Book review: Santiago Calatrava – Complete Works

Santiago Calatrava is one of our greatest living architects. His constructions, ranging from the TGV railway station in Lyons to the Milwaukee Art Museum to the Opera in Valencia, stand out due to their forms and their spectacular organic structures. In his work, Calatrava draws inspiration from nature, but also explores cutting-edge technologies. In Belgium, the recently completed Liège-Guillemins train station is one the most striking achievements in contemporary architecture. And yet, Calatrava’s go far beyond the merely sensational.

Santiago Calatrava was born in Valencia, Spain, in 1951. Architecture and engeneering are the two areas where Santiago Calatrava is known for. He is from Spain and moved to Zurique after finishing his degree in architecture, in 1974. There he studied engeneering.

“The definitive study of the great Spanish architect whose soaring work is all about openness, energy and aspiration.” –Met Home Spanish-born architect Santiago Calatrava has achieved considerable international acclaim with his breathtaking feats of architecture and engineering in the service of elegant and humanistic modern forms. This updated volume comprehensively examines this contemporary master’s career, including the architect’s furniture designs, interior design, sculpture, and drawings.

His spectacular cultural and civic projects have secured Calatrava’s place in the pantheon of world-class 21st-century architects. Among these are the Athens Olympics Sports Complex; the Tenerife Concert Hall in the Spanish Canary Islands; the Valencia Science Museum, Planetarium, and Opera House, and the much-anticipated World Trade Center Transportation Hub.

This newest edition introduces Calatrava’s latest triumphs, including the expressive Turning Torso tower in Sweden and the Chicago Tower, the tallest skyscraper in the US when built. A catalogue raisonne, detailed biography, and bibliography complete this comprehensive monograph.