Calatrava

Taschen Basic Architecture

by Philip Jodidio, Peter Gössel (Editor)

Spanish visionary Santiago Calatrava is renowned around the world as an architect, structural engineer, sculptor, and artist. Famed for bridges as much as buildings, he has made his name with neofuturistic structures that combine deft engineering solutions with dramatic visual impact. From the Athens 2004 Olympic sports complex and the Museum of Tomorrow to the Peace Bridge in Calgary, Alamillo Bridge in Seville, and the Mujer Bridge in Buenos Aires, Calatrava’s creations show particular interest in the meeting point of movement and balance. With influences ranging from NASA space design to da Vinci’s nature studies, the structures dazzle with a sense of lightness, agility, and aerodynamism, but always with a graceful poise amid their particular surroundings. This compact introduction explores Calatrava’s unique aesthetic with key projects from his career, from early breakthroughs to his most recent work. Through buildings of culture, science, faith, and across his many famous bridges, we explore his integration of organic forms and human movements, and a uniquely fluid futurism, soaring towards tomorrow. About the series Born back in 1985, the Basic Art Series has evolved into the best-selling art book collection ever published. Each book in TASCHEN’s Basic Architecture series features: an introduction to the life and work of the architect the major works in chronological order information about the clients, architectural preconditions as well as construction problems and resolutions a list of all the selected works and a map indicating the locations of the best and most famous buildings approximately 120 illustrations (photographs, sketches, drafts, and plans)

Genres: Architecture, Nonfiction, Design, Reference, Spain

96 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2003

Reviews

[Nadia Zeemeeuw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book at the gift shop of Valencia’s planetarium—Calatrava’s stunning, eye-shaped masterpiece.
Honestly, I had a great time with it. My new architectural love!

[Alejandro Teruel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A concise and relatively inexpensive book that provides wonderful and well chosen photographs to illustrate this important architect´s dazzling work from 1983 up to 2005, as well as key preparatory sketches or sculptures by him.

Philip Jodidio provides an excellent introduction to Calatrava titled The Secret of Philanthropy and provides unobtrusive but very welcome comments on each of the nineteen works that are presented in the book.

[Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Calatrava is really imaginative and beyond my comprehension. His work is more science than art. I would love to see his opera house in Tenerife, though will be okay with simply visiting the Milwaukee Art Museum. I hope his proposed building actually gets built in Chicago.

As for the book, it is a bit dated already. I would search for a newer book with Calatrava's more recent works.

[Ted Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great photography and good supporting text of some of Calatrava's best works.

I find many of Calatrava's projects to be in very stark contrast to their sites, perhaps the point, but at times it is too much by my tastes.

[Scott Fuchs · Rating 5 out of 5]

His work dazzles!

[Vanlilith]

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[Ganesh Naicker · Rating 4 out of 5]

hfnhmhmhmmhmmmhmhm

[Satria]

want to find inspiration