Favorite+Architects

__** Ma Yansong **__ Chinese architect Ma Yansong, founder of Beijing architectural firm MAD office, has won an international competition to design a landmark residential tower in Mississauga, Canda's seventh largest city. Ma's design was chosen from among six finalists, all of them architects with international reputations. From CanadianArchitect.com:

While the competition was fierce, Mr. Ma's submission topped the list among three groups asked to judge the six finalists, says Sam Crignano, principal in Cityzen Group [the developer of the project]. "It was first choice among our nine-member international expert judging panel. It was the favourite for the 6,000 people who cast ballots at an exhibit in Mississauga's Square One during the past month and it was number one among brokers and agents invited to comment on which design they found best suited to buyers' needs," he says.

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Santiago **__  __**Calatrava**__

Santiago Calatrava was born in Valencia, Spain on July 28, 1951, and has been practicing on a professional level for only about 17 years. After only 10 years, he had already made a name for himself, establishing his work as the standard by which later engineering design should be measured. Before he was designing these amazing structures, however, he was a student of art, or architecture, then of engineering. In 1968, at the age of 17, he began his schooling in an art school at Valencia. after just one year, he switched to architecture school, at the "Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Valencia." He also did post graduate studies there in Urbanism. After a five year study of architecture, he went on to study civil engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. (In his words, the reason he decided to go from one area of study to the next, rather than double majoring, was that he is unable to think about more than one thing at a time.) After 4 years of engineering school, he continued his studies as a doctoral student at the same school. His thesis was entitled, "Concerning the Foldability of Spaceframes." In 1981, Calatrava began his professional practice by opening an architectural and engineering office in Zurich. His first realized project was the Jakem Factory in 1983, in Munchwilen, Switzerland. His second office was opened in Paris in 1989. In his almost 20 years of practice, he was won countless awards, including the 1992 "Gold Medal of the Institute of Structural Engineers," and the 1987 "Auguste Perret UIA Prize." Notable Works:

Telecommunications tower at the Montjuic Olympic Plaza, Barcelona (1992) Alamillo Bridge, Seville, Spain Bach de Roda Felipe II Bridge, Barcelona Trinity Bridge, footbridge over River Irwell, Salford, England Lyon Railway Station, Lyon, France Stadelhofen Station, Zürich, Switzerland Oberbaumbrucke, Berlin, Germany Alameda Bridge, Valencia Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA Calatrava has also submitted designs for a number of notable projects which were eventually awarded to other designs, including the Reichstag in Berlin and the East London River Crossing. This last in particular was a very elegant and bold design which was considered by most to be a far more worthy design to that actually built. . media type="youtube" key="4HoZKfBaaJY" width="425" height="350"