Santiago Calatrava
HUM 340 Chicago Architecture Clarissa Howard Karl Hakken 12 August, 2014
Howard 1 During my experience of attending the Chicago architecture classes I have gained a lot of knowledge. During the field trips I found that there were a few things that interested me. In every history class I am told about the same architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright. But since I was given a little freedom this summer so I decided to do some further research on a well-known architect that has interested me for some time now, Santiago Calatrava. I also am very fascinated with the Eames House built by the well-known architects Charles and Ray Eames. Santiago Calatrava, an architect and engineer who is most famous for his bridges and oversized scale angled structures has contributed to numerous projects all over the world. One project that not only interests me but is an inspiration to others is the Lyons Airport Station. The Lyon Station helped revive the city of Lyon. The Lyon Station was confirmation that Calatrava could deliver on any type of project. France, a country indulged in historical monuments has numerous cities that have at least one famous structure. The building that comes to my mind and probably several others when you think about France is the Eiffel Tower located in Paris. Like the Eiffel tower the city of Lyon, France was looking to place an architectural structure on the map. The resolution for this building was to expand means of transportation between Paris and Marseille all while allowing travelers to have a memorial experience.
Howard 2 The city of Lyon also known to as “The City between Two Rivers”1 Is located in the east-center part of France in the Rohe Alpes region. It’s approximately 300 miles from Paris and 200 from Marseille. Lyon architectural style is well known for having a Gothic and Renaissances theme. Every church and city hall resembles this tradition. Although the Auditorium De Lyon and the famed Opera House have added a more modern style appose to the traditional gothic and renaissances. With Lyon being a very prevalent city and a big contribution to the 1992 summer Olympics’ transportation between the Lyon-Saint Exupery Airport and Lyons city center as well as to and from other nearby cities needed a better transportation solution. The Saint Exupery Airport is roughly 15 miles of the city center, during the time it first opened in 1975 up until the Lyons Airport Station was finished in 1994 it was missing straight means of transportation. Travelers had to take numerous busses or trains to get to their endpoint. Not only was the transporting of transportation difficult but the city of Lyon wanted to take away some of the heavy traffic load going straight through the city center. So the Rhone Alpes Region, Lyons Chamber of Commerce and Industry held a competition to see who would be their chosen architect. Santiago Calatrava was chosen to complete the project. Calatrava, an architect, engineer and artist, was born July 28, 1951, in Benimamet, Spain. His family came from several backgrounds so he received numerous cultural views. He attended grade school and middle school in
Howard 3 Valencia, and then attended an Art and Crafts School. By the time he was a teen his parents directed him to Paris to continue his education. He went to school at Escuela Tecnica Superior de Arquitectura in Valencia, with a major in architecture then got his master in urbanism. Calatrava thought a little different than others. He thought that if you explored on your own you would learn more about yourself and your style of art. After completing his studies he started working at ETH designing small projects. After a while of gaining some experience he began to enter into competitions. After many competition entries he won the 1983 competition to build The Stadelhofen Railway Station in Zurich. This was his first big project so he decided to take a different approach. He decided to go completely abstract with a modern look to give transit a new look. The station is wonderful but not good as the Lyons Airport Station. Finally he started his large-scale design for the Lyon Airport Station with a valued cost of 146 million USD. It was supposed to help transportation efficiency by the time the Olympics came around, but it was not finished until 1994. The station is a building that’s connected to the airport. The main purpose is so that the Terminals for the trains would stop at the airport, and others would run straight through it. The building itself is shaped like a bird. If you were to look at the building in plan view, it would give you the illusion of a bird with its wings out. Even though the building looked like a bird in plan view, he actually got the idea from the illusion of the human eye which he has a major interest in.
Howard 4 The obstacle for Calatrava was making a structure that will allow some of the trains to stop and others to speed though. So he built the main frame like a bridge supported by two arches. This structure would allow the trains to run under the actual station. The main span is 100 meters with a width of a 100 meters and the height of 39 meters. The total length including the railway cover is 450 meters. The total area is 5600 square meters. 12 thousand tons of steel was needed to build the structure and each of the columns is at an angle. The beams are cased in a white concrete both inside and outside. When you at the sides of the station you will see 25 beams on both sides with glass windows in between. The beams are there to support the roof because the entire roof of the building is cover in aluminum like glass that gives an impression of the wings flapping. The stations main entrance is also cased with white concrete. Once you are inside, he left the center very empty and open. The natural light coming in gives the white concrete a beautiful white clean color. Calatrava work offers a unique style. After the station he did lots of other large-scale structures in Europe and on the U.S. It’s great that he has done some work in the U.S. We were missing his sense of style. All in all Calatrava has put a lot of hard work into his designs and The Lyon Airport Station is proof.
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Bibliography
Tzonis, Alexander. Santiago Calatrava: The Complete Works. New York: Rizzoli, 2004. Print.
Ectrism. “City of Lyon”Accessed March 25, 2014 http://www.ectrims-congress.eu/2012/the-city-of-lyon.html
Levin, Michael, and Santiago Calatrava. Santiago Calatrava, the Artworks: A Laboratory of Ideas, Forms and Structures. Basel, Switzerland: Birkhäuser, 2003. Print.
Kent, Cheryl, and David Gordon. Santiago Calatrava: Milwaukee Art Museum Quadracci Pavilion. New York: Rizzoli, 2005. Print.