2Day Languages just cannot miss the opportunity to write an article about the most famous Valencian architect – Santiago Calatrava.
The architect is completely dedicated to his profession, he graduated in Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Valencia in 1973. In 1975 he moved to Zurich, where he studied Civil Engineering at the Federal Institute of Technology for four years. In 1979 he started working as an assistant professor at the Federal Institute, where he began to work in small projects.
In 1983 he had his first important work in those days, which was the Stadelhofen Railway Station in the center of Zurich. However, the first job that started giving him international recognition was the design of the bridge Bac de Roda in Barcelona. Later, throughout his career, he designed more bridges in various cities in Spain: in Mérida (1991), Seville (1992) and Valencia (1995).
In 1989 the president of the autonomous community of Valenciana had the idea to build a museum on the grounds of the old Turia River, nowadays called Jardín del río Turia. In September of 1991, Santiago Calatrava presented the design of the first building of the museum, and in late 1994 the construction started, which later became the most representative sign of identity of the new Valencia, the City of Arts and Sciences. The complex include not only museum, but also a planetarium (L’ hemisfèric), which opened in 1998, an oceanographic (L’Oceanographic), which opened in 2002, and an opera house (Palau Reina Sofia) inaugurated in 2005. Now this complex has become not only one of the most impressive buildings, but also one of the main tourist attractions in Valencia. The city of arts and science not only impresses by the complexity of the buildings, but also feels like one has gone to the future.
Santiago Calatrava has constructed various famous buildings and bridges around the world, however his works have always been followed by criticism. Calatrava’s works have always been criticized for several reasons: the high budget construction and the expensive maintenance of it, the other is the similarity in style of his works. Nevertheless, without any doubt the architect is recognized as one of the best architects in the world. For many his ideas have become revolutionary in the world of architecture.
The distance between The city of arts and sciences and 2Day Languages is just a 20 minute walk. 2Day Languages´ students can enjoy the impressive architecture everyday if wanted.