Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, Valencia

Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències is a cultural and architectural complex, and its sweeping forms make it immediately recognisable. Santiago Calatrava designed the project, whose high-tech architecture turns concrete, glass, steel and water into an ensemble of dramatic shapes. The complex occupies the southeast end of the former Turia riverbed, a channel transformed into a sunken park after the flood of 1957.

The eye-shaped L’Hemisfèric houses an IMAX cinema, a planetarium and laser projections; it opened in 1998 as the complex’s inaugural building. Its curved structure opens towards a pool, creating the impression of a complete eye. Nearby, the Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe is an interactive science museum shaped like a whale’s skeleton.

L’Umbracle provides a planted promenade beneath a forest of arches, with an open-air sculpture gallery woven through aromatic plants and palms. L’Oceanogràfic spreads out as an open-air oceanographic park, with buildings shaped around aquatic environments. The complex also includes the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, an opera and performing-arts venue, the Assut de l’Or Bridge, and L’Àgora, a covered space for concerts, exhibitions and sporting events. It is recognised as one of Spain’s 12 Treasures, but its strongest impression comes from the eye, the whale-like museum and the luminous sweep of the whole ensemble.