Career Best

When U.S. men and women captured the gold for the 400-meter relay in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, perhaps the track and field teams thanked Santiago Calatrava for designing the stadium. Now Calatrava has won his own first place, the 2005 Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects: As of February, Calatrava's name joins those of Louis Kahn, I.M. Pei, and Le Corbusier on a granite wall at AIA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

"Calatrava exemplifies sculptural expression and engineering," says AIA vice president Edward Kodet, FAIA. More specifically, the award recognizes standout completed projects including the Olympic Sports Complex in Athens and the Milwaukee Art Museum expansion as well as unfinished designs, notably a building for the Ciudad de las Artes y Ciencias complex in Valencia, Spain, the World Trade Center Transportation Hub in New York, and his innovative residential tower on the city's riverfront.