About this talk

Running time: 23 minutes

In October 1992, the late Felix Candela was invited to London by the British Cement Association to talk at the RIBA about his work. Extracts from this comprise our recording. Introducing him, Professor Happold (see The Nature Of Engineering: Part 1 and Part 2) said: "In the 1960s and 1970s Candela's thin shell structures in Mexico demonstrated a mastery of daring and imagination, built in an economical way and designed for minimum cost".

He was a pioneer in developing geometrics which (for example the hyperbolic parabola), were easier to build than most shell structures of the time. Born in Madrid, Candela trained as an architect, graduating in 1936. After serving in the Republican army he escaped to Mexico. There he worked as a designer and constructor and since then in various universities. He was the Charles Elliot Norton Professor of Poetry at Harvard in 1961 - 1962.

His list of honours and awards is enormous and worn with typical modesty, among them Gold Medallist of the Institute of Structural Engineers (UK).

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