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Science Museum
The Príncipe Felipe Science Museum is a treasure trove of everything related with science, technological innovation and life. It belongs to the City of Arts and Sciences complex in Valencia. This great project, designed by Santiago Calatrava, is situated on the former bed of the Turia River. The building's floor plan is rectangular, 250x120 metres, with a surface of 30,000 m2.
Although from the outside the building looks like just a huge roof, inside there is a spectacular juxtaposition of platforms at different levels, forming up to six different storeys.
For the foundations, piles were cast on site in diameters of 65 and 120 centimetres and a minimum of 25 metres in length. It was also necessary to put up foundation walls to combat the adverse geological/technical conditions of the soil.
The most unique thing about the building is no doubt the structure of "Trees" made of white structural concrete (H-300). Their surfaces have a high-quality finish that required no additional treatment. Metal formwork was used that had been especially built for each of the components in the structure. The elements look like a blown-up 3D puzzle.
The structure is completed with metal elements in its roof, north façade and side walls. The roof structure rests on a modular lattice of reinforced concrete tied into the south façade and on the Trees. The north façade in turn is made up of a primary tubular structure braced by metal ribs that create a grid, which can be glimpsed behind the windows. This structure is arranged into different planes that give the wall movement. Lastly, the structure of the side walls is also metal, using latticework spacing bars with rigidised knots at the nodes.
