City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia

Main article: Valencia (city)

The city in the gardens of Turia in Valencia consists of several buildings:

• opera or Queen Sophia Palace of Arts
• Hemisferic Cinema,
• aquarium,
• Prince Felipe Museum of Sciences,
• Umbrakle Covered Hallery and
• Agora Exhibition Center, which housed CaixaForum.

History

2022: Europe's largest vertical garden

Not even all Valencia residents know that CaixaForum Valencia, located in the City of Arts and Sciences, has the largest vertical garden in Europe for 2022. It covers an area of 700 m ² and combines more than 20,000 plants.

This creation by botanical expert and urban landscape CEO Ignacio Solano, he said, was designed as an ever-changing piece of art that promotes better air quality. The garden adorns the entrance to the restaurant.

"The idea is to bring personality and present unique flora and microfauna, thereby creating a special atmosphere that will connect CaixaForum Valencia visitors with nature."

2014: Opera cladding crumbles with wind

In January 2014, the authorities of Venice and his native Valencia indicated the imperfections of the Calatrava structures. On January 12, it became known that the builders began to remove the mosaic from the facade of the building of the Palace of Arts of Queen Sofia - the opera house in Valencia. The building has stood closed since December 2013, when strong winds caused cladding to begin crumbling.

It was not just Christmas performances that had to be cancelled, but also the January premiere of Puccini's "Manon Lesco," staged by the theatre's patron Plácido Domingo.

After negotiations, architect Calatrava and construction companies agreed not only to remove fragile tiles from the facade, but also to cover the cost of repair work - three million euros. A spokesman for the architect said the reasons for the mosaic's fall were unclear.

Calatrava decorated the facade of the theater with thousands of small fragments of mosaic, imitating the Barcelona Antonio Gaudi. Now they will all be given away, and the walls will be painted over with white paint, at least until they figure out how to fix the mosaic tightly.

Queen Sophia Palace of Arts

In Calatrava's homeland, it has long combined popularity with notoriety: for example, local politician Ignacio Blanco opened the Calatravatelaclava website, which can be translated roughly as "Calatrava will rip you off like sticky." Blanco notes that 94 million euros were paid for work on the building of the Calatrava Theater - and this despite the fact that there were 150 seats in it from which the stage is not visible. The Science Museum was originally built without emergency exits and elevators for the disabled, Blanco complains.

2012: Collapse of glass fencing by schoolchildren and closure of Museum of Art panoramic terraces

In July 2012, a partial collapse of a glass fence (balustrade) occurred on one of the balconies of the Museum of Sciences.

According to local media (Las Provincias, Levante-EMV), the collapse occurred when a group of schoolchildren leaned on a fence during a photo shoot. The glass panel could not withstand the pressure and broke. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured, several people suffered minor cuts and abrasions, but the incident itself raised serious questions about the safety of the structure.

After this incident, the management of the museum and the City of Arts and Sciences complex decided to permanently close access to these terraces.

The main version was the non-compliance of the design with modern safety standards. It turned out that glass fences (calculated according to the standards of the late 1990s) do not withstand the load that visitors can create leaning against them or leaning on them with all their weight (for example, during photography).

The complete replacement of all glass panels throughout the length of the balconies would require huge financial costs and complex architectural work (as this is part of a unique design). It was felt that it was easier and safer to completely close access to these sites than to upgrade them.

Since then, these famous "panoramic balconies" (which used to allow you to look at the entire complex from a height) remain closed. The museum operates only as an indoor exhibition space.

Outdoor terraces are used extremely rarely and only for technical needs or special events with limited controlled access, but not for ordinary visitors.

Construction of the city according to the project of Santiago Calatrava

Main article: Santiago Calatrava

Place of the future City of Sciences and Arts in 1980

Place of the future City of Sciences and Arts in 1992

Construction of the City of Sciences and Arts in 2002