Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias - Julio 8

SANTIAGO CALATRAVA!!!!!

Ever since I visited the Sundial Bridge in Redding, CA I have admired Calatrava´s work. He is a world renouned architect, sculptor and structural engineer. Basically, I want to be him when I grow up! His original office is in Velencia where he begain his work but his main office is now in New York. We were able to tour the office and get a personal tour of his work from the head architect of this reagion. It was an opportunity of a life time to get special access into no plublic areas of the buildings. We even got a chance to look at the offical blueprints of some of his work still under construction.

This is the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (City of Arts and Sciences complex). It is a park (that used to be a river - hence his stratigic use of water!) on the outskirts of the city that houses 4 of Calitrava´s works. An opera house, planetarium and iMax theatre, interactive science museum and convention center. It was so inpirational to see how his style of organic form and structural simplicity was dirived from the biological form. You can see in his work the structural use of the spine, skull and his studies of the eye. Many elements i observed are making their way into my studio design back in Guardamar. I also had a blast with photography!


Inside the Palau de les Arts Reina Sophia looking out towards the rest of the park.

The Hemisféric with a mechanical sun shade modeled after the human eyelid

Museo on the left with the newest building, Ágora still being built ahead (the blue thing) plus my favorite - the tension bridge! I was able to talk to the architect that was giving us the tour about the bridge. Alex had told him that I studied Structural Engineering so he decided to test me. He asked if I could identify which elements in the bridge were in tension and compression. I passed! he was very impressed...maybe I can get a job there someday!