Santiago Calatrava Quotes

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Santiago Calatrava

Profession : Architect

Birth : July 28, 1951

I would like to be an artist who works in a very closed ambience.

Santiago Calatrava

The architect works for so many years building it, and the moment you deliver it to the people is the moment when you are unnecessary.

Santiago Calatrava

The Freedom Tower has a cost overrun. A significant cost overrun.

Santiago Calatrava

My goal is always to create something exceptional that enhances cities and enriches the lives of the people who live and work in them.

Santiago Calatrava

I have built already seven very large railway stations: one in Italy; two in Belgium; and in France, and in Switzerland, in Portugal, and also in the United States. And what happens is that stations are not things that come from one day to another, it takes many years.

Santiago Calatrava

As an architect, you do not have control of who will build the building and who will have the capability.

Santiago Calatrava

The reality is that throughout my career I've tackled projects in Spain that I'm proud of.

Santiago Calatrava

The world of sculpture precedes by many years the world of architecture.

Santiago Calatrava

When I found I could not figure something out, I decided to learn about it, until I knew as much as I could. It's my way.

Santiago Calatrava

Many of the architects I admire have given the best of themselves as they mature. I'm hoping to do the same.

Santiago Calatrava

I like the word monument, because the word monument is a Latin word.

Santiago Calatrava

I understand and accept criticisms of my work, provided they are done with professional criteria and arguments.

Santiago Calatrava

In my opinion, as an engineer, a bridge is the most difficult thing you can do. You are not working in the direction of gravity but against it - so the problem opposes the solution.

Santiago Calatrava

It is an exceptional event to build a cathedral - it must withstand several lifetimes.

Santiago Calatrava

You need to know a lot to become master of your profession.

Santiago Calatrava

You must understand the difference between being an architect and a politician. Architecture is a profession of perseverance. You have to come through. The politician is there to blame someone.

Santiago Calatrava

There is so much vulgarity in the everyday, that when somebody has the pretension to do something extraordinary for the community, then you have to suffer.

Santiago Calatrava

You have to live with the necessities of other people.

Santiago Calatrava

My private work is touched by this destiny of understanding that architecture and engineering have a social character and can serve the community.

Santiago Calatrava

A bridge is born of necessity, but it must establish its own identity. It should harmonize with its surroundings, and the design must transcend the purely local and transform the setting.

Santiago Calatrava