Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
The City of Arts and Sciences (Valencian: Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències; Spanish: Ciudad de
las Artes y las Ciencias) is an entertainment-based cultural and architectural complex in the city
of Valencia, Spain. It is the most important modern tourist destination in the city of Valencia and
one of the 12 Treasures of Spain.
The City of Arts and Sciences is situated at the end of the former riverbed of the river Turia,
which was drained and rerouted after a catastrophic flood in 1957. The old riverbed was turned
into a picturesque sunken park.
Designed by Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela, the project began the first stages of
construction in July 1996, and was inaugurated April 16, 1998 with the opening of L'Hemisfèric.
The last great component of the City of Arts and Sciences, El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, was
inaugurated on October 9, 2005, Valencian Community Day.
Originally budgeted at €300 million, it has cost nearly three times the initial expected cost.
BUILDING
The complex is made up of the following buildings, in order of their inauguration:
L'Hemisfèric (1998) — an IMAX Cinema, planetarium and laserium. The building is meant
to resemble a giant eye, and has an approximate surface of 13,000 m². The Hemesferic also
known as the planetarium or the “eye of knowledge,” is the centerpiece of the City of Arts
and Sciences. It was the first building completed in 1998. Its design resembles an eyelid that
opens to access the surrounding water pool. The bottom of the pool is glass, creating the
illusion of the eye as a whole. This planetarium is a half-sphere composed of concrete 110
meters long and 55.5 meters wide. The shutter is built of elongated aluminum awnings that
fold upward collectively to form a brise soleil roof that opens along the curved axis of the
eye. It opens to reveal the dome, the "iris" of the eye, which is the Ominax theater. The City
of Arts and Sciences is divided in half by a set of stairs that descend into the vaulted concrete
lobby. The underground spaces are illuminated with the use of translucent glass panels
within the walking path. The transparent roof is supported by concrete arches that connect to
the sunken gallery. There is a miraculous echo inside of the building and if two people stay
on the two opposite pillars inside of the eye they can seamlessly speak with each other.
L'Umbracle (2001) — an open structure enveloping a landscaped walk with plant species
indigenous to Valencia (such as rockrose, lentisca, rosemary, lavender, honeysuckle,
bougainvillea, palm tree). It harbors in its interior The Walk of the Sculptures, an outdoor
art gallery with sculptures by contemporary artists. (Miquel de Navarre, Francesc Abbot,
Yoko Ono and others). The Umbracle is also home to numerous free-standing sculptures
surrounded by nature. It was designed as an entrance to the City of Arts and Sciences. It
is 320 meters long and 60 meters wide, located on the southern side of the complex. It
includes 55 fixed arches and 54 floating arches that stand 18 meters high. The plants
displayed were carefully picked to change colour with each season. The garden includes
99 palm trees, 78 small palm trees, 62 bitter orange trees. There are 42 varieties of shrubs
from the Region of Valencia including Cistus, Mastic (Pistacia lentiscus), Buddleia,
Pampas grass (Cortaderia), and Plumbago. In the garden there are 16 species of Mirabilis
jalapa, or the four-o'clock plant (beauty of the night). Honeysuckle and hanging
Bougainvillea are two of the 450 climbing plants in the L'Umbracle. There also are 5,500
ground cover plants such as Lotus, Agatea (Fellicia amelloides), Spanish Flags, and Fig
Marigolds. There are over a hundred aromatic plants including Rosemary and Lavender.