L'Àgora (, ; anglicised "The Agora") is a multifunctional covered space designed by

Santiago Calatrava Santiago Calatrava Valls (born 28 July 1951) is a Spaniards, Spanish-Swiss people, Swiss architect, structural engineer, sculptor and painter, particularly known for his bridges supported by single leaning pylons, and his railway stations, stad ...

located in the '' Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències'' (City of Arts and Sciences) complex,

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Design and construction

Kohlschreiber-Mayer vs Isner-Lopez VLC - 60

The building has a height of and occupies 5,000 m² of space with an open ground plan resembling a pointed

ellipse In mathematics, an ellipse is a plane curve surrounding two focus (geometry), focal points, such that for all points on the curve, the sum of the two distances to the focal points is a constant. It generalizes a circle, which is the special ty ...

about long and wide. Depending on the configuration of the space, a maximum

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

for 6,075 people can be reached. The building is a diaphanous large arena, with a glass roof along its spine and a movable structure to control the overhead natural light. The tall white steel rib-cage arches give the interior space an organic element, whereas the exterior is geometric and abstract, in day or when illuminated at night. L'Àgora was officially inaugurated in November 2009 to host the Valencia Open 500 ATP tournament, although the construction works were not completely finished.http://www.lavanguardia.es/free/edicionimpresa/res/20091106/53818490214.html?urlback=http://www.lavanguardia.es/premium/edicionimpresa/20091106/53818490214.html The Valencia Open 500 continued for six years and ended in 2015.

CaixaForum Valencia

In early 2018, the Catalan architect Enric Ruiz-Geli was announced to be the winner of a private architecture competition to build the new CaixaForum Valencia inside L'Àgora. CaixaForum Valencia will adapt 6,500 square meters to house two exhibition halls, an auditorium with 300 seats, two multipurpose rooms, a bar-restaurant, a bookstore, and family and educational space on a second level. The space will offer art exhibitions, conferences, concerts and shows, social events, educational and family workshops and activities for the elderly. An investment of around 18 million euros is needed to renovate L'Àgora to house CaixaForum Valencia. In addition, about 5 million euros may be allocated annually for the maintenance, programming and operation of the center. It is expected to open in early 2021.

References

External links

Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències (official website)
Sports venues in Valencia Indoor arenas in Spain Tennis venues in Spain High-tech architecture Postmodern architecture Santiago Calatrava structures Sports venues completed in 2009 Tourist attractions in Valencia {{Spain-sports-venue-stub