Santiago Calatrava Research Articles

САКРАЛЬНИЙ ПІДХІД КАЛАТРАВИ

The work of Santiago Calatrava is characterized by biomorphic imitation combined with engineering thought, an approach that has made him one of the foremost and renowned architects of contemporary times. The architect employed principles of symbolic imitation and historical resonance. The main form, in this project, for imitation was taken from the icon of the Virgin Mary with a Child, which the architect skillfully transformed into the silhouette of a church, while the idea of geometric analysis of the Virgin's Face with a halo inspired the creation of the plan. The principle of historical resonance is ubiquitous in the project, from the orientation of the church and adherence to liturgical traditions to the incorporation of distinctive elements from existing cultic objects of Byzantine sacred architecture. On the other hand, the architect did not overlook modern challenges and needs. By utilizing advanced technologies and creativity, the author and his studio adeptly use light to emphasize important elements of the structure in the interior and create a unique appearance of the church from the outside during the dark hours of the day. Indeed, the illumination of the church at night is another idea of imitating the church candle as a symbol of God's presence. Functionally, the church is equipped not only with liturgical spaces but also with areas that will serve the community and as a memorial to the tragedy of September 11. These volumes are harmoniously integrated by the western façade and have important visual connections with the Park of Freedom and the memorial complex itself. St. Nicholas Church in New York should be singled out as a successful example of the symbiosis of tradition, modern technologies, and the author's creative approach.

RELACJA FORMY I KONSTRUKCJI W MOSTACH PYLONOWYCH SANTIAGO CALATRAVY

One of the most common bridge solutions is suspended structures, among which the work of Santiago Calatrava stands out. The article analyzes the realized asymmetric pylon bridges designed by the architect, with cables on diagonal supports. The research aims to evaluate the pylons in terms of the relationship between the obtained architectural form and the proportions of the diagrams of the main forces. Compliance of the obtained forms with intuitive methods of preliminary design of the structure by architects was examined. The article can be a starting material for interdisciplinary research on optimizing the amount of material.

Curtain of Glass – Textured by Stone

The new World Trade Center site was rebuilt after 9/11 comprising seven mayor skyscrapers around the memorial site and the 9/11 museum. Between WTC 2 and WTC 3, Santiago Calatrava’s Oculus Station spans its wings in the NY air while finally, the complex is completed by the “The Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center”. This building sets a one-in-a-kind visual appearance to the area. Its four-sided, 42 m tall, even facade is made from 4736 equal-sized insulated glass panes. More specifically, the architectural vision is to create a marble stone front covered with glass which results in a stone-glass laminate as a part of an insulated glass unit. The marble shows a distinguished white face with crisp black veining. Each of the four elevations of the building impresses with a perfect symmetry and veins touching at the vertical center line. So, the design team at Josef Gartner was challenged to set-up a logistics chain from quarry in Portugal where the stone panels were cut and catalogued to glass production of laminated glass in France and IGUs in Germany and assembly of curtain wall mega-panels at Gartner in Germany up to the site in Lower Manhattan. Our in-house logistics concept, customized for this project, guarantees that each individual piece of stone finds its correct and unique spot defined by the architect on the 7,000 m2 surface – a large-scale game of “Matching Pairs”. The steel base building provides a cantilevering roof that holds 128 hot-rolled steel mullions. Each 36 m in length with one intermediate lateral support only. This allows the visitor to experience a clear and unobstructed view along the transom-free facade elements that carry the translucent stone-wall. During the day, it appears white from the outside and shines with an amber-glow during the night when the interior space is illuminated. We show the use of a novel stone-glass product that is exposed to a variety of requirements. The logistics chain is described from quarry to site making sure that the architectural and economical demand is met along the whole process. Finally, the team connects all branches in facade design using stone, aluminum, glass and architectural exposed structural steel assembled in one landmark project.

Physics in architecture projects, a perfect match on Alamillo’s bridge by Santiago Calatrava

The Alamillo’s bridge by Santiago Calatrava was studied, who develops projects and structures with morphological, sculptural, and conceptual aspects associated with physics and contemporary architecture, through experimentation with forms of nature, the movement of the human body and, materials such as steel and reinforced concrete. The methodological framework corresponded to a documentary study that determined the importance of the bridge from its historical context as part of the infrastructure of the 1992 Universal Exposition in Seville, as well as the analysis of the physical concepts used in its design and construction; and, a quantitative-descriptive study applied to the seventh semester students of the Architecture program of the Universidad Francisco de Paula Santander, Colombia, which determined their level of recognition of the physical concepts of this project. As a finding, it is highlighted that this bridge applied physical concepts such as: aerodynamics, torsion, compression, tension, traction, and gravitation, in compliance with its formal-aesthetic design criteria, and those students recognize the physical concepts, design and technical characteristics-formal, typical of the project. Likewise, it was determined that this urban landmark represents a comprehensive solution that solves the structure and form through solutions associated with the field of engineering, architecture, and physics.

ALAMILLO BRIDGE: CONSTRUCTION SIMULATION MODELS IN EZSTROBE

The Puente del Alamillo in Seville, Spain, designed by Santiago Calatrava, has a single pylon that rises at an angle away from the deck, and which together with the deck resembles a harp whose strings are the cable stays from the pylon to the deck. It is the only bridge of its kind in the world whose pylon is not back-anchored, and its deck and pylon balance at a single massive footing below the pylon. This design made construction of the bridge very risky because the unfinished bridge had to be kept in balance like a giant teeter-totter until it could rest at the secondary support away from the pylon. A total of three construction plans were investigated by the contractor with the first two rejected and the third used for construction. Previous research presented simulation models for these three plans in CYCLONE along with construction time estimates for the bridge deck and pylon. Unfortunately, the published simulation models had mistakes that led to incorrect statistical results and conclusions. This paper describes these mistakes and presents three simulation models in EZStrobe that produce appropriate statistics and conclusions. These models can be used as practical examples for the application of discrete-event simulation to construction.

STUDI EKSPLORASI BIOMORFIK SEBAGAI IDE DASAR DALAM PENCIPTAAN KARYA SENI RUPA TIGA DIMENSI

ABSTRAKSeni adalah membuat karya yang bermutu dan dapat dinikmati oleh orang lain. Tahapan pembuatan seni rupa ditentukan oleh ide, gagasan dan mampu merekonstruksi menjadi karya seni yang bernilai. Salah satu cara mendapatkan ide, gagasan adalah dengan melakukan pengamatan. Salah satu objek yang bisa dijadikan pengamatan adalah amoeba. Joan Miro dan Santiago Calatrava merupakan salah satu seniman yang karyanya terinspirasi amoeba atau biomorfik. Tujuan dari kajian ini adalah untuk mengetahui seberapa jauh seniman mengeksplorasi dan dan menghasilkan karya yang bernilai tinggi dengan amoeba atau biomorfik sebagai ide dasar dalam pembuatan karya seni.Kata kunci: seni rupa, biomorfis

산티아고 칼라트라바 건축의 구조적 조형미를 응용한 패션디자인 연구 – 테이프 자수기법을 중심으로 -

산티아고 칼라트라바 건축의 구조적 조형미를 응용한 패션디자인 연구 – 테이프 자수기법을 중심으로 -

Architecture inspired by Nature. Human body in Santiago Calatrava’s works. Sophisticated approach to architectural design

In architecture, Nature has always been a perennial source of inspiration – both in architectural writing and in architectural design. This paper explores the architecture of the 20th century, especially the Santiago Calatrava’s works that were inspired by the human body. Calatrava (born 1951) inheriting the achievements of the art of engineering, following his significant predecessors, goes far beyond their approach. His displaying the beauty that often comes with metaphorical captures of floral and faunal structures, as well as the statics and dynamics of the human body. These references to the forms of Nature, are easily recognizable in Calatrava’s works. The first part of the paper presents concepts imitation and mimesis within Western traditions of aesthetic. Selected research work and methods in design developed in 20th century, as well as current digital techniques of imitation processes form-finding in Nature also will be presented. The second part deals with the human body as a source of inspiration in architecture and engineering. This part is focused on Calatrava’s works such as: Telecommunications Tower in Barcelona (1989-1992), TGV railway station in Lyon (1989-1994), L’ Hemisferic in Arts and Sciences Center in Valencia (1997-2001), TGV railway station in Liège (1996-2009), Turning Torso in Malmö, (1999-2004). Through semantic and syntactic aspect analyses, this study will reveal the effects of the inspiration on the formation of architectural and structural forms. In conclusion, the paper emphasizes the use of Nature as a model, measure and mentor to solve problems in architecture which creates new pathways for building design in urban space. The transfer between natural forms and synthetic constructs is desirable. Calatrava understands that when engineering is treated as an art of possibilities and creates a new vocabulary of forms, which syntactic and semantic aspects, although based on technical knowledge, is not a praise of the engineering alone.

Review of Extravagant Projects by Santiago Calatrava

The topic of the article is a review of the most interesting and extravagant projects of Santiago Calatrava from the moment of his architectural beginning in civil engineering to the present. I focused on structures that caused the greatest wave of admiration and at the same time criticism of this known in the world architect. I chose objects, e.g.: buildings, structures, bridges and footbridges. I described the most important information, e.g. : construction time, construction costs, functionality, architectural style, technology and curiosities. The idea for the paper arose from my trip to the United States of America, where I had the opportunity to see one of the most interesting buildings - The World Trade Center Transportation Hub in New York. In addition, Santiago Calatrava’s projects I discussed during lesson that in my university. The first part of the paper describes the author, his education, fascination with architecture, ideas for work and the future. In addition, I have included trivia related to childhood and adulthood of the architect. I described Calatrava’s approach to projects and the entire implementation process from concept to finished construction. The following parts describe specific projects that I chose for analysis, these are: Stadelhofen railway station in Zurich, Bac de Roda bridge in Barcelona, Puente del Alamillo Expo 92 in Seville, Atrium of Brookfield Place in Toronto, Gare de Lyon Saint Exupéry railway station in Lyon, Gare do Oriente in Lisbon, Milwaukee Art Museum in Milwaukee, Auditorio de Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Science Museum in Valencia, Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro, The World Trade Center Transportation Hub in New York. In the article, I’ve also placed interesting pictures that perfectly illustrate the architectural style, the scale of the building, and assess whether the object fits into the surroundings. In summary, I checked all the information and expressed my opinion on Calatrava’s projects, its approach to architecture and described future plans for new buildings.

From the associate editor-in-chief February 2019

On the cover of this issue, you should see a photograph of La Vela (the sail). One could imagine this structure to be an innovative ultrahigh frequency (UHF) radar. However, designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, it is just part of an incomplete, moldering sports complex outside of Rome, Italy called the Citta dello Sport (City of Sport). Recently used as a film set [1], the complex was created for the 2009 World Swimming Championships, but was never completed due to cost overruns [2]. Sadly, the complex was not designed to be the world's first dual swim stadium/UHF radar. The complex plays a role as one of the sites considered in the first article in this issue, which addresses the radar cross section (RCS) calibration of a commercial X-band radar.

THE SURVEY OF THE SAN FRANCESCO BRIDGE BY SANTIAGO CALATRAVA IN COSENZA, ITALY

Abstract. The paper deals with two kinds of surveying carried out by using the Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS). The object of the surveys is the new San Francesco Bridge of Santiago Calatrava in Cosenza, Italy. The classic technique has been used to obtain the 3D model of the bridge and of the surrounding environment. A second measurement has been carried out in line scanner mode, during a load test, in order to obtain the deformation of the bridge pylon during the loading phase. This methodology allows obtaining the instantaneous elastic line of the surveyed structure.

Peace ‘at Last Sight’: The Other Face of ‘Warchitecture’

The first part of the title of this article purposefully recalls Walter Benjamin’s interpretation of ‘love at last sight’ in connection with Charles Baudelaire’s famous poem entitled ‘To a Passerby’ in his famous book ‘The Flowers of Evil’. The poem was written about a lost chance of love. Within the title of this article it is used in relation to the concept of peace. The other part of the title contains Andrew Herscher’s concept of ‘warchitecture’, which is used to describe destroyed or semi destroyed pieces of architecture in political conflict zones. The paper intendeds to represent another face of warchitecture, which has nothing to do with physical destruction. By making value judgements regarding examples of architectural aesthetics, which exist within a long-term conflict zone—Jerusalem; Mosche Safdie’s David Village and Santiago Calatrava’s Bridge of Strings will be discussed. Peacefully they may stand in their appearance, they express a ‘nonbeing peace’ when analyzed in relation to their context. Accordingly, this paper questions both buildings’ attempts to peace and harmony when discrimination is taking place against Palestinians in Jerusalem. By articulating the relationship between the representation of ‘nonbeing’ and the destruction of buildings’ ‘warchitecture’ during wars, the paper shows that neglect can be another tool of destruction towards Palestinians and their culture.

Phalaris. A Journal of Architecture

L’invenzione di un Giornale di Architettura ci appare come il racconto di una grande avventura intellettuale, che si compone di intuizioni di viaggio, arte, letteratura, cinema, teatro e architettura. Soprattutto architettura, che si presenta nelle forme spesso provocatorie e a volte stranianti – disegni e modelli – messi in mostra alla “Galleria di Architettura” della Fondazione Masieri: a cominciare dalla Stazione ferroviaria di Lambrate di Ignazio Gardella e per finire con una “grande mano meccanica” immersa nelle acque del Canal Grande di Santiago Calatrava, passando per Henselmann, Manuel de Solà Morales, Bob Venturi, “La Scuola italiana” e “L'altro moderno” di Bogdanovic, Pikionis, Gustav Peichl e John Hejduk.

Bridge Graffiti - Aesthetical Assessment

The article looks into the problem of graffiti on bridges. Graffiti can be seen as a form of artistic expression. There are quoted two historical examples of graffiti, one of the times of antiquity and the other from a more recent historical period, i.e. 1840s. There has been an attempt to define graffiti on the basis of a survey conducted among the Lublin graffiti circles. The resulting descriptive definition of graffiti indicates a stable, independent or even illegal action which seems to be impossible to be curbed. The graffiti was examined on some examples of Santiago Calatrava’s bridges. By means of a simple statistical method applied to the results of a survey conducted among student groups and by means of 1/0 estimation (positive-1/negative-0 impression) of graffiti on bridges, some reliable results have been obtained. It was concluded that, optionally, some of bridge graffiti can be accepted and therefore can be kept as an enhancement of urban surroundings.

Calatrava in Athens. The architect as financier and the iconic city

<p>Today, iconic architecture is the dominant mode of contemporary public life, but the wishes of the European city and role of public space are based on financial emergencies—even if the term ‘financial’ is screened out by the mesmeric distraction of such spectral, prodigal buildings. While iconic architecture parades as visual stunt—an “avant garde” project of the digital image that violently pushes physics and engineering to its limits—such projects are only made possible by giant debt arrangements; and, as I will argue, their primary agenda is to solve serious financial problems. Yet, not only do these projects often fail to generate the future income (fictitious capital) promised and thus leave the town with an impossible 30-year mortgage that might never be repaid, iconic developments also have the power to contribute to distortions of capital (economic crises) beyond the project and the city itself. This essay will examine the Olympic development and iconic objects designed by Santiago Calatrava for the Athens Summer Games in 2004, and the dual Olympic-budget crisis and national crisis that converged on Calatrava’s project. After the games, the Greek Olympic development attracted considerable financial critique from outside the architectural discipline: economists debated how the Olympic development was implicated in the Greek crisis, and a parallel Left protest-movement against Calatrava, the public figure, for financial corruption through iconic projects gained traction. Regardless of the veracity of these arraignments; in Greece, I propose the Olympic development became a visual cipher for the ongoing Greek crisis. Calatrava’s project illustrates the ways in which National crises in Europe today are played out via architectural icons, and the transformation of public space into both a financial medium and narrator of financial crisis.</p>

Bridging Curves

The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, is a cable-stayed bridge over the Trinity River in Dallas, Texas. The roadway, almost 1200 ft. long, is supported by fifty-eight cables, twenty-nine on each side of the central arch, strung from the arch to the traffic median between the lanes going (roughly) east or west. The bridge first opened to vehicular traffic in March 2012 and has already been hailed as an icon of twenty-first-century Dallas.

The Use of Structural Aluminum for the Design of Large Span Roofs: The Case of the “Cubierta De Oviedo”

The architectural artwork “Cubierta de Oviedo” is located in the Buenavista building complex, it being the movable roof of the City of Oviedo (Asturie, Spain) conference centre. The original design and realization was by the archistar Santiago Calatrava (2004-11). The structure is made in steel. Since the testing of the structure, it was not possible to open the roof. From this occurrence, the idea to design the cubierta in structural aluminum seemed to be a challenge, due to the lowest weight of aluminum as respect to steel. In this perspective, the study focuses on the design of the main beam, spanning 134m total length, with 110m cantilever length, in the most unfavorable condition of open roof. The more appropriate aluminum alloy 7075 has been selected, according to the required mechanical properties. Considering the large height (4.20m) of the cross section, which is a special welded box section, for connecting the component elements, the Friction Stir Welding innovative technique is examined and proposed. The EC9 design codes for aluminum structures is applied with some adaptations due to the peculiarities of the structure. A comparison of steel and aluminum solutions is then presented, in terms of internal forces, mechanical efficiency, deformability, weight and costs, it evidencing the advantages of aluminum for large span roofs.

Reflections on the works of Antonio Gaudi and Santiago Calatrava in organic architecture and Gothic

Reflections on the works of Antonio Gaudi and Santiago Calatrava in organic architecture and Gothic

Aesthetics of bridging solutions of Santiago Calatrava

Bridges and viaducts are not only engineering solutions, ensuring the possibility to overcome obstacles and communication – they are also a spatial elements, visible in the city landscape. For centuries, it was attempted to give the bridges an interesting shape; they were sometimes specific gates to the cities, too – the example here can be the famous bridge in Avignon. Also today they are the expression of styles and trends in architecture, often designed by renowned artists. Additionally, bridges increasingly often become the spatial dominants, constructions clearly silhouetted against the greenery or urban tissue, the contemporary symbols of the cities. Santiago Calatrava, one of the leading Spanish architects and designer of, among others, the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, is the creator of not only enclosed structures. His works also include numerous bridges, viaducts and walkways, among others: “Puente De La Mujer” in Buenos Aires, the “Sundial” bridge in Redding and the “Katehaki Bridge” footbridge in Athens. He creates sculptural works in reinforced concrete, combining the sublime sense of aesthetics with sophisticated engineering. Light, openwork, white constructionsare both practical and extraordinarily appealing.

Graffiti on bridges

The article dealt with a problem of graffiti on bridges. Graffiti can be perceived as a form of artistic expression. Two historical examples of graffiti, one from antiquity times and the other one from the forties of the past century were presented. An attempt was made in order to define the graffiti on the basis of the analysis of the Lublin’s graffiti culture The obtained descriptive characteristic/definition of graffiti indicates stable, independent and even illegal activity which seems to be impossible to be constricted. The graffiti was examined on the example of Santiago Calatrava bridges. On the basis of simple statistical method, which was applied, the groups of students assessed the displayed graffiti on bridges by answering the questions by means of 1/0 estimation (positive/negative impression). The reliable results were obtained. It was concluded that some graffiti on bridges can optionally be accepted and therefore can be remained as a result of rational judgement of the artistic expression.