VALENCIA’s futuristic City of Arts and Sciences is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its Museo de les Ciencies – and it’s still one of Europe’s most jaw-dropping feats of modern design.
The gleaming white complex, which has become the city’s most recognisable landmark, was dreamt up by local architect Santiago Calatrava, with designer Felix Candela helping shape its spectacular curves.
Built on the dry riverbed of the old Turia, the space-age project was meant to catapult Valencia into the new millennium – and it did, albeit with a price tag that rocketed to an eye-watering €1.2 billion.
Opened in stages from 1998, the sprawling site includes the Museu de les Ciencies, the ocean-themed L’Oceanografic, the opera-house-meets-spaceship Palau de les Arts, and the huge IMAX dome of the Hemisferic.
Together, they’ve turned this once-deserted stretch of riverbank into a global magnet for tourists, film crews and, increasingly, high-end property buyers.
When it first opened, critics accused the complex of being a white-elephant vanity project.
But time has been kind. Today, the City of Arts and Sciences is the pride of Valencia – a futuristic playground where culture, architecture and science collide.
Its museum, shaped like the skeleton of a whale, remains the star attraction, packed with hands-on experiments, virtual reality adventures and dazzling new exhibitions including Leonardo da Vinci: 500 Years of Genius to mark the anniversary.
It’s little wonder the complex was nominated for the prestigious Mies van der Rohe architecture prize in 2001 and continues to appear in design magazines worldwide.
Its shimmering pools, soaring bridges and sweeping concrete fins have become a magnet for luxury development – with nearby apartments now fetching premium prices thanks to those cinematic views.
But the real wonder is how Calatrava’s vision – equal parts cathedral, spaceship and sculpture – has stood the test of time.
Some 25 years on, Valencia’s once-controversial science city has become a triumph of imagination and ambition – proof that daring design can transform not just a skyline, but an entire city’s identity.
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