Santiago Calatrava Biography Style of Work and Style Used on One Bridge Term Paper

Santiago Calatrava's name is synonymous with modern architectural design. This Spaniard architect single-handedly revolutionized our concept of modern, chic, futuristic yet functional architecture by giving putting some of the most unforgettable structures on global landscape. Calatrava had once aspired to become a sculptor and was keenly interested in arts but an early encounter with the work of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe forced him to change directions. But art was never completely given up. Calatrava found an interesting way of merging art and architecture for his structures are always categorized as true pieces of genuine art.

With twelve honorary degrees and countless awards, Calatrava is the most sought-after architect around the world and he has bagged all these prestigious credentials at relatively young age of 53. There are far too many buildings and memorable structures around the world that serve as constant reminders of Calatrava's unique style of work and speak volumes about his creative genius. These including Athens Olympic Sports Complex, the New World Trade Center Transportation Hub in New York City and Woodall Rodgers Extension Bridge for the Trinity River Corridor Project in Dallas, Texas etc. Some other prominent works include New York City train station at ground zero. For this structure, inspiration was derived from Gothic cathedrals that Calatrava appreciates "for their sincerity, for the way they plainly show their structure." Calatrava's rail link in Lyons, France on the western edge of the airport which resembles a bird's flight is another well-known structure. Calatrava's 'first freestanding bridge' in Redding California is another architectural marvel in itself. It is designed as a long 'sundial pin'. In Lisbon, Portugal exists one of the most amazing Calatrava structure that was designed in 1998. This train station is designed as a 'long grove of trees' (Lacayo, 2004)

"Calatrava has revolutionized the design of the places we move through and along. In the scores of bridges, airports and train stations the architect has designed throughout Europe and more recently in the U.S., Calatrava has brought to the world of travel an incomparable high-tech lyricism. His structures speak plainly of engineering, of struts and cables, white concrete pylons and keen-edged glass louvers. But at the same time they suggest unmistakably the pliant forms of nature -- an eye, a torso, a bird in flight -- that inspire him." (Lacayo, 2004)

This genuinely awesome architect was born in Valencia Spain in 1951. He did not satisfy himself with a degree in architecture alone and after graduating from Institute of Architecture in Valencia, he went on to get a civil engineering degree from the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. In Valencia he also completed a course in urbanism that explains much of his designs and the inspiration behind them. The reason he opted for a civil engineering degree after graduating with architecture degree was primarily to understand how structures were actually built. He says, "I had become curious about the exact mathematics, physics, and construction of these great structures I had been studying about. I wanted to know how these things would work: the Pantheon, the dome of Michelangelo, the dome of Brunelleschi. So I decided to study civil engineering." (Velazquez, 2004) This was indeed something unusual and Calatrava later bagged many contracts for building bridges and railway stations because of his interest in civil engineering.

For Calatrava, success came quick. He did not have to struggle to make a name for himself. And the man wouldn't really know what it feels like to be an unsuccessful or struggling architect. His very first job at ETH provided him with enough opportunities to carve a niche. While accepting and working on small engineering projects, he also entered…