![]() ![]() ![]() During the war, he gained pragmatic construction experience as the Republic's Captain of Engineers, working to restore buildings for military use. Just as he was leaving to pursue further formal education in Germany, his studies were quickly interrupted by the start of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, when Candela returned to Spain to fight with the Spanish Republic against Francisco Franco and the Nationalists. After gaining recognition for his early work in Mexico as a designer and master builder, Candela went on to serve as a structural consultant for projects around the world.īorn in Spain, Candela studied architecture at La Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid from 1927 to 1935. His work is known for its unique shapes and forms as well as its highly efficient use of readily available materials. The collection consists of professional and personal papers, including photographic files documenting his projects, architectural drawings and designs, drafts of lectures and published papers, correspondence, appointment books, student notebooks and artwork, personal photographs and albums, awards and certificates, architectural reference books and magazines, construction materials catalogs, and clippings on various architecture and design topics and on Candela's own work.įélix Candela (1910-1997) was an influential Spanish-born architect, structural engineer, and builder, known for his innovative designs using reinforced thin-shell concrete to create the highly efficient hyperbolic parabaloid shapes used in his construction of many well-known churches, factories, and other buildings, primarily in and around Mexico City in the mid-20th century. Identification of specific item Date (if known) Félix Candela Papers, Box and Folder Number Manuscripts Division, Special Collections, Princeton University Library.ġ924-1997 (bulk) and 1767-2007 (inclusive)Īrchitectural drawings (visual works) - 20th century., Correspondence - 20th century, Manuscripts-20th century., Notebooks - 20th century, photographs - 20th century., and Slides (photographs) - 20th century Abstract:įélix Candela was an influential Spanish-born architect and structural engineer, known for his innovative designs using reinforced thin-shell concrete to create the highly efficient hyperbolic parabaloid shapes used in his construction of many well-known churches, factories, and other buildings, primarily in and around Mexico City in the mid-20th century. Spanish Castilian and English Preferred Citation: Light spills through the glass apertures that infill each vault, highlighting the roof form.Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division Extent: ![]() Called “La Flor” (The Flower) by townspeople, a continuous interior space is enclosed by an singular sculptural surface. ![]() The iconic form of Los Manantiales was derived through continued geometric investigation. His construction of the Cosmic Rays Laboratory utilized hypars to add stiffness and minimize material thickness, and received international acclaim. A form Candela called “umbrellas,” created by joining four straight edge hypars, were an efficient way to cover large spaces such as markets and warehouses. Eschewing the trend toward reliance on complex mathematics, Candela developed forms where stresses could be determined with simple equations. Although he constructed some cylindrical forms, Candela working intensely with hyperbolic paraboloids, or hypars. There, concrete was an increasingly popular building material that represented modernization, efficiency, and a break from the past for a people who had just gotten through their own political upheaval.Ĭandela began building thin shell structures not for clients but as full scale experiments. During the war Candela was imprisoned, but given the opportunity to emigrate to Mexico as an exile. ![]()
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