If there’s one architect who stirs up controversy, leaves no one indifferent, and whose works are a notorious waste of millions, it’s Calatrava. The Palace of Exhibitions and Congresses in Oviedo is a perfect example. You don’t need to look for it among the buildings, it finds you. It doesn’t hide or play coy; when it appears before you, it’s like a volcanic eruption. You can’t take your eyes off it, and it evokes both horror and admiration in equal measure.
But beyond the controversy, the cost, the overrun, the mega-cost, and beyond the aesthetic, ethical, and practical dilemmas (because to this day, no one really knows what purpose such a building should serve), the truth is that it remains an admirable piece of work. Its structure is imposing. Standing beneath those arms, feeling that enormous mass of steel, concrete, and glass looming overhead, induces vertigo, unease, admiration, confusion, even dizziness. It feels as if the laws of physics have taken a vacation, and your brain struggles to comprehend how such a thing stays upright without collapsing.
As the saying goes, “what’s done is done,” and hopefully one day it will find the place it deserves. For now, its state of neglect is disheartening. There’s simply not enough cultural demand to keep it active, and as a shopping center, it was a failure. The day I visited, the only signs of life were a few teenagers hanging out and a couple of kids playing soccer. The building is dirty and rusting, and instead of being a source of civic pride, it feels like an architectural corpse. A shame it can’t be listed on eBay, another city might actually find a use for it.
