Santiago Calatrava: Sculpture Into Architecture

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The notion of being “inspired” has popped up a lot lately, how can one creative have so many influences and channel this through one medium? Santiago Calatrava interprets the practice of architecture as a combination of all the arts, and these thoughts are justified when seeing such sculpture.

The Spanish architect and structural engineer, who now resides in New York City, exhibited his artistic and architectural work at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2003. The exhibit was entitled “Santiago Calatrava: Sculpture Into Architecture”, and as the name suggests was based on the concept of architectural forms deriving from sculpture itself. This relationship is an intriguing one. It seems like Santiago’s main aim is to explore the possibilities of space and construction, and although they might seem abstract and random the sculptures don’t necessarily break the boundaries of architecture.

This experimentation showcases the vivid imagination of such a designer. These forms might not translate in to the physical world, they’re more like sketches that he’s envisioned or dreamt up. As a man that tries to bring order and clarity in to everyday scenarios, it’s refreshing to see these small snippets of thought, capturing his mentality just for that short moment in time. Sculpture is a medium for experimentation, where formal and spatial tests can be performed without architectural limitation. This trial and error method is the perfect way of testing both material and form, how they work in harmony.

calatrava.com

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