo Murillo Street in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. These copies are the only surviving document set and provide insights into the proposals offered by Márquez. The competition to select the designer of these interior spaces was governed by the technical tender documentation, issued on October 15, 1938. In it, four areas were specified: the main hall for sessions; the hall of meetings and hall of counselors; the lobby, hall, screens, and main staircase; and the office of the president, waiting room, and office of the secretary of presidency. Two sculptors, Marquéz and Plácido Fleitas, two painters, Cirilo Suárez and Sergio Calvo, and an architect, Fermín Suárez Valido, submitted bids. On November 28, 1938, the public exhibition of the sketches was opened in the hall of sessions of the Cabildo. On February 23, 1939, the competition jury determined that the winners were Juan Márquez for the first three spaces and Fleitas for the area of the presidency. The bid for materials was published in October 1939. Production of the furniture, reliefs, and sculptures began between November 1940 and February 1941. The offices of the Cabildo, both exterior and interior, are an important example of European modernist architecture, located in the Canary Islands. The drawings are in the collections of the Christopher Columbus House Museum, in Gran Canaria.
Designer: Márquez Peñate, Juan, 1903-1980
Client: Gran Canaria (Canary Islands). Cabildo Insular
Place: Europe; Spain; Canary Islands; Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Institution: Cabildo of Gran Canaria, Canary Islands
Physical description: 12 architectural drawings on paper ; ranging between 26-31.5 centimeters x 31-57.4 centimeters