Special architecture – when houses fly and bridges make music

Hardly anyone has mastered the art of depicting the purity of line and form in architecture as perfectly as the Spanish-Swiss architect Santiago Calatrava. His bridges seem to float – designed mostly in white, they lend elegance to even the dreariest landscapes, make old railway tracks brisk and murky rivers seem clear. Some of his buildings, which appear light despite their mass, almost make you believe they can fly.

Taschen Verlag has now published a new retrospective in which architecture expert Philip Jodidio examines Calatrava’s work. In English, German and French, the reader learns about the career of the architect, who was born in 1951 and originally wanted to be an artist. Illustrated with his watercolor drawings, the illustrated book is a companion to Calatrava’s imagination. He finds his inspiration in living things, from a bird’s wing to the human eye.

The transparency and optical lightness of Calatrava’s buildings bring life to cities – be it the art museum in Milwaukee, which seems to have been built on the shore of Lake Michigan in order to change shores. Or the World Trade Center Station in New York, which serves as an underground train station and hub for public rail transport and, above ground, on the site of the Twin Towers, seems to sit between all the skyscrapers like a watchful bird on its nest. It makes your heart sing, or, as Calatrava puts it more soberly: “With the right combination of power and mass, you can create emotion.”

“Calatrava. Complete Works 1979–Today” by Philip Jodidio. Taschen Verlag, Multilingual, 688 pages, 200 euros. Can be ordered here.

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The bridges of Calatrava

The designs of Calatrava’s bridges are particularly impressive, for example the three in the drained Haarlemmermeer in North Holland. Like sailing boats leaning against the wind, “Harp”, “Lyre” and “Lute” span the small Hoofdvaart canal. The city administration apparently didn’t care about the costs; it wanted to draw attention to its region – and the result proves it right. Hopefully architecture-fan tourism will too! (Even if the subsequent costs of constantly repainting this pure white trio may have been underestimated.)

Another very special bridge was built in the Irish capital – a swing bridge. The idea of ​​creating space for ships to pass through that does not go up but moves the bridge by 90 degrees is not new. In fact, it has been a lovable classic since the middle of the 19th century – even in Germany. In Dublin, Calatrava pulled this joker to enable land and water travelers to cross the Liffey. The last five images in our photo series make you want to cross it, no matter which way you go – the main thing is to get very close to a Calatrava work of art.