I recently saw the movie TOMORROWLAND and while it didn't quite deliver for me, I was intrigued by its vision of the future. Specifically, I thought I'd seen it elsewhere. It brought to mind the Milwaukee Art Museum's Quadracci Pavilion by Spanish architect/engineer Santiago Calatrava. However, what I saw in the movie was more expansive than that and I suspected it drew on some of Calatrava's earlier designs. I thought that it might have used some of his work in and around Barcelona, but as it turns out, I was off by a little over 200 miles. As I watched the credits, they confirmed to me that one of the real world filming locations was in fact The City Of Arts & Sciences just down the coast from Barcelona in Valencia.
Rather than attempt to write a detailed history of The City Of Arts & Sciences, I will instead point you to its wikipedia entry which begins as follows...
"The City of Arts and Sciences (Valencian: Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències; Spanish: Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias) is an entertainment-based cultural and architectural complex in the city of Valencia, Spain. It is the most important modern tourist destination in the city of Valencia. The City of Arts and Sciences is situated at the end of the former riverbed of the river Turia, which was drained and rerouted after a catastrophic flood in 1957. The old riverbed was turned into a picturesque sunken park. Designed by Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela, the project underwent the first stages of construction in July 1996 and the finished "city" was inaugurated April 16, 1998 with the opening of L'Hemisfèric. The last great component of the City of Arts and Sciences, El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, was presented on October 9, 2005, Valencian Community Day." - wikipedia
That entry is a good starting point for further research and contains links to other informational sources as well. Additionally, you can view numerous images via searches on google, panoramio, flickr, and 500px. You can also find a number of videos on youtube. The following are a few I found that do a pretty good job of giving a sense of the place and I'll let them finish this blog entry off for me.
Enjoy!
Video montage from the movie premier in Valencia.
Director Brad Bird talks about the City Of Arts & Sciences in Valencia.
The City of Arts and Sciences as seen through a slideshow of panoramic photos.
Video footage in and around The City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain.
Flying through the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain via a quadcopter drone.