Calatrava Receives European Prize for Architecture

Calatrava was named the recipient of the esteemed prize last month, when Athenaeum director Christian Narkiewicz-Laine described the architect's buildings as "not just 'building.' They are powerful works of art." Narkiewicz-Laine echoed those sentiments in his remarks last night before handing over two laurel wreaths to Calatrava: one a metallic award, and one made from leaves picked recently from the base of the Parthenon. (Calatrava tried on the latter wreath with amusement, but he did not leave it on the rest of the night.)

Most fitting about the evening's festivities was its setting overlooking the ongoing construction site of the World Trade Center, which includes two Calatrava-designed buildings: the uplifting yet controversial PATH Terminal and the petit St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. Since the ceremony took place on a floor of 7 WTC leased by Larry Silverstein, the space consisted of numerous models of the WTC site and PATH Terminal – miniature versions of the reality unfolding outside.