Architect Day: Santiago Calatrava

Santiago Calatrava adds to his architecture the art and of power engineering. After years of study in these areas, he can bring large structures to existence, giving life to his paintings.

Photos from site calatrava.com.

Santiago Calatrava was born on July 28, 1951 in Valencia, Spain. At age 8 he began to draw and paint in the Arts and Crafts School and at 13 he was an exchange student in France. Returning to Valencia, he entered the Escuela Tecnica Superior de Arquitectura, where he graduated and attended a post-graduate degree in Urban Planning.

Even without a direction to follow in his career, Calatrava decided to continue his studies in another area with which he was fascinated by: Engineering. Then in 1975, he entered the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, receiving his Ph.D. in 1979. Having completed his studies, he worked with small engineering projects and began to participate in competitions.

Ernsting’s Warehouse, Coesfeld, Germany

In 1983 he won his first competition: Stadelhofen Railway Station in Zurich, where he had set his office. A year later, his first bridge project, starting the worldwide recognition of his name attached to such construction.

Stadelhofen Station, Zurich, Switzerland

In 1989 he established his second office in Paris, and the third in Valencia in 1991. With all the studies and knowledge, Santiago Calatrava reconciles two materials that do not always come together easily: art and engineering, each taking the other aside. With a knowledge of modern engineering and its technologies, he can make his paintings and his inspiration become great works of art in form of large-scale sculptures.

Lyon Airport Station, Lyon, France

Montjuic Communication Tower, Barcelona, Spain

Orient Station, Lisbon, Portugal

Pfalzkeller Emergency Service Centre, St. Gallen, Switzerland

Sondica Airport Terminal and Control Tower, Bilbao, Spain

Alamillo Bridge, Seville, Spain

Campo Volantin Bridge, Bilbao, Spain

San Sebastian – La Guardia – Bodegas Ysios , Alava, Spain

Valencia City of the Arts, Valencia, Spain

High Rise Apartment Tower, Malmö, Sweden

Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin, USA

Athens Olympic Sports Complex, Athens, Greece

Tenerife Opera House, Tenerife, Spain

Bridge of Europe, Orleans, France

Footbridge Puerto Mujer, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Valencia Opera House, Valencia, Spain

Some paintings