edited by

Fausto Giovannardi

Felix Candela Builder of dreams

At

the

beginning

of

modern,

steel

tells you not heard the call, which seems

manufacturers said the impulse to create

to have had other famous architects or

new models. The next innovation to wrap

engineers, but that had little since the

the concrete has led to materialize the

desire to build. Completed higher studies,

most extreme forms: the boldness was

is enrolled in the School of Architecture in

accompanied to the imagination and the

Madrid for the event or the advice of a

forms and materials have been adapted

friend. Now you wilt in the study of

at all efforts. One of the main protagonists

descriptive geometry, and the third year

of this development was around the

in the Resistencia de Materiales, who

middle of last century Flix Candela

studied with Professor Luis Vegas, where

(hereafter FC), who is remembered for

he became a student assistant. His

his

interest in the artistic aspects was very

extraordinary

roof

of

reinforced

concrete shell, the shape of hyperbolic

low, and also in the field of design is

paraboloids.

declared incapable. Its focus was entirely

on the technical side of architecture and

La obras mejor es la que sostiene por

1

su forma.

usually for exact sciences.

In Youth FC was a good athlete and won

Eduardo Torroja
Life
Outerio Flix Candela, was one of the
most important architects of the twentieth
century. His adventurous life can be
divided into three periods, matching his
stay in Spain, Mexico and the United
States.
The first period runs from birth, in Madrid
on January 27, 1910, until the end of the
Spanish Civil War
in March 1939.
Son of traders from
Crevillente
(Valencia), which

several national competitions in alpine

skiing and rugby team.
The years of its formation were years of
great political and cultural effervescence,
culminating in 1931 with the proclamation
of the Second Spanish Republic, which
put an end to the monarchy of Alfonso
XIII. The cultural openness of the new
government allowed the proliferation of
new and different philosophical and
artistic trends.
He graduated in 1935,
immediately opened a
small studio with
Eduardo Robles and
Ramirez Dampierre.

The best work is that it maintains for its shape.

While arrangement giving repetitions and

2

Felix Candela Builder of dreams

learned some lessons from the revolution
and civil war, I was very useful."
FC was assigned to Comandancia de
Obras to Albacete and shortly after was
promoted to Capitn de Ingenieros. The
civil war 2was long and ended with the
victory of the nationalists of Francisco
doing small jobs, Candela deepened the

Franco. After a long retreat through the

study of structure design of steel and

Pyrenees, the group Candela found

reinforced concrete. The shell structures

refuge in the concentration camp at

that are built in Europe in the twenties

Perpignan, France, where he remained

(Dischinger in Germany, Freyssinet in

for four months as an exile3, the fate

France, Nervi in Italy and Eduardo

wished that her name was among those

Torroja in Spain, etc.) Drew the attention

that Mexico was willing to accept .

of very young Candela, so much so that

Candela landed at Veracruz (Mexico) on

in 1936 won a scholarship Study of the

June 13 1939. Among the more than a

Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando,

thousand exiled Spaniards, who were

with the argument: "The influence of new

welcomed in Mexico, 25 were architects,

trends in the technique of reinforced

and Felix Candela one of the youngest. In

concrete above the Architectural Form".

addition to Spanish, other architects also

Decided to use the prize for an internship

in Germany and Finsterwalder
Dischinger, had already purchased the
train ticket to leave on July 18 1936,
when the news came the attempted
military coup by the troops of Francisco
Franco, and Flix Candela not departed.
Shortly after it enlisted, the army as a
volunteer Republican to defend the
legality of golpisti against Franco. Years
later, thinking back to this choice, FC
showed no regrets, and indeed said: "I
could not even benefit from the
knowledge of German professors,

The Spanish Civil War breaks out in 1936. The

general elections of February 16 left-wing forces are
returning to the government, through the first
experiment of Popular Front. On July 18, however, the
situation falls: some military garrisons arise against the
Republican government ( "alzamiento") and General
Franco arrived on the national soil with the colonial
troops from Morocco. It is the beginning of the civil war,
with serious repercussions on the international level.
Spain is the scene of the first armed clash between
fascism and antifascism, with the participation of many
intellectuals from all over the world, from the U.S. (from
Dos Passos to Hemingway), and with the Italians - the
Mussolini black shirts from a hand, and the anti-fascists
and anarchists on the other - committed on both sides.
The war will end at the end of March 1939 with nearly
one million dead and the victory of the nationalists of
Francisco Franco and the establishment of a
dictatorship based on the legislative power of the
"Caudillo" and the repression of opponents (the "Feroz
Matanza "), Which will last until 1975 and cause the
deaths of 200,000 anti-fascists, hundreds of thousands
of people sentenced to various penalties, 300,000
exiles.
3
France recognized the Franco government, and then
exiles became a problem.

Felix Candela Builder of dreams

arrived foreigners fleeing from totalitarian

created a hotel and a cinema in

regimes in Europe, as Cetto and Hannes

Guamchil and built its first line of section

Max Meier.

(at trial) and then apply it in the draft of a

The arrival of this flower technicians

ural school in Tamaulipas.

coincided with a period of great

The gain realized that he was sufficient to

development for the Central American

come to Mexico, Spain, his mother and

country, where government incentives

his sister Julia and also shortly after his

construction, to meet the popular demand

brother Antonio5.

of residences.

Confident and optimistic for the prospects

Thus beginning the second period of his

of his work, decided to found a building

life. Initially settled in a Spanish colony of

contractor specializing in roofing. Thus

exiles, 100 km north of Chihuahua, where

shortly after she married Eladio Martin,
who knew from Madrid. In 1941 both took
the Mexican nationality. Since their
marriage were born four children:
Antonia, Teresa, and sister Pilar and
Manola.
During the years 1941 and 1942 Felix
Candela worked in Acapulco, in
partnership with a manufacturer. It then
moved to Mexico City to work with Jess
Mart, a refugee himself Spanish, who
directed a study of architecture. There it
remained for four years, probably the
most peaceful of his life, working on the
construction of many residential buildings,
and the reconstruction of the Casino de la
Selva in Cuernavaca, recently returned to
the fore because nearly destroyed to
make way for a supermarket4. In just
4

A serious attack on the World Cultural Heritage has been

made in Cuernavaca in Mexico: the destruction of the Casino
de la Selva, the Mexican Sistine Chapel. " The Mexican weekly
'La Jornada' reported the protest of Colombian writer Gabriel
Garcia Marquez who, along with a group of intellectuals, will

cubiertas Ala, a company with the

architects brother Raul and Fernando
Fernandez Rangel, who was also
participate Antonio and Julia.
In this endeavor Felix Candela was
architect, engineer, consultant, computer,
contractor and manufacturer. His first
contract was a block of apartments with
shops on the ground floor. The structural
submit to UNESCO a project to transform the Casino de la
Selva in an International Institute of the Arts. The building was
a 'work of famous Spanish architect Felix Candela that ahead
of the curve, the known hazards hyperbolic parabolic dome.
The demolition, authorized by the Municipal Presidency,
started by the U.S. supermarket chain Price costs, continuing
with considerable environmental damage by the Wall-Mart,
even without the permission of Environmental Management. A
massacre aggravated by the destruction of works of art of
painting murals that were inside the complex, signed works by
Siqueiros, Orozco, Rivera, Silvio Benedetto, Atl, messenger,
Camarena, Renau, Meza, Flores, Ballester, Gonzales, Cueva
Del Rio, Pena, Icaza. An even ecological disaster, one that
involved the "Jardin de l'Art" (another name of the Casino de la
Selva). The weekly Valencia 'El temps' in an article entitled
"Vandalism in Mexico'" the complaint also killing lots of trees.
5
The Rangel brothers were members for only 3 years. Felix
assumed the presidency, while Antonio who was master
builder, took care of yards and Julia administration. The
company will operate until 1976, but will leave the Flix
Candela in 1969.

Felix Candela Builder of dreams

calculations and drawings executives

Specialist for measuring neutrons. The

were treated to the smallest details. The

request was that of the coverage had a

same client then entrusted the

thickness not exceeding 1.5 cm. Candela

construction of Hotel Catedral in calle de

propose to use a double curvature

Donceles (DF) on draft Nabor Carrillo,

instead of the cylindrical coverage

who later become rector of UNAM6.

provided in the draft Gonzlez Reyna,

While working hard, Candela continued to

arguing that this gave the geometric

study and to upgrade. Reading an article

stiffness needed to allow the execution of

about Winter Grorge Journal of the

a cover thickness. This was the first

American Concrete Institute, which

example in which Candela used a

discussed the construction of times a

solution of parabolide hyperbolic (or

double curvature, rekindled his interest

Hypar7), a geometric shape that had

for the young thin shell structures. He

studied in an article published in 19368,

began to search for articles and, after

having translated with the help of the
dictionary from English, French and
German, began to study them in depth,
seeking the ability to calculate these
structures using the simplest of those
classics. A second trial, he was standing
in the soil of the Fabric Fernndez. Issue
once conoidale 15 x 6 meters, with a
thickness of 3 cm, supported on the
sides, two strings of different bolt, one of
them very low, much to generate a
fortuitous double curvature surface.
In 1951 Candela achieves coverage that
will give him international fame: the
Pabelln de rayos Csmicos. A small
pavilion 12 x 10.75 meters, designed by
Jorge Gonzlez Reyna and build within
the university campus, to host a
workshop.

and that will come to know and dominate,

used with great virtuosity, to generate
those Manti soft and sinuous that
7

The structures in the shape of hyperbolic paraboloids (Hypar

with the abbreviation USA) in architecture have been realized
for the first time dall'ingegnere Russian Vladimir Shuklov
(1853-1939), which rifece to areas with double curvature,
defined by analytically Russian mathematician Nikolai
Lobachevsky. The first structure was the coverage of the
Russian pavilion of 1896 to Nizhny Novgorod.

National Autonomous University of Mexico.

F. Amond Etude statique des voiles minces en

paraboloidee hyperbolique travaillant sans flexion
Zurich,1936

Felix Candela Builder of dreams

constitute its most emblematic creations.

had their increasingly capricious projects,

The success that got him exclaim9: "que

he was almost a magician. Candela

es fcil hacerse famous", and such a

defined geometrically, regularized,

strong stimulus for creative and

rejected what seemed illogical and

confidence in their skills. He began to

transformed ideas into a project, which

write articles about his work and sent one

instructed the calculation of the building

of the first, entitled "Consideraciones al

and then convert the idea into reality. In

Diseo de Estructuras de Reforzado

regards wrote in 1959: "My main job is to

Concrete", all 'ACI Journal, who refused

simplify and regularize the rough and I

because little technical. (The newspaper,

have to convince that the outcome is not

two years later, he accepted his job

in constructing forms extravagant, but get

"Estructuras de Simples Concrete"). In

things simple, carefully studying the

1951 presented an essay, "Hacia una

details." 11

nueva de las Estructuras Philosophy," the

Between 1951 and 1953 created 5

Mexican Scientific Congress II.

residential buildings for the periodic

Meanwhile (1953) became a professor

Novedades, who drawn between its

and then head of the department of

subscribers, in the Jardin del Pedregal,

architecture at the University of Mexico

within the revolutionary project of urban

City.

Luis Barragn. Candela used shells, as

From the construction of Pabelln de

interp, but the experience is not found

rayos Csmicos, Candela began to

positive and not the shots anymore.

receive assignments of greater

A year after he built his own house, a villa

importance. Mostly worked with his

in traditional Mediterranean style, a

company cubiertas Ala, as a collaborator

Tlacopac, in the south east of Mexico

of the main architects Mexicans10, who

City. In this regard commented: "I will not

chance to show my house a few architect

por fin, al cumplir los quaranta anos, descubr

asombrado que mi desordenata y casual formacin
pareca haber sido misteriosamente dirigida en un
determinado sentito que me permitia encontrarme
preparado para la labor que tena que ejecutar F.
Candela: En defensa del formalismo y otros escrittos ,
Xairat Ediciones, Bilbao 1985 , p.9

10

The key collaborations:

Los Almacenes de Las Aduanas (customs warehouses)
Vallejo, 1953 with Carlos Recamier.
The markets, built between 1955 and 1956 in Coyoacan,
Azcapotzalco and Anahuac, with Pedro Ramirez Vzquez and
Rafael Mijares.
The Restaurant at Los Manantiales Xochimilco, in 1958, with
Joaquin A'lvarez Ordoez
The Capilla de abierta Palmira in Cuernavaca in 1959 with
Rosell and Manuel Guillermo Larrosa.
Then there is a long and fruitful relationship with Enrique de La

,..., all hope that living in a monstrous

Mora Lopez and Fernando Carmona, which began in 1955
with coverage of the stock market (Bolsa de valores) of
Mexico, the various churches: el Altillo (Coyoacan, 1955), San
Antonio de las Huertas (DF, 1955), San Jose obrero
(monterrey, 1959), San Vicente de Paul (DF, 1959), which
continued even when the two architects are separated in 1960
with the church of Santa Monica Lopez of Carmona and in
1963 with the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Madrid,
which was the first by a Mexican architect in Spain and which
marked the return of professional Candela in his native
homeland.
In last collaboration with Santiago Calatrava for the project of
'Oceanographic in Valencia, work completed posthumously.
11

F. Candela, Carta de Flix Candela al director in

Arquitectura, Madrid Ottobre 1959

Felix Candela Builder of dreams

turned with the roof and walls of glass." 12

Atzeca Stadium, the University Theater

In this period Candela built the first

Center and the Electronic National

prototype paraguas (umbrella).

Autonomous University of Mexico, the

Quadrangular coverage consists of four

monumental arch of Monterrey, and in the

timpani of hypar, supported by a single

international arena, the Cuban

central pillar, which found space inside

Presidential Palace, whose creation was

the pipe rain. Because of its cost-

decided before the fall of Batista, the

effectiveness and speed of construction

Auditorium of Cartography of Caracas,

(you could reuse the same housing), this

the Auditorium of Maracaibo, the

structure had a huge spread and was the

Hemisfair Tower of San Antonio, the

kind of coverage required by most

Crystal Palace in London and the sports

builders and architects Mexicans, for

complex at the University of Rhode

industrial buildings and above all service

Brown Island.

stations.

They were the years when Flix Candela,

now considered the main designer of

In its 26 years of operation (1950-1976)

times in the world, was a constant

the company cubiertas Ala performed an

presence in magazines worldwide, and

impressive number of works: 1439 drew

was invited to give lectures in many

up plans, which were built 896, of which

universities, mainly in the U.S.. His

over 90% were industrial buildings. The

reports were always an example of

period of increased activity was between

simplicity and they confirmed the

1956 and 1960, five of which were built in

skepticism of youth compared to the

a total of 395 works.13

complicated calculations of the theory of

Among the

membrane

works of the

structures. The

company

criticisms made to

cubiertas Ala

the theory that the

are worthy of

role of practice,

mention, in

created hostilities

Mexico:

within the many

small circuit of

12

Giral, A. la arquitectura de Flix Candela in

AA.VV.El desierro espanol en America. Madrid Min.
Cultura.
13
Tabla de obras de Cubiertas Ala, Germenon Salum
da Juan Tonda Magalln Ediciones Corunda 2000
Mexico DF

international specialists.
In July 1961, in London, during the
congress of the International Union of
7

Felix Candela Builder of dreams

Architects (UIA) he was awarded the

the fact that times had changed and there

prestigious Auguste Perret Prize for the

were no more conditions (suitable for

excellence of his work. A month after he

manod'opera and low so, flexible rules

was decorated with a gold medal that the

and creativity) of the gold. And then

Institution of Engineers structural

starts the third period of his life, in which

engineers assigned to the best structural

Candela had a profound transformation

engineers in the world (before him:

professional and creative led him to

JFBaker in 1052, Eugene Freyssinet

abandon his work as designer

1957, Hardy Cross 1958).

/manufacturer. Moved to Chicago where

In 1963 his wife died five years later she

he was a full-time professor at the

married Candela, the architect U.S.

University of Illinois from 1971 to 1978,

Dorothy Davies.

when it adopted U.S. citizenship. Do not

The last important work of Felix Candela

let all of his creative work, is associated

was the Palazzo dello Sport for the

to the study Idea Center in Toronto and

Olympic Games in Mexico City in 1968,

attended to ambitious projects, including

built in collaboration with Enrique

the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid

Castaeda and Antonio Peyre, which

(that project was not realized), the City of

replaced the use of shells of concrete, not

Sport in Kuwait, the Islamic Cultural

suitable for large lights , With an

Center Madrid, a tower of offices in

economic and ingenious semi-metal

Riyadh, an airport in Murcia, coverage for

structure, divided into panels that are

a stadium Islamic University in Riyadh,

inserted elements shaped paraguas,

the Feria de Muestras of Marbella, the

covered with plates of copper. The effect

Legislature of Veracruz, the Master Plan

is that of the shell of a large turtle, which

of Islamic, the Prosecutor of Xalapa hotel

has become a symbol of the Mexican

in Cancun, and ultimately the City of Arts

capital. In 1971, after nearly two decades

and Science in Valencia, with space built

teaching at the National Autonomous

University of Mexico, decided to emigrate
to the U.S., to teach at the University of
Illinois. This influenced the decision, the
misunderstandings with the management
of the Faculty of Architecture, the new
American wife and the decline of his
company cubiertas Ala, a consequence of
8

Felix Candela Builder of dreams

in the park where Oceanographic
coverage of access and the restaurant
are underwater parabolidi hyperbolic
concrete, made in collaboration with
Santiago Calatrava, which has the merit
of making worthy tribute to this great
teacher, for too
long forgotten.
Is to Valencia, as
a result of again
of an old heart disease, Flix Candela
returned to the United States, to Raleigh
in North Carolina, where he lived from
1990 to be admitted all'Hospital de Duke,
where he died on December 7 1997 .

Felix Candela Builder of dreams

The projects and achievements

Some of the major works and projects by Flix Candela:

1940 Hotel e appartamenti ad Acapulco, in collaborazione con Bringas.
1950-1951 Pabelln de los Rayos Csmicos, Citt del Messico.
1953-1957 Iglesia de la Medalla de la Virgen Milagrosa, Navarte.
1954-1955 Fbrica Celestino Fernndez, Colonia Vallejo.
1954-1955 Bolsa de Valores, Citt del Messico.
1955 Capilla de Nuestra Seora de la Soledad, Coyoacn.
1955-1956 Quiosco de Msica, Santa Fe.
1956 Capilla de San Antonio de las Huertas, Tacuba.
1956-1957 Club notturno La Jacaranda, Acapulco.
1956-1957 Restaurante Los Manantiales, Xochimilco.
1957-1958 Capilla abierta en Lomas de Cuernavaca, Palmira.
1958-1959 Baslica de Guadalupe, Citt del Messico.
1958-1959 Iglesia de San Jos Obrero, Monterrey.
1959 Capilla de San Vicente Paul, Coyoacn.
1959-1960 Capilla de Santa Mnica, San Lorenzo di Xochimancas.
1959-1960 Planta embotelladora ditta Bacard, Cuautitln.
1962-1963 Iglesia Nuestra Seora de Guadalupe, Madrid, Spagna.
1965-1968 Palacio de Deportes per la XIX Olimpiade Citt del Messico.
1966 Parroquia del Seor del Campo Florido, Citt del Messico.
1994-2002 L'Oceanogrfic, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, Valencia, Spagna.

the

structural

laminaria

concrete

structures, generated from hyperbolic

paraboloids (Hypar), a geometric shape
of extraordinary effectiveness, which in a
draft version, has become the hallmark of
its architecture.
Roofing read in concrete form of armed
with

umbrellas

spigolosi

(edges)

or

sinuous mantle, that Felix Candela built in

the fifties and sixties, made it a symbol of
Mexican twentieth century. As Frei Otto
said: "Candela only managed to convert

The first shell (cascarones14) that has

built Candela, was once a funicular trial in
the summer of 1949. For its construction
followed the example of some prototypes
built in England during the Second World
War. It seems that the inventor of the time

the structures laminaria in a work of art."

His greatest contribution in the field were

14

Literally: Shell egg.

10

Felix Candela Builder of dreams

was Kurt Billing, and the system used to

believing in everything that I believed. But

be called "Ctesiphon", the name of an old

this is a necessary, if one wants to build

arcade building in Syria. The success

something

achieved

The

with

this

experiment

Pabelln

original

"

rayos

Csmicos

de

encourages Candela to consider the

designed with Jorge Gonzales Reyna, for

possibility of devoting themselves to

the city university of Mexico City, with its

building

was

undulating concrete cover thickness of

proposing something different in order to

only 15 mm, which allows measurement

survive in the highly competitive field of

from the neutron, is one of the most

construction in Mexico. At about the same

emblematic buildings of his work. With its

Candela, said: "despite the Mexican

shape, almost a spaceship about to land,

tradition of building curved shapes and

was the first structure acclaimed by all

bold, concrete vaults were to look with

and

suspicion. We thought they were unsafe,

From 1951 to 1953, his work was an

because

and

impressive variety. These two years were

earthquakes"

essential to understand, almost intuitively

Coverage for a coach was the second

how the shells. Focused on the most

adventure of Candela with hypars. The

simple, guided by two principles that are

shape is very similar to the time of the

essential in these structures: the static

Pavilion de rayos Cosmicos But here

and geometry. Built short times, prismatic

were omitted arcs irrigidenti. One of the

and

edges supports the rocky soil and the

domes, almost the entire range of forms

other is supported by a wall of concrete,

known. In Residence Romero, Candela

the sides of the shell which breaks away

had the opportunity to do a cover sheet to

supported by a small support to V.

Sinusoidal15. L'inspirazione The inspiration

The commitment with which Candela had

came from a photograph at Copenhagen,

studied the Strength of Materials allowed

designed

him to understand how illusory are the so-

structure was so obvious that Candela

called analysis accurate: "When I started

was "trying to do something similar."

to build shells, my mind was making from

Candela

school.

in

structures. Methods of prefabricated steel

everything that we is taught, for example,

were used for Escuola Montes Alpes and

shells.

of

Indispensabie

subsoil

conditions

frequent

As

students

we

believe

that

brings

corrugated

by

built

sheets,

Vilhelm

two

fame.

cones,

Lauritzen.

more

of

fan,

The

these

that there are methods to calculate the

exact structures. I started working to stop

15

The covers that folded prism or the Germans call

"Faltwerke" and the French "toits plisss" follow the principle of
resistance through the corrugated

11

Felix Candela Builder of dreams

for a seminar. The first is a two-story

correspond to the walls, his weight is

structure with light of 8 meters and

transferred to them through a complicated

sudden changes of 2.5 mt from both

system of rays perimeter. Its strength was

sides. The second has

put to the test when

four floors, and in the

the owners, showing

original intentions were

a confidence that, as

to be six. Probably this

Candela says, "I do

was the first time that

not fully shared," did

shells

you

were

interpiani.

used
But

as

hang

center,

there

in
an

the
old

were a good solution and Candela came

chandelier weighing over one ton. This

to be seen as a "search path without

concentrated load huge, so cheerfully

hope." 1952 is working with Guillermo

imposed on the dome, was born until

Enrique Yanez Rosel and to cover the

now,

without

signs

of

strain.

Auditorium of the Faculty of Chemical

Sciences of the University of Mexico City,

The simplest structure created with hypar

which is formed by two truncated cones,

was the umbrella upside down (paraguas

joined a long common border. The light

invertido) which combines four

cone rising from 9 to 18 meters. The

rectangular sails, divided by straight lines

media were inclined an added feature,

and is joining the center in a single center

compared to the original plan to improve

column where the exhaust pipe rain. For

its appearance. Candela such comments,

all this was a very simple and economical

"I thought to avoid the problems of

to cover the space industry, petrol

calculation on the rods and cones as

stations and other places where moving

giving

vehicles. Umbrellas began to be used for

form

of

line."

This is the only building in which Candela

shelters Input attractiveness of

has worked with cones, and is also one of

laboratories, warehouses and other

the few instances where he worked as a

buildings.

consultant only and not as supervisor.

In Candela there are a series of notes

In 1953, he built an elliptical dome to

that describe the various types and sizes

cover with a roof of the residence hall

possible. One show even an umbrella for

dance Gallego Center. The dome is

sample plan, designed to resist heavy

relatively low and based on existing walls,

loads, dedicated to many car parks plans

but since the plant's dome does not

or wholesale stores.

12

Felix Candela Builder of dreams

That this could be a practical solution for

takes its name pompous this surface

low cost housing was demonstrated by

almost magical. Uniting them for their

several hundred units erected on the

curved edges, is formed when two similar

plains of Monterrey. The umbrella side

at the intersection

produced a more attractive roof of the

aisles of the ancient churches, often built

traditional flat plate, usually used in

with

Mexico for such work. The structure, used

difference

masonry

brick

or

is

that

instead

cylinders,

it

has

iperboloidi

and

now

intersection

cylindrical cruising

of

un'intersecazione

of

stone.

The
of

instead of masonry, reinforced concrete,

two important features of modernity.

Subsequently,

many

works

were

performed with the base of a paraboloid

with only the edges limited by arches and
in

repeated,

was

because

all

the

many other combinations were sought

economic load of the roof were focused

from the edge rectum combined with that

on one point, with the savings resulting in

bent. With this last combination was very

the foundations of walls that were not

spectacular the Church of Santa Mnica,

solicited. Candela built for a hotel in

designed by Fernando Lpez Carmona

Cuernavaca, thirty bungalows with roofs

and enforced by cubiertas Ala. In its plant

that have a similar plant 14 x 7 mt. Their

with a fan, ten branches of paraboloid

inhabitants called the "Japanese houses."

with a clearance of 30 m that have joined

the center in one sturdy column, which

Soon this solution consists of a large

gives the impression of being a big palm.

number of variants, such as plant forms

Then umbrellas became asymmetric

with triangular or hexagonal. The use of a

and with different curvature to allow the

diagonal rib and curve allowed

passage of light through this

to increase the size blankets.

became suitable for building

Advancing

of

churches and other buildings

evolution dell'hypar, very soon

with more aesthetic needs. So it

discovered they were the main

came to designing the Church of

dishes and horizontal cuts that

the

are hyperbole from which it

milagro.

in

this

kind

Virgen

de

la

Medalla

13

Felix Candela Builder of dreams

type of structures. In this respect, the
This church, built from 1953, is an

Gothic church is a triangular, with all its

extraordinary

powerful

vertical emphasis. Given the basic idea of

structure is a fearless combination of

umbrellas and their zigzag edges through

deformed surfaces, which create an

the air, Candela said: "Everything in her

impressive interior space. As it seems

designs are more or less by himself." The

chaotic, there is the play of natural forms

preliminary

of Gaudi and Picasso cubist experiments.

afternoon, designed in a week and

Based on the pattern of a traditional plant

calculated

with three naves, at shells coverage of 4

calculations

(necessarily

cm in thickness, in this work reaches its

because

surfaces

highest

Candela

configuration) revealed an unexpected

achieves a spectacular and innovative

push towards the upper edges of the roof.

structure

gothic

The comments on this project led to

the

Candela wrote: "Sometimes the imposing

structure a sense of ascension. The main

stone of the Gothic cathedrals and

front is a large triangle, while the front

Renaissance domes daring were built

side is shaped zigzagante generated by

without aid of differential calculus, but

the extremes of the four triangular side

instead of it, made use of a great sense

chapels. In fact, the structure of this

of ' balance and sensible view of the

church

game of forces, as very necessary for a

building.

expression

that

cathedrals,

is

plastic.

recalls

expressed

the

The

result

the
through

of

successive

draft

was

during

all

in

construction.

have

The

extended,
different

manufacturer,

the

knowledge of discoveries of mathematics"

symmetry. The columns take a distorted

In an interview at a premium, Candela

form, designed intuitively as the loads

said that this was the work that had given

that must lead, and there are no capitals

more satisfaction, and the question of

and virtually no communication between

whether the public liked, said, "especially

support and coverage, which results in a

for women architects like ,..., not. "

single item. Even the high tower is made

Candela in 1955, built by Enrique de la

with hypars. Developers of the church

Mora and Fernando Carmona Lpez a

wanted a traditional design (in the Gothic

series of structures. La Capilla del Altillo

style) and not suspect that they might get

had a completely different concept than

form

and

breaking

more

an

paraguas, with whom he played Candela,

modified

much

done

profound

16

something more. It is as if Candela you

would see how far you can go with this

16

Ramirez Dampierre in Arquitectura n.30 giugno 1961

Madrid.

14

Felix Candela Builder of dreams

that of the church de la Medalla milagro.

From such a time of four branches, it was

Artwork created by this collaboration was

proven variant three, five six more

the New Stock Exchange of Values of

branches, to become a plant polygonal

Calle de Uruguay in Mexico City, which

times with the same solution to iperboloidi

was built in a coverage of 15 x 26 m and

cloaks.

a height of 8.25 m in the center,

With this type were carried out many jobs,

supported in the four corners which was

the most extraordinary of which is the

the first example of an object with the

dining room at the Casino de la Selva in

draft.

Cuernavaca (five branches) and the

This is a particular feature which has

restaurant

qualified

the

branches) to Xochimilco, built between

development of the draft. Candela says

1957 and 1958, the architect for the

have come almost by intuition: "I knew

project Joaqun lvarez Ordez, where

that the draft was a practice, long before

sometimes polygonal came at 25 and 30

we

meters in diameter.

the

work

intellectually

of

Candela:

understand

how

it

Los

Manantiales

(eight

worked," and also describes how to

Another work is characterized in its great

obtain the necessary resistance, "if we

production, quality and innovative

want to keep the edges free, we must

proposal: the building of bottling factory

provide some edges or corners, that

Bacardi (1958). For the building of

reach the ground for inclined lines ... "17

Bacardi, Candela was inspired to form the

airport of San Luis Minoru Yamasaki of
Missouri. Six large domes of 30 meters of
light and 4 cm thick, arranged in pairs to
form three rows, covering an area of
more than 5000 square meters. Each
dome is a square and composed from
two hypar, with the four sides by

17

F.Candela in Arquitectura/Mexico anno XXX tomo

XXIII,n.100 aprile/giugno 1968

15

Felix Candela Builder of dreams

archways delimited parabola profile

"itinerant theater," by a young Spanish

inclined to "draft", from which, in parts of

student Emilio Perez Piero (1935-1972)

fit, vertical triangular sections, sealed

and won. He began a passionate

glass, that allow the passage of light. The

friendship and cooperation that is

outer perimeter arches are closed by

expressed in the draft competition for the

large windows which, the dynamic space,

coverage of the Anoeta Velodrome in San

along with ribs and triangular windows, an

Sebastian (ES). For this job FC returned

amazing brightness.

to Spain in 1972. The project provided a

The building of Candela is not far from

great dome geodetic, obtained the

the project that Mies van der Rohe has

intersection of three families of arms,

done in Mexico: the place of Bacardy y

forming reticles regular hexagons and

Cia. Open as usual Candela, he criticized

triangles and a mesh is inserted covering

the large flat recital coverage against

elements of hypar. Emilio Perez Piero, a

nature to the concrete work in that form

young genius of the structures, ended his

little logic, and then estrendere dissent

earthly extraordinary adventure, in an

across the rationalist architecture.

accident with his Ferrari, a Dali, and

In 1961, while he was in London, the sixth

visited some sites.

International Congress of Architects, FC

was impressed by the project of the

16

Felix Candela Builder of dreams

that seem the trunk of the palm species
naturally..

Cubiertas Ala
With his company Cubiertas Ala. were
made 1439 projects, of which 896 built. A
lot of these buildings was an industrial
One recent work (1967) which was

and well known forms of umbrellas, which

designed Candela coverage of the hall of

still can be seen in many gas stations and

station of Metro Candelaria, which uses

service of the Federal District (Mexico

the same kind of umbrella of x14 m 6,

City). You must remember that this type

repeated for 22 times, grouped in 11 pairs

of structure, which has a single central

symmetrical leaving an aisle Central to

column houses where the pipe and rain

the central zenithal lighting. In these

with only a plinth of Trustees, is one of

umbrellas formed a kind of palm leaf with

the most celebrated contributions to

twelve mantle. The resulting effect is

Candela for its lightness, simplicity and

striking, with the columns (4 meters high)

economy, which have been performed

that seem the trunk of the palm species

many works, in which the use repetitive

naturally.

allowed to cover thousands of square

One recent work (1967) which was

meters and build industrial buildings

designed Candela coverage of the hall of

without the need for a real project, but

station of Metro Candelaria, which uses

through a simple procedure that ended up

the same kind of umbrella of x14 m 6,

being standardized.

repeated for 22 times, grouped in 11 pairs

Roofing shaped hyperbolic paraboloid,

symmetrical leaving an aisle Central to

that marked an era dell'architetura

the central zenithal lighting. In these

Mexican, could be built only in that place

umbrellas formed a kind of palm leaf with

and at that precise moment, thanks to the

twelve mantle. The resulting effect is

ability and constructive vision of space

striking, with the columns (4 meters high)

Flix Candela and a few other architects

who dominated the complex system
17

Felix Candela Builder of dreams

needed to develop constructive and

decline.

availability of high labor cheap. Works

impossible to achieve in other countries,

Architect or engineer

because the thin strips of concrete that

Many architects say that Flix Candela

comply with these shells, do not comply

was a magnificent structure, but that does

with the regulations for construction in the

not ever completed its work. We do not

more developed countries. In this regard

put doors and windows, nor ended the

Candela writes:

various installations, and not of concern.

"The strict regulations of what can be

In a word, preparing the structure and

done, it means virtually impossible

then not occupied most of what happened

groped for new roads, to evolve and

afterwards. So, say that he is not entitled

progress.".18

to be between the architects.

The key to the process of construction of

Some engineers argue that Flix Candela

the shell was in the complicated

was a wonderful architect who did not

development of housing (Cimbrian),

know how to calculate its structures,

made with planks of wood panconcello,

which often made eye. So modest is its

which comply with surface turned, that

importance in the history of engineering.

gave shape to cover. Above the housing

Flix Candela is in a no man's land and is

is the armature of small diameter, to form

attacked from two fronts, seemingly

a lattice above which threw the cement,

irreconcilable.

to a thickness of 4 cm. As soon as this

Looking at his work is evident that he is

had taken detach the housing and the

predominantly occupied structures, but

shell takes its final form. To do this it

only those that are indispensable for

needed the participation of many people,

architecture, not bridges, depots, the

recruited from migration from the

works of their buildings and other

countryside who came to town, and that

engineering.

contributed work men good low cost.

In particular, the specific nature of his

When in 1964 President Gustavo Diaz

work lies in the sensitivity that was in line

Ordaz, promulgated a law that increased

with resistant forms.

the minimum wage, los cascarones

His biggest contribution in the field of

ceased to be convenient and enterprise

structural facilities were in the form of

Cubiertas Ala began its inexorable

shells, generated from hyperbolic

paraboloid, a geometric shape of
extraordinary efficiency that has become

18

Look note 17

18

Felix Candela Builder of dreams

the hallmark of its architecture. Candela

has expressed in his work a few ideas:

the idea that the structure must be a poet,
the belief that the structure is shaped
much more than the material used, and
the line of research on reading coverages
of reinforced concrete.
All the work of Flix Candela reaffirms the
role of the designer in relation to
structural problems, for research form of
resistance: the extraordinary relationship
between strength and resistance, he
always sought the shape of the problem,
not the problem of form.
Here's why he was an architect structure
or whether more like an architectural
structure.
Awards
1961 Gold Medal from Istitution of
engineer Structurist, London.
1961 award Auguste Perret from
International union of Architets.
1961/62 Charles Eliot Norton professor
of Poetry dell'Universit di Harvard
Cambridge/Massachusetts
1981 Gold Medal of the architectural
1985 Award Antonio Camuas of
architecture.
Technical and theoretical writings
Hacia una nueva filosofia de la
estructuras,Congresso Scientifico Mexico
1951

19

Felix Candela Builder of dreams

Formulas generales para el calculo de

dellInstituto Mexicano del Cemento y del

esfuerzos en paraboloides hiperbolicos.

Concreto, Mexico, dicembre 2003.

ACI 1960

Juan Tonda Magalln "Flix Candela

En defensa del formalismo y otros

CONACULTA, mexico 2000

escrittos , Xairat Ediciones, Bilbao 1985

Lorraine Lin, Flix Candela: Creator de

Stress Analysis for any Hyperbolic

poetic structures 1910-1997, in Structure

Paraboloids Architectural Record (1958)

Magazine, aprile 2006.

Juan de Herrera

Bibliografy:
Faber, Colin,

Flix Candela, arquitecto.

"Las

estructuras

de

Candela" , Mxico, Continental , 1970

Edicin de M. Segu, Madrid; CEHOPU /

1994.

Juan Ignacio del Cueto Ruiz Funes, Flix

Candela, el mago de los cascarones de

Josemara de Churtichaga

concreto, in Arquine, rivista internacional

La estructura veloz Trayectorias

de arquitectura, Mexico, n.2, 1997

estructurale a proposito de la obra de

Enrique Chao, Flix Candela:

nel

corazon

Tecnologa

in

una lux

Construccin

Emilio Perez Pinero y Flix Candela.

http://chqs.onexp.com/estudio.htm

rivista

"My greatest satisfaction was to have performed some spectacular structures ,...,
but that he had proved that the construction of thin shells, not an extraordinary
undertaking that immortalized its author, but a constructive process simple and
flexible .. "
Edizione Dicembre 2006
Questa opera pubblicata sotto
Licenza Creative Commons
Attribuzione-Non commerciale-Condividi allo stesso modo
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/deed.it

www.giovannardierontini.it

20

Felix Candela Builder of dreams

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