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Particolare di un gate d’imbarco. Details of a departure gate.
T
he future? For some, it will be a return to the Golden Age, an epoch in which architecture was a body of living knowledge com-posed equally of art and science. Could it be said that Humanism, at least in architecture, is being reborn as the culture of the future? Although Calatrava is no longer the type of genius recognized only in his field, but as a global star, his work continues to elicit surprise. It is intense, charged with a pathos capable of stirring emotions. But it is also capable of hiding extremely refined structural calculations within forms and volumes that present an extraordinary visual impact. Currently, this architect/engineer from Valencia is perhaps the only architectural designer who can be considered an heir to Gaudì. In fact, he found inspiration in the work of the great Catalan master for his Sondica airport project. The design reference is unquestionably evident in the sloping interior of the portico in Barcelona’s Güell Park that was re-elaborated by Calatrava based on a sinusoidal plan. Created almost ten years ago, the Sondica airport today is fully operational and outfitted with eight gates. It was promoted by the authorities in Bilbao in order to provide a major airport for the constantly expanding metropolis. The Sondica construction is located approximately ten kilometers from the Basque city. Initially intended to sustain an air passenger volume of two million travelers per year, this airport will now be able to accommodate a flow of more than ten million passengers per year. The project expands on the idea of a compact terminal, characterized by large glass surfaces articulated over four floors. A simplified ground plan gives the notion of distributive simplification as one of the main concepts. The layout calls for careful containment of the internal pathways that are designed primarily
to support the unity and singularity of the comprehensive space. This concept facilitates the flow of passengers and provides travelers with the best possible orientation within the space. Two great wings are spread around this functional nucleus, each of which is capable of hosting both arrivals and departures, as well as housing all the administrative offices. A large parking area extends over four floors to guarantee adequate connection between the airport and both public and private transportation. Structurally, the airport is built on a system of reinforced concrete pillars, girders and arches to provide ample stability for the large ribbed metallic covering. Its triangular form helps emphasize its strong visual impact. The lateral wings are protected by a double-vaulted covering that is in turn reinforced by a system of structural ribs and steel stanchions running up from concrete pillars. The “flexibility of structures in space” is basic to Calatrava’s assumed poetry, and functions as the pivot for a complex blend of geometry. It is also central to dynamics and lightness in his work, both of which are fundamental to the structural experimentation that lies at the heart of engineering. When all is said and done, technological experimentation and innovative structural solutions are never on display at the center of attention. Instead, they are organic to the general composition of an architectural work. The theme of the covering, for example, explains this process through a simple yet complex figure that resembles a large triangular sail billowed by the wind. He used a similar theme in the covering of the Jakem warehouse, one of the first major projects conceived and undertaken by Calatrava at the very beginning of his professional career. Calatrava is still engaged in work as a theorist in the fundamental debates of contemporary architecture. He continues to strive to resolve