SANTIAGO CALATRAVA

Santiago Calatrava Valls is a Spanish

neofuturistic architect, structural

engineer, sculptor and painter

HISD 202-History of Architecture and Interior Design 2Dr. Maha Al-BustaniAssignment 2 – Post-modern ArchitectureSpring 2015-16

Group members:Azaliya Bakauova F1415001535Nabaa Albeer F1415001893Sara Dughmosh F1314000573

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Quotes :

• “I am always searching for more light and space”

• “There was a wish to get something exceptional,…I also wanted to deliver

something technically unique”

• “Moment gives an added dimension to form. It makes form a living thing. Instead

of thinking of a building as something mineral, like a rock, we can start to

compare a building to the sea, which has waves that move, or to a flower whose

petals open in the morning”

• “I wanted to do a very slender building, and a very transparent one”

• “I have tried to get close to the frontier between architecture and sculpture and

to understand architecture as an art”

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Theoretical positions

• What is his attitude towards the communicative value in Architecture

• What is his attitude towards the functional role in design

He rejected the idea of “form follows function” and his post-modern structures suggest stylized natural objects(waves,wings,etc). His idea is to focus more on aesthetical aspects rather than structural.

Architect is trying to communicate with people through his buildings which are defined as sculptures.

He had a clear vision of inside and outside, curved inwards and outwards, of how we face the specific world

“I have tried to get close to the frontier between architecture and sculpture. And to understand architecture as an art.”

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Theoretical positions

• What is his attitude towards the role of Technology

in architecture

• What is his attitude towards the main sources of inspiration , history in specific

Calatrava had different sources of inspiration from different aspects of life such as human figures, nature’s creativity and experimentation of materials and their properties such as concrete. Historically, he was mostly inspired by the byzantine style, Hagia Sophia in specific.The use Gothic cathedral elements such as flying buttresses, arches, vaults and central nave.

“I am an engineer, not just an architect, so I’ve always been motivated by technique or technology. A soon as technology moves just a little bit, it changes architecture. There is progress”

• By designing his projects he is focusing on technologies because the buildings are at once natural and structurally impossible

• The structures are energy efficient

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Theoretical positions

• How can you describe his design strategy in dealing with these sources (copy or simulate)

• What is his attitude towards fitting architecture in context (place & time )

Calatrava simulate post-modern ideologies by

reversing it by distorting,stretching and folding postmodern elements to

their maxium limits. He is achieving it by using his engineering knowledge

Santiago is a follower of post modernism era:

• Post modern architecture is a style of architecture which gives as much

importance to the appearance of the building as their functionality

• “Uniqueness” borrows various stylistic aspects from different structure

and combines them to create a unique building

• Symbolism

• Sculptural forms

“He taught readers that they deserve beauty and meaning and must demand it in their cities. He taught me, and many architects, that we must answer this demand and never stop challenging ourselves”

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Location : Valencia, Spain In the middle of

the city

Year : April 16, 1998

Type : IMAX Theater

Style : Postmodern

• Caltrava’s concept was to build the city

of knowledge, he took the human eye to

represent it, and to be known after that

as the “eye of knowledge“

Project overview of L’Hemisferic

Concept

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Case study by Santiago Calatrava

Form

Spaces

• Form from the human eye. Each side

of the eye-shaped building opens

and closes like the eyelids of an eye

• The globe of L'Hemisfèric (the

Planetarium), which also houses the

Omniax theater, is roofed over by an

elliptical shell structure and placed

within an elliptical pod that cradles it

like the pupil of an eye.

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Structure

Materials

Integration with the site

• The concrete socket of the eye incorporates

• Aluminum awnings that differ in length and fold upwards collectively, or

as individual units.

• Form a brise-soleil roof that opens along the curved central axis of the

eye shape.

• The concrete encasement has been extended upwards, and the brise-

soleil narrowed and replaced by a system of slats mounted on each side

of pivoting, to imitate the structure of a feather.

• Concrete• Steel• Glass

• “As the site is close to the sea, and Valencia is so dry, I decided

to make water a major element for the whole site using it as a

mirror for the architecture.”

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Location: Santa Cruz De Tenerife, Spain. Situated between

the Marine Park and the edge of the port

Year : 1997 - 2003

Type: Arts complex

Style: considered late modern architecture

Concept What is unique about the concept of this

building is that it does not have a specific

one , in other words , Caltrava wanted to

be ‘ suggestive ‘ , as few has suggested

that the concept is a (huge tongue ) others

believe that its ( the form of a wave )

Case study by Santiago Calatrava

Project overview of Tenerife Auditorium

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Form

The building is composed of number of organic and curvy elements, which gives a very unique, distinctive and complex form

Spaces The building is divided into two chambers , the rest are gardens , entrances and parking . -under the platforms that surrounds the building , there is the auditorium , which also have many spaces including the terrace towards the Atlantic ocean

Interiors :

• The chamber symphony • The chamber room • The hall • The harbor and castle galleries

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Structure • The building is comprised of a base of successive

platforms from which protrudes the heavy curved arch of the Main Hall.

• The large dust jacket affixed at about fifty meters high, it provides flexibility and movement of the body as if it were animated.

• The building was entirely constructed using reinforced concrete to achieve the complex from of it .

Materials

Integration with the site

• Exterior : Steel structure covered with concrete . • Interior : Pressed solid Wood covered with fiber glass Plaster

Case study by Santiago Calatrava

The auditorium connects the city to the ocean and creates a significant urban landmark.

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Project overview of Cayan Tower,DubaiProject opening: June 2013

Use: Residential

Location: The lower part of the

building is oriented towards the

Dubai Marina Walk

The upper part is facing the Gulf

Concept

Design was inspired by the

human DNA composition

Local case study

Building Height: 307 m

Levels: 75-storey building

Area: 111,000 m2

Architects: Ross Wimer,George J.Efstathiou

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Form

• Floor plates are all identical. The same form of

systems used on every floor

• Building spaces include central circulation

corridor and residential units

Space

• It has 90-degree twist sculptural form.

• Building’s form follows its structural framework.

• Hexagonal floor plates rotate around the

circular base .

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Stepped columns scheme

Cylindrical core

Basic structural system for the tower is a cylindrical core

Structure

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Materials

Integration with the site

• Reinforced concrete

• High-performance glass

• Metal cladding panels helps to shade the

building interior from intense sun

Local case study

• The twisting shape makes the building stand

out from the architectural disharmony of

the Dubai waterfront

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Conclusion of Case Studies

L’Hemisferic Tenerife Auditorium Cayan Tower

Form Organic form inspired from human eye

organic and curvy elements

90-degree twist;Form follows its structural framework;Floor plates rotate around the circular base

Space Open, circular,andtransparent

Open, fluid, and solid Enclosed, identical spaces, and has central circulation

Materials Concrete, steel, and glass

Steel and concrete Concrete, glass, and metal panels

Structure concrete socket,aluminum awnings, and concrete encasement

Base platforms and Stepped columns scheme, cylindrical core

Integration with the site Water used as a reflection of the building

It connects the city to the ocean and creates an urban landmark

Twisted shape creates the architectural disharmony of the surroundings

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References

• Santiago Calatrava, 1951: architect, engineer, artist, by Jodidio, Philip

2007

• Engineering: Santiago Calatrava.by Petroski, Henry,American Scientist, 03/1997,

Volume 85, Issue 2

• http://www.calatrava.com/

• http://www.archdaily.com/tag/santiago-calatrava

• http://www.arcspace.com/features/santiago-calatrava/

HISD 202-History of Architecture and Interior Design 2Dr. Maha Al-BustaniAssignment 2 – Post-modern ArchitectureSpring 2015-16

Group members:Azaliya Bakauova F1415001535Nabaa Albeer F1415001893Sara Dughmosh F1314000573

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