Santiago Calatrava: Architecture and design philosophy

¶ … architect Santiago Calatrava. It has 3 sources.

An analysis of Calatrava's works as an entirety; based on his major ideas, the nature of his works, his clients, culture, origin and development, thematic progression, the values represented and legacy of the architect to modern architecture.

Born in Valencia, 1951, Santiago Calatrava is one of Spain's most celebrated architects. His works and projects can be found throughout Spain, as well as Europe and across the Atlantic in N. America. Some famous works by Calatrava are the BCE Place Mall in Toronto, Bach de Roda Bridge in Barcelona, the Oriente Railway Station in Lisbon, Bridge of Europe in Orleans, France, and the Milwaukee Art Museum, USA. In addition to this, Calatrava has also staged exhibitions of his sculpture in Florence, Texas and Athens.

Analysis:

Calatrava's implemented his innovative and original ideas through his many works. The major concepts of Calatrava's design are found in his bridges and buildings. His importance in the community of European architects can hardly be overstated, yet he rarely designs a fully enclosed building; his works are generally open structures. Calatrava's dual capacity as an engineer and an architect allows him to capture the creative and structural aspects of both disciplines. His engineering skills enable him to apply his ideas to his architecture with greater ease. The sculptural surfaces and unusual spaces that are born of this marriage of disciplines give Calatrava an unmistakable and easily identifiable style. He dismisses the apathy involved in accepted architectural form. In 1979, he received the Auguste Perret award; for his efforts to reintroduce the quality of Perret's work, and stressing the importance of primary structure in form definition.

Calatrava's work is a perfect testament to these ideas and concepts. Two of these works are the Stadelhofen Railway Station in Zurich and the Campo Volantin Footbridge in Valencia. The first was completed in 1984, with steel frames and glass, in modern style and urban context. Its notable feature is the glass-roofed canopy developed with counterpoised steel. The structure is built with conflicting features, reflecting the site that it was built in; a factor that is said to have stimulated Calatrava's wit and structural creativity. One can observe the geometric implications involved in the work, another direct result of the layout of the land it was built upon. The lateral curvatures and inclinations, directional changes and site location allowed the architect incredible opportunities to experiment with space and dimension. The natural backdrop, civic milieu, and external environment of the station are all cleverly blended to offer maximum unity. (See App.1 & 2))

The Campo Volantin Footbridge is another example of Calatrava's work that fully implements his unique approach to architecture and engineering. Built as a steel inclined parabolic arch with glass decking, the bridge is a brilliant example of light, modern urban waterside architecture. Another example of disequilibrium and geometric mayhem coupled with stationary perspective and frozen movement, it culminates in an astounding unity of form much like the station at Zurich. (Matthews, 2003 / see App. 3 & 4)

Calatrava knew what changes architecture needed to undergo and the heavy demands involved in implementing such changes. Over the years, he gained excellent repute in the international community of architects, primarily for his integration of aesthetics and technology, and production of dynamic structural forms that directly challenge conventional engineering and architectural practice. His cultural and educational background had profound effects on his intellectual orientation. The name Calatrava itself is a medieval aristocratic one, passed down from a generation of knights. The rich cultural environment of his native Valencia, his partial disillusionment with the direction of his initial formal education, and the clinical mathematic world of Zurich's engineering institutes helped him pioneer a new architectural concept. (Architect Week, 2000)

Calatrava's most recognized genius lies in his ability to blend art and function, and architecture and engineering. The Zurich station, which is one of his earliest works, exemplifies these characteristics. Shortly after, he undertook the design and construction of the Bach de Roda Bridge, in Barcelona, commissioned for the Olympic Games to be held in the city. As the event was one of universal appeal, Calatrava took special care to clearly bring out all his innovative ideas in the structure. With its double arches and structural rigidity, lightness of form stressed by the steel and concrete support, the resulting bridge won him international acclaim and cemented his position among the leading architects of the world.

These ideas however, were not fully realized nor were their potential inspiration to the world of architecture assessed until the completion of the Campo Volantin Footbridge in 1997. After this point, Calatrava's genius spread to nations across the continent, and over in N. America too. His other projects included the BCE Place Mall in Toronto, Canada; the Oriente Railway Station in Lisbon, commissioned for Expo '98; Lyon Airport; the Swissbau Concrete Pavilion in Basel. Calatrava's unmistakable style is immediately apparent in all his structures. (See App. 5-8)

As with all art forms, Calatrava's work is designed to express the sentiment, culture, opinions and values of his clients, their countries and his personal ideology. In the example of Stadelhofen Station, we find that the city's civic layout is closely related to the cultural inclination of its people, the Swiss. The combinations of nature and mathematical technicality, free form and rigid discipline, and the theme of constant motion revolving round a stationary point - which is what a train station symbolizes - are all clearly brought out in Calatrava's building. The architect himself said, "This large-scale attack on the urban landscape is characterized by the organization and repetition on the part of the constructive element."

Calatrava's Spanish designs incorporate the cultural opinions of the creator and his country, yet maintain the rich diversity enjoyed by Spain's various regions. In the Campo Volantin Footbridge, one finds the truest elements of Calatrava's style, as the expression involved is more direct and spontaneous; there is no trace of imposition of this local style on any of his foreign works, yet one can discern traces of Spain and the architect's personal touch in all his creations. Philip Jodido sums it up best when he says, "As in many other designs by Santiago Calatrava, an apparent disequilibrium or rather a sense of frozen movement is heightened by the lightness of the structure." (Gibson, 2000)

Santiago Calatrava's importance to the world of architecture is enormous. His flamboyance and style are emulated across the globe. Many critics and architects acknowledge the extensive influence his work has had on fledgling and established artists. The disdain that Calatrava has shown for accepted form has inspired his contemporaries to follow suit in creating a new wave of architecture that does not border on chaos or disparity, but rather concentrates on uniting the artistic aspects of architecture and intellectual witticism with the technical rigidity offered by engineering. The concepts of open air structures, structural disequilibrium; unification of extremes in nature and construction, and sophisticated innovation that can hold its own in a rapidly progressing world make this architect's contribution to modern architecture priceless.