This project started by a group of students from the poly-technical University of Valencia, who designed a cultural city of the future with a futuristic character. The architect Santiago Calatrava got the project from the city of Valencia and designed this complex.
He brought the water back into the riverbed and used a lot of very little tiles. We call those “trencadís”, it is like Gaudi used in the “Parque Güell” only Calatrava used tiles by the same color (nearly all in white and some tiles in blue). Calatrava is from Valencia, but true the big orders he got and his style, he became world-famous.
This complex contains varies buildings:
We’ll start with the “Hemisfèric” which is an IMAX theater, where they show movies on a big screen and also in 3D. “Hemi” means half and “sfèric”" is a sphere. It looks like an eye. When it’s dark, you’ll see the reflection in the water, what makes the eye complete. It was the first building that opened there doors in 1998.
The Science Museum was the next building and is already in use from 2000. From this date on there have been more then 27 million visitors. The theme is: “it is forbidden not to touch”. It’s full of experiments and tests, which is nice for as well children and adults. When you’re inside and it’s raining it looks like a waterfall. But it doesn’t rain very often, what makes that the windows have to be cleaned by mountaineers.
The Oceanogràfic is the biggest sea-aquarium of Europe. All oceans are represented with it’s sea inhabitants. The water
comes directly from the sea. Every day there is a dolphin-show and in summertime they have an evening show with dolphins and synchronized swimmers. Félix Candela designed the spectacular entrance in 2003 and the restaurant which has a Michelin star. You can eat there in a giant aquarium.
The Palau the las Arts, the opera is the showpiece of Calatrava. He finished the building in 2005 just before the big crisis in Spain and the rest of the world. The canopy on top of the building has a span of 200 meters and is only supported on two places. At the beginning and almost halfway. Because of the shape, it can span more then 100 meters without any support. This is very unique and what makes Calatrava a special designer. He is not only an architect but also an engineer and sculptor.
The Umbracle is an open art gallery, where you’ll find different pieces of art by the changing of the season, a garden with tropical plants and a parking. The name is also a Valencian name and means shadow garden.
The Agora was opened in 2009 and has not really been finished yet, because the pins on top are still missing. Agora means marketplace and is in use as a multifunctional building. The ATP tennis tournament is held here as well as the fashion show of Valencia and there was a big party held here on New Years Eve.
