Santiago Calatrava was born 1951 in Benimament, where he pursued undergraduated studies at the Architecture School and Arts and Crafts School.  Following graduation in 1975, he enrolled in the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, Switzerland for graduate work in civil engineering. In 1981, after completing his doctoral thesis, he started his architecture and engineering practice. He is an internationally known and award-winning Spanish architect, sculptor and structural engineer and has his principal office is in Zurich, Switzerland, with offices in Paris and New York. Calatrava's early career was dedicated largely to bridges and train stations. His elegant and daring Montjuic Communications Tower in Barcelona, Spain in the middle of the 1992 Olympic site was a turning point in his career, leading to a wide range of commissions. The Quadracci Pavilion of the Milwaukee Art Museum was his first US building. Calatrava’s entry into high-rise design began with an innovative twisting tower, called Turning Torso in Malmö, Sweden.
He is designing the future train station - World Trade Center Transportation Hub at Ground Zero in New York City. Calatrava’s style has been heralded as bridging the division between structural engineering and architecture.

 

Awards

August Perret Award, 1979
London Institution of Structural Engineers Gold Medal, 1992
Toronto Municipality Urban Design Award, 1993
Gold Medal for Excellence in the Fine Arts from the Granada Ministry of Culture, 1996
Prince of Asturias Award in Arts, 1999
Algur H. Meadows Award for Excellence in the Arts from the Meadows School of the Arts, Southern Methodist University, 2000
Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts from the Council for the Arts at MIT, 2006
Honorary Engineering Degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2006
AIA Gold Medal, 2005
Designation as a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum in Davos
Awarded with the Spanish National Architecture Award, 2007

 

Important works 

Trinity Bridge, footbridge over River Irwell, Salford, England
Oberbaumbrücke, Berlin, Germany
Alameda Bridge and metro station, Valencia, Spain
Jakem Steel Warehouse, Munchwilen, Switzerland
Ernsting Warehouse, Coesfeld, Germany
Wohlen High School, Wohlen, Switzerland
Stadelhofen Railway Station, Zürich, Switzerland
Lucerne Station Hall, Lucerne, Switzerland
Bac de Roda Bridge, Barcelona, Spain
Barenmatte Community Center, Suhr, Switzerland,
Tabourettli Theater, Basel, Switzerland,
BCE Place (atrium), Toronto, Canada,
TGV Station , Lyon, France
Puente del Alamillo, Seville, Spain
Puente de Lusitania, Mérida, Spain
Montjuic Communications Tower at the Olympic Ring, Barcelona, Spain
World's Fair, Kuwaiti Pavilion, Seville, Spain
Campo Volantin Footbridge, Bilbao, Spain
Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, Valencia, Spain
Estação do Oriente, Lisbon, Portugal
Puente de la Mujer, in the Puerto Madero barrio of Buenos Aires, Argentina
New terminal at Bilbao Airport, Bilbao, Spain
Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
James Joyce Bridge, bridge over River Liffey, Dublin, Ireland
Auditorio de Tenerife, the architect’s first performing arts facility, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Redesign of Athens Olympic Sports Complex, Athens, Greece
Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay, Redding, California, USA
Three bridges, Netherlands
University of Zurich, library remodelling, Zürich, Switzerland
The bridge connecting the Ovnat shopping mall and the Rabin Medical Center
, Israel
Turning Torso, Malmö, Sweden
3 Bridges on the A1 Motorway and TAV Railway, Reggio Emilia, Italy
Chords Bridge at the entrance to Jerusalem, Israel, a light rail bridge

 

>>> Santiago Calatrava