City of Arts and Sciences

The City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia is an example of modern, complex development. It is located in a drained river bed and is formed from five buildings, including the L’Hemisferic planetarium cinema, the Prince Philip Science Museum, and the Queen Sofia Palace of the Arts. Most of all, the attention is drawn to the double covering of the Planetarium, which forms the shell of the structure. The Planetarium and the cinema are located under the white cover of the spherical structure. The outer mobile shell, like an eyelid, protects the lobby from the scorching sun. The streamlined shape and massive internal ribs create both fluidity and precise rhythm. The appearance of the Science Museum is built in contrast to the Planetarium: the ribbed structure of frame structures is balanced by the static and tranquility of the Planetarium’s volume. The adjacent building of the Palace of Arts also has a non-standard shape: the foyer space around the concert hall has no supports and sharp corners, while the volume of the hall itself is formed by a large number of broken lines and planes.