The architect Santiago Calatrava and his famous projects

Inspiration, study of the landscape, technical solutions, steel and concrete are the main components of the magnificent and functional structures created by the legendary architect, whose structures can not be forgotten if one is seen. This is Santiago Calatrava. His work is realized in Spain, Switzerland, America, Canada. The creations of this man are special, recognizable all over the world and scandalous. Calatrava revives any place, making it more beautiful and functional. The Spanish architect has gained recognition thanks to the futuristic style, technical innovation and aesthetics in the buildings being developed and being realized.

Santiago Calatrava: Biography

Not far from Valencia on July 28, 1951, was born the future builder of bridges, stations, theaters and other structures that amaze with their unusual appearance. The profession of Father Santiago, although focused on commercial activities, but he loved art and wanted to instill a creative artistic perception of the world to his son. So, at an early age the boy visited the Prado Museum and began to show interest in drawing and sculpture. At the age of eight, Santiago Calatrava already depicted the sights on the paper in the art school in Valencia.

The turbulent years in Spain determined the further receipt of education outside the home state. At the age of 13, his parents secured a trip to Paris for a student exchange program, where he was imbued with the grandeur of the architecture of this beautiful city. The next stage in obtaining a profession was training at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, which Santiago Calatrava graduated in 1973. Two years later, the guy went to Switzerland, where he continued to study his favorite business in the field of construction, but as an engineer. For four years, Santiago studied at the Technological University of Zurich. By 1981 he became a Doctor of Technical Sciences and the founder of the Studio for Architecture and Construction in Switzerland.

The first works and recognition

One of the first projects that brought international recognition to Santiago was the railway station (Stadelhofen) in Zurich. Although glimpses of the architectural imagination appeared in Santiago in the graduate school. With his scientific colleagues, he designed and built a swimming pool. But it was not quite a simple sports facility, its implementation allowed to observe passers-by behind swimmers from below.

The projects of Santiago Calatrava in 1986 supplemented the newly developed plan for the implementation of a reinforced concrete bridge for automobile purposes in his native Valencia. And a year later a young specialist for this work received a prize from the International Union of Architects.

In 1989, Calatrava with his work went to the conquest of the French construction market. At the same time, he opened his studio in Paris and constructed the Lyon railway station. Santiago Calatrava in 1991 opened an office of architecture and construction in Valencia.

Olympic Games

Countries in which international sports competitions are held, as a rule, always try to meet guests with dignity, to surprise visitors with architectural structures and organization of the holiday. Therefore, in all years the best specialists were involved in the preparation of the Olympic Games. In 1992, summer sports took place in Barcelona, and a telecommunications tower was required for their translation. Of course, the architect Santiago Calatrava was chosen by the government as a specialist for building an object in the country's landmark location.

On the mountain Montjuic for three years was built 136-meter tower. The idea of Calatrava was to create a design in the form of an athlete with a torch in his hand. On this her extraordinaryness did not end there. The spire is a kind of clock arrow that falls in the shadow on the base of the TV tower, thereby showing the time.

Summer Olympics in 1992 - not the only sporting event, where the Spanish creator left an imprint of his creativity. In 2004, Santiago Calatrava was invited to reconstruct the Athenian sports complex.

Movement - the basis of the works of the architect

In the realized projects of the architect, his attraction to the improvement of the transport system and movement of people is traced. But among the works of the master it is impossible not to mention the residential skyscraper in Malmö. The clauses of Santiago Calatrava, which became the basis for creating an extraordinary house, consisted of the idea of movement. In one of the lectures held at the Moscow Institute, Santiago said: "Architecture exists for people, and human bodies influence architecture in terms of proportions, rhythm and size."

The building consists of nine segments-pentagons, in each of which there are five floors. Each segment is twisted relative to the previous one, and the last suite is 90 degrees relative to the first one. The building was built for four years. In 2005, the 190-meter tower was officially opened. To this day it is one of the main attractions of Sweden and the second tallest building in Europe.

The beginning of the 21st century: a new continent

In 2001, in the state of Wisconsin, near the existing complex of the Museum of Arts, the third pavilion of Quadracci rose. Vaulted ceilings, a sun-protecting movable visor, reminiscent of the wingspan of a bird, are the main design solutions of the building created by a genius such as Santiago Calatrava. The photo of the dynamic design amazes with its aesthetics and attracts crowds of tourists to Lake Michigan. The glass lobby of the pavilion has the shape of a parabola. All the buildings of the museum of Calatrava were united into a single complex by a complex network of pedestrian bridges.

Another attraction, only in South America, was realized in 2001 on the idea of the Spanish architect. She became the Bridge of a Woman. The engineering invention consisted in mobility of the central part of the bridge for passage of large-sized vessels. According to the creator, local music inspired him to build this structure. And the architect embodied the rhythms he heard in the creation of a bridge in Buenos Aires.

City of Arts and Sciences

Engineering inventions of Santiago Calatrava could not bypass the home country. Not far from Valencia, in an area of 350,000 m2, there is a unique complex dedicated to cultural and scientific development. The first elements of the "city" were: a planetarium, a cinema and a theater of laser productions. In 2000 a museum of science was opened, as well as a well-maintained park. After a while, the largest aquarium in Europe in the form of a water lily was opened. The work belonged to Felix Candela, the architect, who participates in parallel with Calatrava in the construction of a landmark in Valencia. The last building of the "city" was the opera house. The architectural complex is designed to familiarize a person with various aspects of art, nature, science and technology.

At night, when light comes from within buildings, and around dark, all these creations resemble skeletons of animals.

Criticism

The projects of Santiago are not only recognizable, but also costly. And the final price of work exceeds the original estimate, and the timing of the implementation of disputes. In recent years, the buildings of Calatrava are the center of the scandal.

"City of Arts and Sciences" cost about 900 million euros, which is three times higher than the original budget. In the buildings of the complex, when putting it into operation, there were no spare exits and fire stairs, although later the errors were eliminated by Santiago, but at the expense of public funds.

Engineer Santiago Calatrava, creating an airport terminal in Bilbao, did not take into account the capacity of the facility. Therefore, passengers who passed customs control, had to wait for baggage on the street. In 2000, the airport was also subject to miscalculation.

Bridge Subsuuri, paved from glass slabs, in rainy weather was a traumatic place. The bridge of the Constitution in Venice has also been criticized. The reasons were not only the timing and exceeding three times the cost of the project, but also functionality. It lacks ramps, it is too steep, which makes the movement of older people difficult.

Railway station in New York

The construction of an underground high-speed railway station in New York on the site of twin towers is also carried out on the projects of Calatrava. The design of the building above the zero mark reminds a bird released from the hands of a child. Inside there are metro stations, bus stops, stations, whose walls are made of marble. Completion of the work is planned by 2016 with a cost of 4 billion, although initially it was calculated to allocate $ 1.9 billion for construction.

One authoritative publication in the publication claimed that the cost of the station's design is certainly overestimated. This is confirmed by an audit of the firm that ordered the project from the Spanish architect.

Conclusion

In response to criticism, it is possible in defense of the architect to say that his current customers are repeat buyers. "The task of my buildings is to make cities unique and enrich people's experience," said Santiago Calatrava. Sightseeing is his vocation. It would seem that what can surprise the development and implementation of vital architectural objects, such as bridges, stations? Works created by the Spanish creator, become buildings, monuments of architecture, structures worthy of attention.

He is the author of fifty architectural buildings, and more than a dozen works are still under development.