The building is made up by the gunpowder depot and an area for the guards. Arsenals are a type of architecture that is closely related to the defence of the country, so in their construction certain features must be taken into account in order to reduce the effects of explosions, eradicate dampness, keep the temperature constant, avoid lightning and exclude fires. The Army Engineers were commissioned with its construction and their projects were improved from the latter 19th century on.
The building and surroundings were designated Cultural Heritage Asset, under the Monument category, on 29 April 2010.
The Polvorín de Taco is in the depot category, that is, those that should have larger capacity to house the new gunpowder for the city. This is the second one to be built on the Island of Tenerife. The first one was known as El Confitero, and it was located on the La Cuesta-Taco road. As it was demolished, the Polvorín de Taco is the only 19th century gunpowder depot standing, so it is an example of the gunpowder depots of the period.
The ensemble consists of the gunpowder storeroom which is rectangular and broken in two by a wall and isolated by one more wall nearly 2.40 m. long.
The layout of the ventilation openings, the concrete flooring, the sentry boxes, the roofs made of two layers of concrete, the situation of the gutters to collect water, the drains, water tank, the four lightning conductors outside the building, the layout of the Guards’ building, etc. it was all designed to reinforce the safety of the place.
No doubt, the Polvorín de Taco is architecturally relevant because of the special requirements this type of constructions had to fulfil; it is also historically important as it is related to the defence structures and organization of the islands.
