Architecture
Santiago Calatrava
Architect and structural engineer
Born 1951
Photo: Wilson Center · CC BY-SA 3.0
Santiago Calatrava designs bridges, stations and museums that look like skeletons or birds in flight, working as both architect and structural engineer. His transport hub at the World Trade Center site in New York is among the most photographed buildings of the century.
Key achievements
- Doctorate on the foldability of space frames, ETH, 1981
- Designed the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia
- Built the World Trade Center Oculus in New York
Universities
Zurich
Took a doctorate in civil engineering in 1981 on the foldability of space frames, after training as an architect in Valencia.
Facts
- He took an engineering doctorate specifically so that he could design structures nobody else would certify.
- Several of his buildings have moving parts: the Milwaukee Art Museum has wings that open and close twice a day.
- He is also a practising sculptor, and many of his buildings begin as sculptures in his studio.
Photographs
Photographs come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences; the author and licence are shown on each image.