Santiago Calatrava's City of Arts and Sciences (Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències) — the Hemisfèric, the science museum, the Oceanogràfic aquarium and the opera house — in detail.
View on the City of Arts and Sciences from North-East. Right to left: Palau de les Arts, L'Hemisferic, Museo de las Ciencias. In the depth behind L'Hemiferic you can see the outline of L'Umbracle. The green space in front is designer lawns of Turia riverbed, with some interesting sculptures in this section.Palau de Les Arts. At 70 meteres high it contains four auditoriums for classical music, opera and perorming arts. It is not just the outside that is futuristic - the interiror too is designed with cutting-edge acoustics, making the Palau one of the most sought-after classical music venues in Europe.L'Hemisferic in its blue water environment. The Palau de les Arts is on the right and the Museum of Sciences is on the left. Behind is L'Umbracle.Museum of Sciences Principe Felipe: equated by many to a prehistoric fish sceleton or a giant ribcage, this is the biggest science museum in Spain, moving away from the traditional "don't touch" and encouraging visitors to pull, push, etc to see science in action.A section of Turia riverbed gardens by the City of Arts and Sciences. This is one of the most designed sections of the garden, with pretty walks, ponds and sculptures scattered over it.Palau de Les Arts. You can see the amazing construction of the crest here - floating above, practically not touching the building. In reality there are only two points of contact - a brief connection in the middle of the crest and the column linking the right end with the ground.Crystal blue water reservoirs are in the centre of the complex, accounting for much of its atmospheric spaciousness.Museum of Sciences reflected symmetrically in the water reservoirs in front of it.Museo de las Ciencias Principe Felipe: the spoorting columns by the fron entrance, with the "whispering gallery" on the left.Museum of Sciences: a segment in the string of the top ridge, with striking similarity to an animal vertebrum, thus giving the Museum its appearance of a giant ribcage / spine.Museum of Sciences entrance: the hemispheric enclave at the bottom has a "whispering gallery" effect similar to that in the cupola of St Paul's Cathedral in London. Try standing at one end and wisper to your friend on the other - you will hear each other perfectly.Museo de las Ciencias Principe Felipe: the promenade underneath.Museum of Sciences: it might have the least imaginative shape of all the City of Arts and Sciences buildings, but the intricacy of its structure never fails to amaze, making it the favourite City building for many.L'Hemisferic: it is from the front the L'Hemisferic most reminds a giant bug or a turtle shell, while from a side it is more reminiscent of a giant eye.View from South-West accross the water reservoirs of the City of Arts and Sciences to L'Hemisferic on the foregroud and Palau de les Arts on the background.L'Umbracle: the interior holds a variety of exotic plant species, with neat aesthetic design.L'Umbracle: the promenade by the L'Umbracle with the Palau de les Arts in the depth.L'Umbracle: the mesh of the greenhouse roof framework.L'Umbracle: the sides of the structures are lined with decorative vents covered with Valencian ceramics.The curved modern bridge separating Palau de les Arts from the rest of the City of Arts and Sciences.View from under the bridge of Palau de les Arts - L'Hemisferic with the Museum of Sciences behind it. In the distance on the right you can see some outlines of the L'Oceanografic structures.Palau de Les Arts: the "intergalactic skull" and the flagship of the complex inspired by Calatrava's interest in animal skeletons.Palau de Les Arts. Futuristic though it is, in real Valencian fashion of blending the old with the new the Palau is actually covered in white ceramics - a traditional industry in this region.Palau de Les Arts: the spaceship comman deck underneath is in fact the entrance foye to the opera hall.Palau de Les Arts: view from the front, where the floating crest is linked to the ground. From here you can see the amazing absence of almost any contact with the rest of the building. At the bottom you can see the opera house foye.Palau de Les Arts: view from the base of the inclined front column that links the floating crest over the Palau to the ground.Palau de Les Arts: the Palau is very different by night and is worth a visit any time of the year. On special occasions, however, like in this picture taken during the New Year celebrations, you can see even more spectacular light shows.L'Hemisferic illuminated by New Year's Eve light show.Frequently compared to a giant eye, L'Hemisferic has hydraulically operated "eyelids" which open for special occasions.L'Hemisferic during New Year's celebrations - the City of Arts and Sciences has special illumnation for special occasions.The curves bridge by the Palau de les Arts, with special illumnation for New Year's EveMuseum os Sciences on New Year's Eve, illuminated for the celebrations and with the crowds gathered beside it. On the right is L'Hemisferic with its "eyelids" open.L'Hemisferic with its "eyelids" open on New Year's Eve, when the City of Arts and Sciences was the location of Valencia's official celebrations. You can appreciate the size of the structure when you make out the small figures of persons on the edge of the building. Specially illuminated Palau de les Arts is on the background.L'Hemisferic and Palau de les Arts (behind) as seen from the promenade of L'Umbracle by night - on any given night. During celebrations the illumination is much more spectacular.L'Umbracle: a long greenhouse stretching almost from Palau de les Arts to the far end of the Museum of Sciences.L'Umbracle: in the real Valencian tradition, famous for its ceramics, L'Umbracle is covered in white Valencian ceramics.View onto the structures from L'Umbracle: L'Hemisferic followed by Palau de les Arts. On the right is a section of Museum of Sciences.L'Hemisferic is an IMAX cinema where everyone lies almost horizontally on the floor to watch a wide range of 3D films.
