Krystyna Januszkiewicz

Ph. D. in Architecture Faculty of Architecture Cracow University of Technology

Bionics and Santiago Calatrava’s works

Bionic is not only a formal sequence in Calatrava’s work. His sensuous interest in

beauty is often based on bodily metaphors, animal skeletons as well as human

gestures and movements. Such natural references add scale, shape and dynamism to

the design. Calatrava often looks for the best engineering solutions in life-forms. This

transfer between natural life forms and synthetic constructs is desirable because

evolutionary pressure typically forces natural systems to become highly optimized

and efficient. Today new materials and technologies are generating exciting

structures and spatial forms. Calatrava’s best know works could show many

biomimetic or biomimicry references. The artist-engineer often imitates things as

they are in the real world He are using especially a human body its dynamic of

movement and tension to creation architectural and engineering projects. Although

the modern world is new requirements we should search established relations to

man-nature-technology.

Santiago Calatrava (1951) inheriting the achievements of the art of engineering,

like his significant predecessors: Robert Maillart (1872-1940), Pier Luigi Nervi

(1891-1979), Eduardo Torroja (1900-1961) and Felix Candela (1910-1997), goes

far beyond their approach. For these engineers, the design was the result of efforts

to strike a balance between the scientific criteria of efficiency and the innovation of

created forms. Engineering is the art of these possibilities, Calatrava believes, and

is looking for new vocabulary of forms, which is based on expertise, not only on a

praise of technical solutions [1]. Analyzing Calatrava's structures, Nervi's words

can easily be recalled: It is difficult to provide reasons for the rapid acceptance of

the forms, which reach us from the physical world (...). Why are these forms

satisfying and moving us in the same manner as natural forms of flowers, trees and

landscapes, to which we have become attached over many generations? [2].

Following Kant's Enlightenment philosophy, Santiago Calatrava relieves it a bit by

displaying the beauty that often comes with metaphorical captures of animal skele-

tons, structures of flora and fauna, as well as human movements and gestures.

These references to the forms of nature, their shape and dynamics, are easily

recognizable in his structures. They are not merely a product of the sculptor's

imagination, but they have a foundation in the knowledge comprised in bionics,

a new discipline of science founded in 1960. However, bionics is not only a mere

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application of biological knowledge to solve technical problems. This is a much

wider area. It includes examination of the ways which nature uses to solve various

issues. And the ultimate goal is to use them to build miscellaneous devices and for

their functioning, as well as for various types of construction. Santiago Calatrava

designing his structures is well aware of the fact that not all the solutions created

by nature are proven suitable for the use at the level of modern technique and

technology. Therefore, he does not copy them, and even avoids the technology.

Knowing the structure of, and processes taking place in, living organisms, he uses

this knowledge to create new constructions of bridges as well as architectural struc-

tures. However, forms and shapes which are created by nature, for Calatrava are

a new source of creative inspiration in the search of innovative designing solutions.

Telecommunications Tower on the hills of Montjuic (1989-1992) in Barcelona,

shows how the work and the distribution of forces in the human body can become

an inspiration for the designing and architectural solutions (Fig.1).

This tower, with a height of 130 meters, was built to celebrate the Summer

Olympic Games. Its shape was formed having studied the forces and strains in the

body, characteristics for several sport disciplines. As a result, the pose of a runner

igniting the Olympic torch was selected. The sketches clearly show the figure in

motion - legs bent at the knees and the arms in triumph lifting the Olympic flame

(Fig.2).

1. Telecommunications Tower in Barcelona

(photo: K. Januszkiewicz)

2. S. Calatrava's concept sketches [1]

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S. Calatrava –watercoler [1]

4. S. Calatrava – crayons, koncept sketch [1] 5. TGV train stadion in Liege (1996) – model [1]

In the project of the TGV railway station in Liege (1996), the human body shapes,

smooth lines and planes of structural systems with complex vital functions

intersecting each other, proved inspirational (Fig. 3-5). Free form was created,

which as a whole was only subject to the laws of its structure. The geometry is only

of secondary importance here and does not specify the total conformation. The

shape of the building it is the result of the free combination of parabolas and

sinusoids. However, despite the general concept of complete freedom, it is not

arbitrary or accidental, but an unequivocal, orderly design. It is about some

subordination of the form to the natural laws of the load-bearing system. We must

not forget that even in the most free-forms of nature there is a repeated geometrical

order, especially when the whole is not a defined geometrical solid.

.

The design of the train station in Liege

won the first prize in the international

competition held in 1996, and was to be

executed. It will handle the TGV fast train

from Brussels to Liege, and in the future,

Berlin.

Almost every designing task begins with the

analysis of the complexity of the problem and

their synthetic expression, which are often

developed in the form of sketches for the client

during a “brainstorming session” with the

consultants. Also quick sketches in pencil or

watercolor are then created, which appeal to the

imagination. Then, already complete concepts

are prepared and solution options are presented,

which makes it easier to achieve compliance of

attitudes and opinions in terms of approach and

solution of presented problems.

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6. S. Calatrava, conceptual skeches of transmiting loads [1]

Lyon - Satolas TGV station was the result of the competition held in 1989.

Santiago Calatrava, working for years in Zurich, was already known as the most

talented designer of bridges since the times of Maillart. His portfolio comprised

some 40 projects, including those executed in Switzerland and Spain. The victory

in this prestigious competition brought international fame to Calatrava, and the

executed project resulted in a revolution in understanding of architecture and

engineering.

Due to the shock wave, the TGV

tracks were isolated by the system

of caisson and acoustic shields

(Fig.7).

Calatrava found the idea of this

design in the human body and his

work at variable loads. Standing

side by side with their legs apart,

like a parade of athletes, are able

to support the roof. Nature has

adapted the human to physical

loads. (Fig. 6)

7. TGV stadion in Lyon – view of acoustic shields (photo: K. Januszkiewicz)

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8. S. Calatrava – conceptual sketches [1]

9. Dimensional scheme [3]

Turning to other experiments with the balance and dynamism of curved roofs,

Calatrava has created a new super-structure. He placed it in the center of the station

as a linchpin for the two parts of the covered platforms of 500 meters each. This

unusual structure resembles with its appearance a huge bird or insect, which spread

its wings getting ready to fly or, as the author himself admits, a huge man's eye

with an open eyelid. This is the station hall. TGV tractions appear below, in the

cutting covered with openwork reinforced concrete structure. Its delicate and

refined shapes resemble the world of plants and animals. He used the same mate-

rials as Eero Saarinen at TWA Terminal (1956-1962), who also reached for the

metaphor of a building soaring in the air. However, the work is more expressive

and dramatic, light and subtle. This frozen motion is another fascinating expe-

riment with the laws of statics.

The bionic form is determined by steel tendons. The hall

is huge - 120 meters long and 100 meters wide, with the

height of 40 meters. Light steel structure comes out here

in its fullness. It is aggressive and seems to float, held

back only with the sharp ridge of the side walls. Steel

elements mimic the spine and spread wings which,

vibrating in the sun, cast sharp shadows. It creates

a perfect backdrop for the monumental arches and

dynamically formed balconies. They were made in

reinforced concrete in the shape of giant birds' tongues.

10. TGV train stadion in Lyon – view in dusk (photo: K. Januszkiewicz)

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11. Arts and Sciences Center in Valencia - L'Hemisferic (photo: K. Januszkiewicz)

12. Props of L’Umbracle (photo: K. Januszkiewicz)

Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias in Valencia (1997-2001) is a unique enclave

designed for leisure, where contact with culture plays the main role. The complex

consists of the following objects: the Palau de les Arts, L'Hemisferic, Museu de les

Ciencies Principe Felipe, L'Umbracle and Oceanografic with the shell structures

of Felix Candela. These facilities are spread over an area of 350,000 m2 and form a

kind of a village on the water, where the art, science and nature are predominant -

the three main areas of knowledge available to all. After dark the complex becomes

mysterious. Instead of the rush of forms, charm with soft lighting appears. Then

L'Hemisferic triumphs becoming a huge insect, fire-fly in the middle of the lake, or

an unidentified flying object, which for a moment splashed down on Earth,

traveling through the universe. Calatrava's structure is the second largest completed

facility, where a hydraulic system was used, which hoists a collapsible structure

weighing about 1 ton.

L'Hemisferic is the largest in Spain,

a cinema-planetarium with a screen area

of 900 m2. Emerging from emerald water,

the structure covering the planetarium,

completed with its reflection, appears

like a huge eye of the Cyclops, whose lid

is the openable part of the object.

The roof made of glass and steel reaches

a length of 45 meters and a maximum

width of 27 meters.

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13. Museu de les Ciencies Princip Felipe II (Photo: K. Januszkiewicz)

14. The interior of the museum (photo: K. Januszkiewicz)

Prince Felipe Science Museum is the most magnificent building of this complex, of

40,000 m2 of the interactive exhibition surface used to show the achievements of

our civilization. It is a structure of steel and glass as well as white reinforced

concrete, unusual in its size and shape. The form is sensitive to the interplay of

light and shadow. The interior on one side is enclosed by the sculpture facade of a

light spatial structure of reinforced concrete, while on the other by a spatial cover

made of glass. Both the roof and the glass wall coupled with it, are supported by

reinforced concrete pillars of the arms-open-like structure resembling the trees.

Long oblong leaves of glass and steel growing out of them at a height of 40 meters,

which are bent and curved at the top, seem to fall freely, closing the object space.

This metaphor is also distinct in the exterior of this conformation (Fig. 13, 14).

Elements of skeletons and bones,

open beaks of birds - these are

metaphors or associations posed

by the structure (Fig.13).

The props, just like tree branches,

join together, marking out a two-

aisled interior spatial layout. The

south nave is organized by

longitudinally situated concrete slabs

of the two levels of exposure, and the

terraces and mezzanines complement

the exhibition space (Fig.14).

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Oriente Station in Lisbon (1993-1998) was created for EXPO'98, which had the

topic the Oceans. Heritage for the Future. Calatrava, observing the flora and fauna

in the search for solutions of the problems of structural mechanics, which would be

consistent with nature, responded to the topic perfectly. Everything here stimulates

the viewer's imagination, guiding towards the forms, which animated, might inhabit

ocean basins. Sometimes they surprise the viewer with the simplicity of a fish

skeleton, with the lightness of a multi-limb dragonfly, the structure of a leaf or a

tree. The interplay of light and shadow, the whiteness of the design and the blue

color of the sky is significant as well. All of these point to the heritage of the

ancient culture of the Atlantic (Fig. 15).

The transfer between natural forms and synthetic constructs is desirable. Indeed,

under pressure to adapt to the changing conditions of life and the typical forces of

nature, living organisms have become highly optimized and efficient, and this is

also expected from the buildings. Calatrava understands that when he treats

engineering as an art of possibilities and is seeking for a new vocabulary of forms,

which, although based on technical knowledge, is not a praise of the engineering

alone. Santiago Calatrava's artworks are the significant engineering heritage of the

twentieth century.

LITERATURE [1] Jodidio P., Santiago Calatrava, Taschen Verlag, 1998, p.10.

[2] LP Nervi, Aesthetics and Technology in Building, The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures,

1961-1962, Harvard University Press, Cambridge Ma, 1965, p. 27

[3] K. Januszkiewicz, A bird frozen in flight, Archivolta 1/1999, pp. 8-11.

[4] K. Januszkiewicz, Art and Science Center in Valencia, Archivolta 3/2002, pp. 10-41.

[5] K. Januszkiewicz, Atlantic heritage, Archivolta 4/1999, pp. 8-13.

15. Oriente Station in Lisbon (photo: K. Januszkiewicz)