Pierluigi Nicolin

I bought this book for two reasons: I really like Electa books; and for research on Stadelhofen Station in Zurich. The first has to do with the design – the cover, the page layouts, the photos, the drawings – as much as with the writing, which is typically academic yet insightful. The second, the project in Zurich, was in regards to a book I just wrapped up that included it among 99 other buildings. Though Calatrava was known at the time of the Electa book for some small structures (the garage doors on the cover, for example) and bridge designs, and he is now famous for buildings that make strong statements, such as the Milwaukee Art Museum, Stadelhofen Station remains my favorite project by the architect/artist/engineer. It exhibits the skeletal structures he's known for, evident both at platform level in steel and the subterranean concourse in concrete, but it is much more striking and lasting for the way it integrates itself into its site. That it was an important project in 1987 can be seen in it receiving its own chapter, while the other projects are grouped by typology: roofing and canopies, bridges, industrial architecture, and sculptures.… (mais)