Bear with me, because every news account of this is in either Spanish or Portuguese. But it seems like Dallas’ favorite overpaid architect, Santiago Calatrava, is being ordered by the court to pay 3 million Euros to a Spanish developer for “shortcomings in the implementation of the work” of The Palace of Exhibitions and Congresses in Oviedo, Spain.
From what I can gather through this El Pais report (through Google Translate, so grain of salt), is that something collapsed during construction. Wonderful!
This latest suit follows on the heels of news that Valencia, Spain’s Queen Sofía Palace of the Arts—also designed by Calatrava—had to have its entire facade removed:
Mr. Calatrava covered the opera house with thousands of tiny mosaic tiles, using a technique made famous over a century earlier by Antoni Gaudí in Barcelona. But the Valencia authorities threatened to sue Mr. Calatrava last month after chunks fell off in high winds.
And the city of Venice, Italy, is currently suing Calatrava for €463,000 to cover the cost of modifications and repairs for a foot bridge that crosses the Grand Canal.
Thank God we don’t have any more Calatrava-designed plans currently under construction.
