Santiago Calatrava to receive the 2015 European Prize for Architecture next month

Not long after his iconic Turning Torso won the CTBUH 10-Year Award, Santiago Calatrava was recently named the 2015 laureate for the European Prize for Architecture, one of the continent's highest architecture accolades. Established by The European Center for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum, the annual prize honors influential architects for their significant and lasting contributions to the global contemporary architecture field.

In recent years, prize winners have included Italian architect and designer Alessandro Mendini, Bjarke Ingels, German practice Graft Architekten, and Finnish architect Marco Casagrande.

Calatrava will be presented with the award during a ceremony at the World Trade Center in New York City on November 17.

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"Known for his flowing, curved buildings, Calatrava uses steel, concrete, and new computer modeling to create compositions that appear at once natural and structurally impossible. His compositions convey a sense of direction and movement."

'If ‘form follows function’ is the rallying cry of modern architecture, Calatrava’s postmodern structures turn this maxim on its head. His designs suggest stylized natural objects—waves, wings, or sun-bleached skeletons, with rows of white concrete ribs curved into distorted parabolic arches. The true purpose of these dramatic contours are both aesthetic and structural,' stated Christian Narkiewicz-Laine, Museum President of The Chicago Athenaeum. 'It is significant that The European Prize for Architecture honors Calatrava as an architect, engineer, sculptor, and painter.'"

A catalogue of Calatrava’s works will be published by the Metropolitan Arts Press and is available through the European Center.