Félix Candela is widely acknowledged to be one of the great structural artists of the twentieth century. Candela was born in Spain, and was exiled in 1939 to Mexico where he created all of his major thin shell concrete constructions. This research examines Candela’s major works and his process of design. We observe that Candela acted first as a builder who not only constructs, but also makes the engineering design. He also takes a general form and plays with it to make structural art. Structural art implies efficiency, economy, and elegance; but the research also illustrates how structural art also implies a sustainable design. The following book was published to accompany an exhibition on Candela:
- Garlock, M.E.M., Billington, D.P. (2008). Félix Candela: Engineer, Builder, Structural Artist, Yale University Press (207 pages)
In addition, several other publications (a partial list given below) describe in more detail the genius of Candela’s works:
- Ballard Metcalfe (2014) – “A Structural Optimization of Felix Candela’s Chapel of St Vicent de Paul in Coyoacan, Mexico City”
- Garlock, M.E.M., Billington D.P. (2011). “Eminent Structural Engineer: Félix Candela –Structural Artist of Thin Shell Concrete Forms”, Structural Engineering International, IABSE, v.21, No.4, p.520-523.
- Draper, P., Garlock, M.E.M., Billington, D.P.(2010). “Structural Optimization of Félix Candela’s Hyperbolic Paraboloid Shells“, Journal of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, v 51, n 163, p 59-66.
- Thrall, A., Garlock, M.E.M. (2010). “Analysis of the Design Concept for Iglesia de la Medalla Milagrosa” Journal of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, v 51, n 163, p 27-34.
- Kelly. K., Garlock, M.E.M., Billington, D.P. (2010). “Structural Analysis of the Cosmic Rays Laboratory“, Journal of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, Vol 51, No. 1., p 17-24
- Billington, D.P., Garlock, M.E.M. (2010). “Structural Art and the Example of Félix Candela”, Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE, v 136, n 4, p. 339-342. (Forum paper).
- Draper, P., Garlock, M., Billington, D. (2008). “Finite Element Analysis of Félix Candela’s Chapel of Lomas De Cuernavaca”, Journal of Architectural Engineering, ASCE, v 14, n 2, p 47-52.