jose luis bermejo builds mirador de abrante - a balcony to infinity

‘mirador de abrante’ by jose luis bermejo martin, canary islands, spain
image © city of agulo
all images courtesy of jose luis bermejo martin

at the beginning of this year, the city of agulo located on the island of the gomera inaugurated the new ‘mirador de abrante’ observation point 620 meters above sea level overlooking the atlantic ocean and the tip of tenerife in the canary islands. the reinforced concrete structure forms the primary mass of the structure placed on site, accented by folded metal panels that make up doors and wall sections. the highlight of the building is cantilevered 5 meters from the cliff’s edge and 200 meters over the beach below, a glass balcony that projects by way of a concrete floor beam, wrapped in glass and including a transparent floor. a tourist information center and interior cafe allow visitors to enjoy the impressive views in a protected environment while 3,150 m2 of sculpted exterior terrain invite guests to venture over various parts of the site. being so close to a steep drop-off, the foundation is dug 2 meters below the ground and continues up through the 60 cm-thick exterior partitions, with a special additive in the concrete that seals it from the elements. the entire structure remains below 3.5 meters tall and 8 meters wide. a footprint that helps anchor itself into grade without being too massive.

panoramic view
image © juan carlos leon

site landscaping
image © juan carlos leon

image © juan carlos leon

entrance
image © juan carlos leon

landscaping
image © juan carlos leon

auxiliary entrance
image © juan carlos leon

image © juan carlos leon

image © juan carlos leon

image © juan carlos leon

sliding metal panels open larger doorways
image © juan carlos leon

image © juan carlos leon

image © juan carlos leon

approach to glass balcony
image © juan carlos leon

view from the glass balcony
image © juan carlos leon

connection details
image © juan carlos leon

interior cafe and bar
image © juan carlos leon

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project info:

client: dirección general de infraestructura turística, consejería de turismo del gobierno de canarias
architect: josé luis bermejo martín
technical management: gesplan s.a.u
structural calculations: ta herpe a.t. s.l.p
glass calculations: strain
general contractor: construcciones luis maria olano
collaborators: cristal eria marrero, fabricación y colocación del vidrio; mompex, estructura metálica y cerrajería
site area: 3.150,00 m2
built area: 243,97 m2
budget: 791.000,00 €
safety coordination: boreau verita s