Félix Candela Outeriño (Madrid, January 27, 1910 - Durham "Durham (North Carolina)"), North Carolina, December 7, 1997) was an architect of Spanish and Mexican nationality, famous for the creation of structures based on the extensive use of the hyperbolic paraboloid.
Biography
In 1927 he entered the Faculty of Sciences of the Central University as training prior to entering the E.T.S. of Architecture of Madrid, finishing his degree in 1935.[1] While his career lasted he was an outstanding athlete, winning the national ski championship in 1932 and rugby in 1934.[2].
He continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando along with Eduardo Robles Piquer") and Fernando Ramírez de Dampierre"). At that time he met Eduardo Torroja and his techniques for using concrete roofs. For his doctoral thesis he received the Conde de Cartagena scholarship from the Academy in 1936 to further his studies in Germany, but the outbreak of the Civil War prevented him from doing so. He was part of the Popular Republican Army as a captain of engineers.[3] After passing through the concentration camps of Saint-Cyprien and Le Barcarés in Perpignan, he decided to go into exile in Mexico where he arrived on June 13, 1939 aboard the ship Sinaia "Sinaia (ship)").[4] There he married his first wife, Eladia Martín.
In 1941 he acquired Mexican citizenship and renounced his Spanish citizenship.[5] In Acapulco he began his real career as an architect with the design of some houses and hotels. In 1950 he founded, with his brother architects Fernando and Raúl Fernández Rangel, the construction company Covers Ala. In 1953 he received a professorship at the Faculty of Architecture "Facultad de Arquitectura (UNAM)") of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Also that year the Fernández Range brothers left the company, leaving only their brother Antonio. The company lasted until 1976, although Félix left it in the hands of his brother in 1969. During the 20 years it lasted, 1,439 projects were developed, of which 896 were carried out. The majority were of an industrial type, such as the structure in the shape of a square cement umbrella with the rainwater pipe in the central column, which proliferates in parking lots, gas stations and, in general, any space that requires a light, cheap, resistant and takes up little floor space. Variants of paraboloids were used in churches, where they provided a large clear space for worship. The highlight of the company is the construction of the Sports Palace "Palacio de los Deportes (México)") for the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games.[6].
Felix Candela Pavilion, Xochimilco
Introduction
Félix Candela Outeriño (Madrid, January 27, 1910 - Durham "Durham (North Carolina)"), North Carolina, December 7, 1997) was an architect of Spanish and Mexican nationality, famous for the creation of structures based on the extensive use of the hyperbolic paraboloid.
Biography
In 1927 he entered the Faculty of Sciences of the Central University as training prior to entering the E.T.S. of Architecture of Madrid, finishing his degree in 1935.[1] While his career lasted he was an outstanding athlete, winning the national ski championship in 1932 and rugby in 1934.[2].
He continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando along with Eduardo Robles Piquer") and Fernando Ramírez de Dampierre"). At that time he met Eduardo Torroja and his techniques for using concrete roofs. For his doctoral thesis he received the Conde de Cartagena scholarship from the Academy in 1936 to further his studies in Germany, but the outbreak of the Civil War prevented him from doing so. He was part of the Popular Republican Army as a captain of engineers.[3] After passing through the concentration camps of Saint-Cyprien and Le Barcarés in Perpignan, he decided to go into exile in Mexico where he arrived on June 13, 1939 aboard the ship Sinaia "Sinaia (ship)").[4] There he married his first wife, Eladia Martín.
In 1941 he acquired Mexican citizenship and renounced his Spanish citizenship.[5] In Acapulco he began his real career as an architect with the design of some houses and hotels. In 1950 he founded, with his brother architects Fernando and Raúl Fernández Rangel, the construction company Covers Ala. In 1953 he received a professorship at the Faculty of Architecture "Facultad de Arquitectura (UNAM)") of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Also that year the Fernández Range brothers left the company, leaving only their brother Antonio. The company lasted until 1976, although Félix left it in the hands of his brother in 1969. During the 20 years it lasted, 1,439 projects were developed, of which 896 were carried out. The majority were of an industrial type, such as the structure in the shape of a square cement umbrella with the rainwater pipe in the central column, which proliferates in parking lots, gas stations and, in general, any space that requires a light, cheap, resistant and takes up little floor space. Variants of paraboloids were used in churches, where they provided a large clear space for worship. The highlight of the company is the construction of the Sports Palace "Palacio de los Deportes (México)") for the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games.[6].
From 1961 to 1962, he presided over the Charles Eliot Norton Lectures at Harvard University. His wife died in 1963. In 1968 he married the American architect Dorothy Davies.
In 1971 he emigrated to the United States when he accepted a professorship at the University of Illinois at Chicago until 1978, the year in which he acquired American citizenship. Among Candela's reasons for leaving Mexico were the growing decline in the profitability of his company and the loss of his class at the Faculty of Architecture at UNAM. [7] Since 1979 he was also a technical advisor at the architecture company IDEA Center, based in Toronto. Candela has won important awards and is a member of numerous international architectural associations, including the presidency of the International Academy of Architecture in 1992.[8].
Since then Candela concentrated more on the creative part of the work. Participates in the projects of the Sports City of Kuwait, the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, the Idea Center of Riyadh and Yanbu, in Arabia, the Islamic Cultural Center of Madrid, an office tower in Riyadh, the roof for a stadium at the Islamic University of Riyadh, the Marbella Trade Fair, the Legislature of Veracruz, the Master Plan of the Islamic University, the Attorney General's Office of Xalapa, Veracruz. Of these years, the project for an airport in Murcia stands out together with Fernando Higueras, for which they designed inverted umbrellas with 12-meter cantilevers.[9].
The projects he carried out with Emilio Pérez Piñero also stand out, despite none of them being built.[10].
While carrying out his latest work, L'Oceanogràfic, he suffered a relapse of an old heart ailment, which is why he left Valencia to return to Raleigh, United States. He died at Duke Hospital, Durham, North Carolina, on December 7, 1997.
Exhibitions
In Spain, several seminars, courses and exhibitions have been held on the work of Félix Candela. The exhibitions stand out: Félix Candela, architect, Madrid 1994; Félix Candela: the conquest of slenderness, Madrid 2010; Félix Candela, 1910-2010, Valencia 2011.
[6] ↑ del Blanco García, Federico Luis; García Ríos, Ismael. «De las estructuras laminares a las estructuras metálicas en la arquitectura de Félix Candela. Análisis y reconstitución de la sala de exposiciones para el concurso del Palacio Olímpico de los Deportes, México 1968». rita_ Revista Indexada de Textos Académicos (5): 98-105. doi:10.24192/2386-7027(2016)(v5)(05).: http://ojs.redfundamentos.com/index.php/rita/article/view/106
[7] ↑ Ruiz-Funes, Juan Ignacio del Cueto (1 de enero de 1999). «Félix Candela, el mago de los cascarones de concreto». DC papers | Revista de crítica y teoría de la arquitectura 0 (2). ISSN 1887-2360. Consultado el 8 de marzo de 2016.: http://upcommons.upc.edu/handle/2099/1925
[9] ↑ «Felix Candela y Fernando Higueras en un retorno a la geometría de paraguas invertidos». Revista EGA. 2017. ISSN 1133-6137. Consultado el 27 de diciembre de 2022.: https://doi.org/10.4995/ega.2018.9813
From 1961 to 1962, he presided over the Charles Eliot Norton Lectures at Harvard University. His wife died in 1963. In 1968 he married the American architect Dorothy Davies.
In 1971 he emigrated to the United States when he accepted a professorship at the University of Illinois at Chicago until 1978, the year in which he acquired American citizenship. Among Candela's reasons for leaving Mexico were the growing decline in the profitability of his company and the loss of his class at the Faculty of Architecture at UNAM. [7] Since 1979 he was also a technical advisor at the architecture company IDEA Center, based in Toronto. Candela has won important awards and is a member of numerous international architectural associations, including the presidency of the International Academy of Architecture in 1992.[8].
Since then Candela concentrated more on the creative part of the work. Participates in the projects of the Sports City of Kuwait, the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, the Idea Center of Riyadh and Yanbu, in Arabia, the Islamic Cultural Center of Madrid, an office tower in Riyadh, the roof for a stadium at the Islamic University of Riyadh, the Marbella Trade Fair, the Legislature of Veracruz, the Master Plan of the Islamic University, the Attorney General's Office of Xalapa, Veracruz. Of these years, the project for an airport in Murcia stands out together with Fernando Higueras, for which they designed inverted umbrellas with 12-meter cantilevers.[9].
The projects he carried out with Emilio Pérez Piñero also stand out, despite none of them being built.[10].
While carrying out his latest work, L'Oceanogràfic, he suffered a relapse of an old heart ailment, which is why he left Valencia to return to Raleigh, United States. He died at Duke Hospital, Durham, North Carolina, on December 7, 1997.
Exhibitions
In Spain, several seminars, courses and exhibitions have been held on the work of Félix Candela. The exhibitions stand out: Félix Candela, architect, Madrid 1994; Félix Candela: the conquest of slenderness, Madrid 2010; Félix Candela, 1910-2010, Valencia 2011.
[6] ↑ del Blanco García, Federico Luis; García Ríos, Ismael. «De las estructuras laminares a las estructuras metálicas en la arquitectura de Félix Candela. Análisis y reconstitución de la sala de exposiciones para el concurso del Palacio Olímpico de los Deportes, México 1968». rita_ Revista Indexada de Textos Académicos (5): 98-105. doi:10.24192/2386-7027(2016)(v5)(05).: http://ojs.redfundamentos.com/index.php/rita/article/view/106
[7] ↑ Ruiz-Funes, Juan Ignacio del Cueto (1 de enero de 1999). «Félix Candela, el mago de los cascarones de concreto». DC papers | Revista de crítica y teoría de la arquitectura 0 (2). ISSN 1887-2360. Consultado el 8 de marzo de 2016.: http://upcommons.upc.edu/handle/2099/1925
[9] ↑ «Felix Candela y Fernando Higueras en un retorno a la geometría de paraguas invertidos». Revista EGA. 2017. ISSN 1133-6137. Consultado el 27 de diciembre de 2022.: https://doi.org/10.4995/ega.2018.9813