Contents   Prefaces Lectures 1, 2 and 3 with Topics Index, Projects Index and Additional Multimedia
	THE DIVORCE OF ARCHITECTURE and engineering is long standing and now, at least in the United States, almost ubiquitous.  This divorce injures both parties.  The ambition of architects to build well is diminished.  Engineering becomes formulaic and uncomprehending of its social, environmental and aesthetic dimensions.		Prefaces IN NOVEMBER OF 1995, I was taking a sleepy walk in Valencia, Spain, when I saw this unusual but simple and very beautiful bridge.  I inquired as to its architect, and the immediate response was "Santiago Calatrava, of course."  I must admit that, at that point, I did not know who Santiago Calatrava was, but I am a quick learner and immediately proceeded to remedy my ignorance.  At my request, a colleague, professor Herbert Einstein, contacted Dr. Calatrava and begun discussing ways to get him involved with MIT.  It turns out that Santiago had already been invited to visit the school by the Department of Architecture.  That visit gave us the opportunity to meet and to organize a series of lectures.  This website documents the extraordinary exchange that occurred between Calatrava and a large audience of students and professionals over three days in 1997. Hearing Santiago Calatrava speak reminded me why I wanted to be a civil engineer.  It reminded me of my own desire to create, to design solutions that are functional and beautiful, to leave behind works that will be remembered.  I suspect that all civil engineers --and all children-- have the same dream; unfortunately, our educational system conspires to dampen it.  The idea of the architect-engineer has been lost.  Creativity is buried under equations or hemmed in by the walls of specialties. Calatrava represents what the architect-engineer should be.  His bridges and public buildings reflect a deep understanding of engineering.  Like a classical arch, his structures seem to flow with the forces and, vice-versa, the force vectors seem to merge with the structures.  There are no superfluous elements.  The motion, real and apparent, of his creations is smooth and effortless, like motions in nature.  Indeed Calatrava commonly finds inspiration in the human body, the most beautiful and functional of all natural objects.  His buildings, like the body, integrate individual elements through simple interactions to create enormously complicated machines. Not everybody can be Santiago Calatrava.  Not everybody is blessed with the same talent and artistic sensibility.  Nevertheless, every civil engineer can strive to be more creative, and every architect, to be more imaginative and aware of the interplay of structure and mechanics.  If we did, our professions would be far more exciting. Rafael L. Bras Bacardi and Stockholm Water Foundations Professor Head, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology   Previous               Next
	As a school, MIT cannot exist independently from the conditions of our time and place, but we can foster ambitions to restore a profound alliance between architecture and engineering.  Happily, there are those creative individuals who hold such ambitions and create exemplary works.  In architecture, one thinks of Renzo Piano and his "building workshop," where building well is manifested even with the special challenges of building innovately.  But for all the excellence of Piano and his shop, he, like many other fine architects, works through a process of collaboration with the all-too-rare creative engineering firms.  One thinks of Ove Arup in London, Buro Happold in Bath, and RFR in Paris, all of whom collaborate with architects to achieve works beyond the scope of either partner alone. Especially in bridges, infrastructure, and long-span buildings; one finds engineers who control the entire design and succeed both in technical and aesthetic terms.  Through our collaboration in the Felix Candela Lectures,* we have brought such practitioners to MIT, including Heinz Isler, Minoru Kawaguchi, Christian Menn, and Joerg Schlaich.  Each of these engineers would be wholly convinced of the sound scientific principles their designs embody.  Nonetheless we also observe a personal signature in their works. Santiago Calatrava, architect and engineer, unabashedly pursues the unity of art and science.  His exploration of natural forms (particularly of the human body), his readiness to work metaphorically, and his brilliance in representation all facilitate his creative exploration of form, space, light, and even kinetics.  His mastery of engineering principles, not only allow the realization of his designs but is challenged and advanced by the dialogue between formal invention and scientific principles. The genius of this process is embodied in the energetic manner of Santiago Calatrava and powerfully advanced by the drawings that inform his lectures.  We hope something of this dynamic will contribute to the larger ambition of promoting the fruitful common bond between architecture and engineering. Stanford Anderson Professor of History and Architecture Head, Department of Architecture Massachusetts Institute of Technology *A series of annual Felix Candela Lectures was launched in 1996 by the Structural Engineers Association of New York, the Museum of Modern Art, and the department of architecture of Princeton University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  Beyond honoring the creative achievements of Candela at the frontier of architecture and engineering, the series recognizes such excellence in current practitioners and seeks to advance these concerns through education.