Clock Tower (Central University of Venezuela)
The UCV Clock Tower, also known by its Spanish name Torre del Reloj de la UCV, or Reloj de la UCV, is a monument made of prestressed concrete. It is by the Rectory Plaza of the Central University of Venezuela in the University City of Caracas, and was built between 1953 and 1954. The tower was proposed by architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva as a joint piece built by the engineer Juan Otaola Paván, with both contributing to the design. Its twisted columns were designed with new structural engineering principles. Background The Venezuelan architect and designer Carlos Raúl Villanueva began designing the University City of Caracas campus in the 1940s, beginning construction in the 1950s. In a time of prevailing modernism in Latin America, Villanueva had a stylistic ideology for the project he called the "Synthesis of the Arts", combining the arts and architecture and creating artistic pieces that could also serve functional purposes. Design and symbolism The clock tower is an independent structure, and designed to stand out from its surroundings, which it towers over. This is said to be in contrast with the clock towers or faces common to most universities; though many universities will have one, they are