Dr. Santiago CalatravaAlcoy Community Hall

Remodelación de la Plaza de EspañaAlcoy, Spain

Eric Becker and Brijhette Farmer State University of New York at Buffalo | Structures III

Preliminary Precedent26 August 2013

INTRODUCTION In 1992, Santiago Calatrava was commissioned to remodel the central public square in Alcoy, Spain. This Spanish town houses a strong historical identity for community events and, especially, the St. Gorge festival. Open space was one programmatic function Calatrava concentrated on, transferring the ground-level loads towards the base of the subterranean walls. Consequently, the subterranean space is completely free of structural obstruction, allowing for a maximum capacity of six hundred., inclduing service and storage facilities. wNatural light filters down into the space through ground-level translucent glass floor panels which dynamically enlighten the fluid-ity of the structural ribs, emphasizing Calatrava’s signature structural expressionism. The stainless steel folding fountain near the eastern entrance displays Calatrava’s dissertation research On The Foldability of Space Frames. Dr. Calatrava created a kinetic structure composed of stainless steel slats which are a linkage system covering a small pool basin above the entrance and stair cavity. Both the fountain and the eastern entrance employ moving rod and joint mechanisms. In plan, the void for the fountain resembles a simplistic primitive shape, much like an oblong eye.

Fig. 1 (left) subterranean multipurpose space, Fig. 2 civil space being enjoyed by the public, Fig. 3 view looking towards the western entrance, seen in the subterranean hall

1 2

3

The hall is trapezoidal in plan, 90 meters long and 9 meters high, ranging from 7 to 16 meters in width. An all-white concrete arch system is the primary support structure of the roof. SA central “spine” connects and bridges the entire span through a single span. The curve of the arch, seen in the pictures above and through section, is repeated throughout the space by being transformed to adapt to the increasing width of the trapezoid. The brief of Calatrava’s office justified this transformation “because the springing points must straddle the increasing width, the directrix of the unresolved, symmetrical arch pairs creates a correspondingly marked valley along the longitudinal axis, which in turn cradles a longitudinal supporting arch springing from the east end.” (Tzonis, 1)

DRAWINGS

Fig. 4 Plan, Fig. 5 North – South Longitudinal Section, Fig 6. detail of main arch and adjoining ribs, Fig. 7 (next page) view looking to-wards eastern staircase entrance, Fig. 8 View looking towards western staircase entrance

Bibliography1. Tzonis, Alexander. “Santiago Calatrava: The Complete Works – Expanded Edition.” Rizzoli: New York, NY. Print. 20072. “Building Science - Design Support for Kinetic Structures.” Electronic. 27 August, 2013.

4

5

6

7

8