Santiago Calatrava
Santiago Calatrava
Santiago Calatrava
Santiago Calatrava
Santiago Calatrava Valls
Nationality Spanish
Work
Santiago Calatrava Valls (born 28 July 1951) is an internationally recognized and award-winning Valencian
Spanish architect, sculptor and structural engineer whose principal office is in Zürich, Switzerland. Classed now
among the elite designers of the world, he has offices in Zürich, Paris and Valencia.
Career
Calatrava's early career was dedicated largely to bridges and train stations, whose designs elevated the status of civil
engineering projects to new heights. His Montjuic Communications Tower in Barcelona, Spain (1991) in the heart of
the 1992 Olympic site was a turning point in his career, leading to a wide range of commissions. The Quadracci
Pavilion (2001) of the Milwaukee Art Museum was his first building in the US. Calatrava’s entry into high-rise
design began with an innovative 54-story-high twisting tower called Turning Torso (2005), located in Malmö,
Sweden.
Calatrava is currently designing the future train station - World Trade Center Transportation Hub - at the rebuilt
World Trade Center in New York City.
Calatrava’s style has been heralded as bridging the division between structural engineering and architecture. In the
projects, he continues a tradition of Spanish modernist engineering that includes Félix Candela and Antonio Gaudí.
Nonetheless, his style is also very personal and derives from numerous studies of the human body and the natural
world.
Recent projects
One of his newest projects is a residential skyscraper named 80 South
Street after its own address, composed of 10 townhouses in the shape
of cubes stacked on top of one another. The townhouses move up a
main beam and follow a ladder-like pattern, providing each townhouse
with its own roof. The "townhouse in the sky" design has attracted a
high profile clientele, willing to pay the hefty US$30 million for each
cube. It is planned to be built in New York City's financial district
facing the East River. As of 2008 this project had been canceled; the
Manhattan real estate market had gone soft, and none of the ten Puente del Alamillo at night, made for the Expo
multi-million dollar townhouses had been sold. 92, Seville, (1992)
Calatrava has also designed three bridges that will eventually span the
Trinity River in Dallas. Construction of the first bridge, named after
donor Margaret Hunt Hill, has been repeatedly delayed due to high
costs, a fact that has sparked much controversy and criticism. If and
when completed, Dallas will join the Dutch county of
Haarlemmermeer in having three Calatrava bridges.
Auditorio de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
Santiago Calatrava was also recently hired to design Peace Bridge, a
130m pedestrian bridge to span the Bow River in downtown Calgary,
Alberta, Canada. The bridge will cost approximately $24.5 million.
The project was approved by city council in early January 2009 and is
scheduled for completion in fall 2010. Public disclosure of Peace
Bridge was made on 28 July 2009 to the public and praised as a sleek,
elegant contribution to downtown Calgary. The design showed a sleek,
tubular, single span red and white trestle, offering separate pathways
for cyclists and pedestrians. The bridge is expected to serve 5,000 TGV train station in Liège, Belgium
pedestrians and cyclists daily.
On 16 June 2009, it was announced that Calatrava would be designing
the first building of the new University of South Florida Polytechnic
campus in Lakeland Florida. This will be his first work in the
southeastern United States.
Calatrava as sculptor
Calatrava is also a prolific sculptor and painter, claiming that the
practice of architecture combines all the arts into one. In 2003, the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City held an exhibition of
Bahnhof Stadelhofen in Zürich.
his artistic work, entitled "Santiago Calatrava: Sculpture Into
Architecture." Exhibitions of his work have also taken place in
Germany, England, Spain, Italy and elsewhere.
Notable works
Completed
• Trinity Bridge, footbridge over River Irwell, Salford, England 1995
• Oberbaumbrücke, Berlin, Germany (1896) rebuilt and opened on 9 November 1994
• Alameda Bridge and metro station, Valencia, Spain
• 1983-1984, Jakem Steel Warehouse, Munchwilen, Switzerland
• 1983-1985, Ernsting Warehouse, Coesfeld, Germany
• 1983-1988, Wohlen High School, Wohlen, Switzerland
• 1983-1990, Stadelhofen Railway Station, Zürich, Switzerland
• 1983-1989, Lucerne Station Hall, Lucerne, Switzerland
• 1984-1987, Bac de Roda Bridge, Barcelona, Spain
• 1984-1988, Barenmatte Community Center, Suhr, Switzerland,
• 1986-1987, Tabourettli Theater, Basel, Switzerland,
• 1987-1992, BCE Place (atrium), Toronto, Canada,
• 1989-1994, TGV Station , Lyon, France
Santiago Calatrava 4
Auditorio de Tenerife, The L'Umbracle at the Ciutat Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències,
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, interior of de les Arts i les Ciències Valencia, Spain (1996).
Canary Islands, Spain. the BCE in Valencia, Spain
Place (1996).
Galleria,
Toronto,
Canada
(1992).
Santiago Calatrava 5
Milwaukee Art Museum in Gare do Oriente, Lisbon, Turning Torso Chords Bridge for
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA Portugal (1998) in Malmö, pedestrians and train in
(2001) Sweden (2005) Jerusalem, Israel (2008)
Under construction/proposed
• World Trade Center Transportation Hub, New York City, U.S.
• Atlanta Symphony Center, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
• Palacio de Exposiciones y Congresos, Oviedo, Spain
• Chicago Spire, Chicago, U.S.
• Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, Dallas, Texas, U.S.
• Medio Padana TAV Station, Reggio Emilia, Italy
• Maastricht University Campus, Maastricht, Netherlands
• Palma de Mallorca's Opera, Spain
• High-rise buildings on stilts on the River Liffey in Dublin[3] Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay in Redding,
California.
• Caja Madrid Obelisk, Madrid, Spain
• Peace Bridge, Calgary, Canada
• New railway station in Mons, Belgium
• Train Station and Two Bridges at Denver International Airport
Calatrava has also submitted designs for a number of notable projects which were eventually awarded to other
designers, including the Reichstag in Berlin and the East London River Crossing.
Never built
• 1991 Collserola communications tower in Barcelona. A tower shaped like a big white spaceship was proposed,
but Norman Foster ultimately designed the tower.
• A campus building for Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada. His design was dropped for a less expensive
design.[4]
• New cathedral for the Diocese of Oakland, California, USA. Preliminary design dropped in favor of that by local
architect Craig Hartman (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, San Francisco).
• New bridge across Cávado River, Barcelos, Portugal. It was dropped due to lack of funds.
• Substitute bridge (Wettstein Bridge) across Rhine River, Basel, Switzerland. It did not pass the cantonal
referendum. A less expensive (and arguably less innovative) bridge was built instead.
• 80 South Street, 835 foot tall stack of 10 condominium units on New York City's East River, starting at $27
Million each.[5]
Santiago Calatrava 6
Recognition
Calatrava has received numerous recognitions. In 1988, he was awarded with the Fazlur Khan International
Fellowship by the SOM Foundation.[6] In 1990, he received the "Médaille d´Argent de la Recherche et de la
Technique", Paris. In 1992 he received the prestigious Gold Medal from the Institution of Structural Engineers. In
1993, the Museum of Modern Art in New York held a major exhibition of his work called “Structure and
Expression." In 1998 he was elected to become a member of "Les Arts et Lettres," in Paris. In 2004, he received the
Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects (AIA).
In 2005, Calatrava was awarded the Eugene McDermott Award by the Council for the Arts of MIT. The Award is
among the most esteemed arts awards in the US.[7]
Awards
• 1979 August Perret Award
• 1992 London Institution of Structural Engineers Gold Medal
• 1993 Toronto Municipality Urban Design Award
• 1996 Gold Medal for Excellence in the Fine Arts from the Granada Ministry of Culture
• 1999 Prince of Asturias Award in Arts
• 2000 Algur H. Meadows Award for Excellence in the Arts from the Meadows School of the Arts, Southern
Methodist University
• 2005 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal
• 2006 Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts from the Council for the Arts at MIT,(Massachusetts Institute of
Technology)
• 2006 Honorary Engineering Degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Designation as a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum in Davos
• 2007 Honorary Engineering Degree from Columbia University
• 2007 Awarded with the Spanish National Architecture Award
Criticism
Calatrava's work in Bilbao has been criticized for impracticality. The airport lacks facilities and the bridge's glass
tiles are prone to break and get slippery under the local weather.[8] In 2007, Calatrava sued Bilbao[9] for allowing
Arata Isozaki to remove a bar from the bridge to connect it to the Isozaki Atea towers. The judge ruled against
Calatrava, on the ground that, although the building design is protected by the intellectual property law, public safety
is more important than intellectual property.[10] . In a 2009 appeal he received €30,000 in compensation. The Isozaki
joint has been cited as bold and destructive.
Calatrava gifted the Municipality of Venice with the project of a new bridge on the "Canal Grande" in 1996. As of
2007, the project was still under construction. and has gone through numerous structural changes, because of the
mechanical instability of the structure and the excessive weight of the bridge,[11] which would cause the bank of the
canal to fail. In 10 years the project has been inspected by more than 8 different consultants and the cost has raised
up to three times the original expectations;[12] . The work was completed in August 2008.
Santiago Calatrava 7
Exhibits
A special exhibition has been presented at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through 5 March 2006 [13]. Images from
the exhibition. [14]
Personal life
His nephew Alex Calatrava is a professional tennis player. His two sons have or are in the process of getting
advanced degrees in Engineering from the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia
University in New York City.
References
Citations
[1] http:/ / www. google. com/ maps/ ms?ie=UTF8& hl=es& msa=0& msid=103295916315134076315. 00045eab933932056ccb4& ll=39.
456516,-0. 353172& spn=0. 005103,0. 009645& t=h& z=17
[2] http:/ / www. google. com/ maps/ ms?ie=UTF8& hl=es& msa=0& msid=103295916315134076315. 00045eab933932056ccb4& ll=43.
040109,-87. 896762& spn=0. 002415,0. 004823& t=h& z=18
[3] (http:/ / ireland. archiseek. com/ news/ 2007/ 000182. html)
[4] (http:/ / www. emporis. com/ en/ il/ im/ ?id=204286)
[5] (http:/ / www. wirednewyork. com/ forum/ showthread. php?t=4612)
[6] "SOM Foundation Fellows Archive" (http:/ / www. somfoundation. som. com/ content. cfm/ Fellow?fellowid=128). .
[7] Established to honor Eugene McDermott, founder of Texas Instruments and long-time friend and benefactor to MIT, the award was created
by the Council for the Arts at MIT in 1974, and further endowed by Eugene's wife, Margaret. Since its inception, the Council has bestowed the
award upon 31 individuals producing creative work in the performing, visual and media arts, as well as authors, art historians and patrons of
the arts.
[8] Entre losetas y y arquitectos 'estrellas' (http:/ / www. elcorreodigital. com/ vizcaya/ prensa/ 20070224/ vizcaya/
entre-losetas-arquitectos-estrellas_20070224. html), El Correo, 24 February 2007.
[9] Calatrava lleva a los tribunales su guerra con Isozaki por los puentes de Uribitarte (http:/ / www. elcorreodigital. com/ vizcaya/ prensa/
20070222/ portada_viz/ calatrava-lleva-tribunales-guerra_20070222. html), El Correo, 22 February 2007.
[10] El juez absuelve al Ayuntamiento de Bilbao de la demanda interpuesta por Santiago Calatrava (http:/ / www. elmundo. es/ elmundo/ 2007/
11/ 26/ cultura/ 1196074184. html), El Mundo, 26 November 2007.
[11] (http:/ / www. repubblica. it/ 2007/ 05/ sezioni/ cronaca/ venezia-calatrava/ venezia-calatrava/ venezia-calatrava. html),La Repubblica, 7
May 2007.
[12] (http:/ / espresso. repubblica. it/ dettaglio-local/ Ponte-di-Calatrava-il-giallo-della-lettera/ 1598648/ 6),L'Espresso, 8 May 2007.
[13] http:/ / www. metmuseum. org/ special/ Calatrava/ architecture_more. asp
[14] http:/ / www. metmuseum. org/ special/ Calatrava/ images. asp
Further reading
• Tzonis, Alexander (1999). Santiago Calatrava: The Poetics Of Movement. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-0360-4.
• Tzonis, Alexander (2004). Santiago Calatrava: The Complete Works. Rizzoli. ISBN 0-8478-2641-4.
External links
• Official Website (http://www.calatrava.com/)
• Santiago Calatrava News Aggregator (http://www.architectureupdate.com/architects/Santiago_Calatrava.
aspx)
• Great Buildings On-Line: Santiago Calatrava (http://www.greatbuildings.com/architects/Santiago_Calatrava.
html)
• Unofficial website (http://www.calatrava.info/)
• Calatrava's projects on the map (http://proyecto.localizarq.es/?s=calatrava)
• Extended profile of the architect in the NYRB, December 2006 (http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18554)
• The New Yorker, 31 October 2005, "The Sculptor" (http://www.newyorker.com/critics/skyline/articles/
051031crsk_skyline/)
Santiago Calatrava 8
License
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
http:/ / creativecommons. org/ licenses/ by-sa/ 3. 0/