Calatrava-Designed Residential Tower for New York

About Calatrava

A native of Valencia, Spain, Calatrava, whose heritage extends back to a medieval order of knights, began his formal instruction in the arts at the age of eight. He was a teenager when Spain's dictatorship relaxed its travel restrictions, allowing him to study in Paris and Switzerland as an exchange student. He earned his degree in architecture from the Escuela Tecnica Superior de Arquitectura in Valencia and a PhD in engineering from the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich.

Calatrava established his first office in Zurich and soon after gained acclaim as a bridge designer, beginning with the commission of the Bach de Roda Bridge for the 1984 Olympic Games in Barcelona. Among his other feats of bridge engineering and beauty are the Alamillo Bridge for the World's Fair in Seville (1992), the Campo Volantin Footbridge in Bilbao (1997), and the Alameda Bridge and subway station in Valencia (1995).

Establishment of the firm's second office in Paris in 1989 coincided with the design of the Lyon Airport Station, which was completed in 1994. A third office in Valencia followed in 1991 with work on the City of Arts and Sciences, a very large cultural complex, which continues to this day. He recently also opened a New York City office as well.

Among his myriad awards Calatrava counts the Gold Medal of the Institute of Structural Engineers, London; the City of Toronto Urban Design Award, Toronto; the Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts, Ministry of Culture, Spain; Time magazine's "Best of 2001" designation for the Milwaukee Art Museum expansion; the Sir Misha Black Medal, Royal College of Art, London; the Leonardo da Vinci Medal, Florence; the Gold Medal of Architecture of L'Academie d'Architecture, Paris; the European Steel Design Award for the University of Zurich Law School roof, Lucerne, Switzerland; the Silver Beam Award of the Swedish Institute of Steel Construction, Gotherburg, Sweden; the Illuminating Design Award of Merit of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, New York; and 13 honorary doctorates.

Calatrava has captured the hearts and imagination of the public and his clients as well as those of designers and engineers around the globe. Joseph J. Seymour, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, summed up the impact of Calatrava's work when writing about the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, for which the Port Authority is the client. "In addition to being an inspiration in this country and around the world, Mr. Calatrava's transportation facility will serve thousands of commuter and tourists each day," Seymour pointed out. "... Mr. Calatrava captivated the New York - New Jersey region when he unveiled a soaring, spectacular design concept for the transportation hub, which will be one of the centerpieces for the redeveloped World Trade Center site. It is my firm belief that Mr. Calatrava's glass-and-steel winged building will one day serve as an inspiring architectural icon for New York City, rivaling some of the city's more famous transportation facilities, including Grand Central Station."

Santiago Calatrava is a Renaissance artist of the 21st century.

Other Recent Awards

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