Santiago Calatrava

L'Umbracle, City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia

Personal information
Name

Santiago Calatrava Valls

Nationality

Spanish

Birth date

July 28, 1951 (age 57)

Birth place

Valencia
Valencia Arts School

Education

Valencia Architecture School

Swiss Federal Institute of
Technology
Work

Engineering Discipline
Institution
memberships
Practice name

Structural engineer, Architect,

Sculptor
Institution of Structural Engineers
Santiago Calatrava
Athens Olympic Sports Complex

Significant projects

Alamillo bridge
Chords Bridge
Ciutat de Les Arts i Les Cincies
IStructE Gold Medal
American Institute of Architects

Significant Awards Gold Medal

Eugene McDermott Award
Prince of Asturias Award

Santiago Calatrava Valls (born July 28, 1951) is an internationally recognized and
award-winning Valencian Spanish architect, sculptor and structural engineer whose
principal office is in Zurich, Switzerland. Classed now among the elite designers of the
world, he has offices in Zurich, Paris and Valencia.

Early life & education

Calatrava was born in Benimmet, an old municipality now integrated as an urban part of
Valencia, Spain, where he pursued undergraduate studies at the Architecture School and
Arts and Crafts School. Following graduation in 1975, he enrolled in the Swiss Federal
Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zrich, Switzerland for graduate work in civil
engineering. In 1981, after completing his doctoral thesis, "On the Foldability of Space
Frames", he started his architecture and engineering practice. Maynor Chipix was a
colleague of Santiago and together they majored in Civil Engineering.

Career

Puente del Alamillo at night, made for the Universal Exposition of Seville, Seville, Spain,
(1992)
Calatrava's early career was dedicated largely to bridges and train stations, the designs for
which elevated the status of civil engineering projects to new heights. His elegant and
daring 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
US building. Calatravas entry into high-rise design began with an innovative 54 story
high twisting tower, called Turning Torso (2005), located in Malm, Sweden.
Calatrava is currently designing the future train station - World Trade Center
Transportation Hub - at Ground Zero in New York City.

Calatravas style has been heralded as bridging the division between structural
engineering and architecture. In this, he continues a tradition of Spanish modernist
engineering that includes Flix Candela and Antonio Gaud. Nonetheless, his style is very
personal and derives from numerous studies he makes of the human body and the natural
world.

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 his artistic work, entitled "Santiago Calatrava: Sculpture Into
Architecture." Exhibitions of his work have also taken place in Germany, England, Spain,
Italy and elsewhere.

Recognition
Calatrava has received numerous recognitions. In 1990 he received the "Mdaille 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. [1]

L'Umbracle at the

Ciutat de les Arts i les

Cincies, Valencia, Milwaukee Art

The interior of the

Ciutat de les Arts i les
BCE Place Galleria,
Cincies in Valencia, Spain (1996).
Toronto, Canada
Spain (1996).
(1992).

Museum in
Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, USA
(2001)

Estao do Oriente,
Lisbon, Portugal
(1998)

Olympic Sports
Complex, Athens
(1999-2004)

Montjuic
Communications
Tower in Barcelona,
Spain (1992)

Olympic Sports
Complex, Athens
(2001-2004)

Chords Bridge for

pedestrians and train
in Jerusalem, Israel
(2008)

Turning Torso in
Malm, Sweden
(2005)

Auditorio de
Tenerife, Santa Cruz
de Tenerife, Canary
Islands.

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
multi-million dollar townhouses had been sold.
He has also designed the approved skyscraper, the Chicago Spire, in Chicago. Originally
commissioned by Chicagoan Christopher Carley, Irish developer Garrett Kelleher
purchased the building site for the project in July 2006 when Carley's financing plans fell
through. Construction of the building began in August 2007 for completion in 2011.
When completed, the Chicago Spire, at 2,000 feet tall, will be the tallest building in
North America.

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.
Calatrava has also recently been tapped to design a 130m pedestrian bridge to span the
Bow River in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The bridge will originate around Prince's Island
Park near the downtown core. The project is pegged to cost approximately $22 million,
and has been met with a substantial amount of controversy from city officials who
suggest that if a local or less conspicuous architect had been chosen it would dramatically
lessen the cost. However, the project was approved by city council in early January of
2009 and is scheduled for completion in 2011.

Bahnhof Stadelhofen in Zrich.

Tenerife Opera House, Canary Islands, Spain

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.[2] In 2007, Calatrava sued Bilbao[3] 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.[4]
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,[5] 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;[6]. The
work was completed in August 2008.
The train station Gare do Oriente in Lisbon is known for being very uncomfortable,
especially with wind and rainy weather.

Notable works
Completed

Trinity Bridge, footbridge over River Irwell, Salford, England1995

Oberbaumbrcke, Berlin, Germany1896 and rebuild and opened on the 9th
November1994
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, Zrich, 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
1992, Puente del Alamillo, Seville, Spain
1992, Puente de Lusitania, Mrida, Spain
1992, Montjuic Communications Tower at the Olympic Ring, Barcelona, Spain
1992, World's Fair, Kuwaiti Pavilion, Seville, Spain
1994-1997, Campo Volantin Footbridge, Bilbao, Spain
1996-2009, Ciutat de les Arts i les Cincies, Valencia, Spain
1996, Centro Internacional de Ferias y Congresos de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de
Tenerife (Santa Cruz de Tenerife (province), Tenerife, Canary island, Spain)
1998, Estao do Oriente or (Gare do Oriente), Lisbon, Portugal
1998, Puente de la Mujer, in the Puerto Madero barrio of Buenos Aires, Argentina
2000, New terminal at Bilbao Airport, Bilbao, Spain
2001, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
2003, James Joyce Bridge, bridge over River Liffey, Dublin, Ireland
2003 Auditorio de Tenerife, the architects first performing arts facility, Santa
Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
2004, redesign of Athens Olympic Sports Complex, Athens, Greece
2004, Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay, Redding, California, USA
2004, Three bridges (called Harp, Cittern and Lute) spanning the main canal of
the Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands
2004, University of Zurich, "Bibliothekseinbau" library remodelling, Zrich,
Switzerland

2005, The bridge connecting the Ovnat shopping mall and the Rabin Medical
Center (Beilinson) in Petah Tikva, Israel
2005, Turning Torso, Malm, Sweden
2007, 3 Bridges on the A1 Motorway and TAV Railway, Reggio Emilia, Italy
2008, Chords Bridge at the entrance to Jerusalem, Israel, a light rail bridge
2008, Ponte della Costituzione footbridge from Piazzale Roma over the Grand
Canal, Venice, Italy

Under construction/proposed

TGV train station in Lige, Belgium - Under construction

Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay in Redding, California.

Samuel Beckett Bridge, Dublin, Ireland
World Trade Center Transportation Hub, New York City, U.S.
Atlanta Symphony Center, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Lige-Guillemins TGV Railway Station, Lige, Belgium
Palacio de Exposiciones y Congresos, Oviedo, Spain
Chicago Spire, Chicago, U.S.
Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, Dallas, Texas, U.S.
City Entrance Bridge, also known as 'Chords Bridge' Jerusalem, Israel
80 South Street, 835 foot tall stack of 10 condominium units on New York City's
East River, starting at $27 Million each. [3]
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 [4]
Caja Madrid Obelisk, Madrid, Spain
Bow River Footbridge, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
New railway station in Mons, Belgium

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.

View of the Chords bridge at the

entrance to Jerusalem, part of the
Jerusalem Light Rail (Mass Transit)
Project. Completed 27 June, 2008

Calatrava's 2,000 feet (610 m) tall skyscraper

the Chicago Spire in Chicago, formerly named
the Fordham Spire, will be the tallest building in
North America when it opens in 2012.

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[5].
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 Cvado River, Barcelos, Portugal. It was dropped due to lack
of funds.
Substitute bridge (Wettstein Bridge) accross Rhine River, Basel, Switzerland. It
did not pass the cantonal referendum. A less expensive (and arguably less
innovative) bridge was built instead.