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Playing in Calatrava's City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain
Valencia's other-worldly Cuitat de les Arts y de les Ciències is urban renewal at its very best. Santiago Calatrava's vision for his hometown converted the city's biggest eyesore—the drained Turia riverbed—into a 10-kilometer-long "river of culture." This is a work of architectural science fiction—Tomorrowland minus the kitsch—a visual playground of repeated futuristic shapes reflected in pools water. The park is full of cultural attractions: Europe's best aquarium (L'Oceanogràfic, designed by Félix Candela), a performing arts center (El Palau de les Arts), a planetarium (L'Hemisfèric), a science museum (El Museu de les Ciències), two Calatrava bridges, and what could be the world's coolest parking garage/garden (L'Umbracle).
Architect: Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela; Completed: 1998-2005
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