Valencia. Spain’s third-largest city has long waned in the shadows of neighboring metropolitan areas - Madrid (political capital) and Barcelona (economic capital). However, laying on the fertile banks of the Turia River on the east coast of the Iberian Peninsula, the city has always been a centralized and sought-after resource with strong maritime connections to the rest of Europe. Toward the end of the last millennium, the city that was widely overlooked by its larger urban siblings for so long was ready to mature. Perceived economic neglect by the central government (Valencia had the lowest investments in Spain) the city took charge - with increasing worldwide capital gains, cheap available credit and pride in turning a once little-considered place to becoming a cutting edge city - the Valencian government began to invest heavily on large-scale development and urban ‘beautification’ projects throughout the city with ambitions on gaining international interest and establishing itself as the ‘cultural capital’ of Spain.

Context : Valencia, Spain

Case Study : Queen Sofia Palace of the Arts