This trail starts here

The sculptor, architect, and engineer, Dr Santiago Calatrava, was born near Valencia, Spain. His extensive training — including a PhD in Civil Engineering — makes him one of the most interesting architects today, earning worldwide fame for several sensational and innovative architectural projects. Calatrava uses his skills as a sculptor to create unique buildings, combining the free forms of art with strict geometry and modern materials to transcend traditional limits. He received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Technion in 2004, where he also holds the appointment of Distinguished Visiting Professor.

The Obelisk comprises a stone pedestal crowned with a 25-meter glinting tower, illuminated by lights sunk in the circular dolomite pavement. The tower houses an external skin of 224 moving stainless-steel ribs, arranged in eight levels, designed to permit a wave-like motion generated by the electric motor that sits atop the mast. Each moving rib induces the sequential motion of the next, creating an illusion of the whole monument rotating on its axis; actually, the movement is like the human ribcage moving in and out during the breathing process. The entire structure stands more than 28 m high, over 200 m above sea-level.

This kinetic construction recognizes the contribution to Technion by the Russell Berrie Foundation in establishing the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute.