The father of thin concrete shells

Felix Candela Outeriño was a Spanish architect renowned for this structural designs, which controversially, architects don't consider as pure architecture and engineers dot consider his works as pure math either, but a half and a half mix of both worlds.

He was born in Madrid in 1910 and studied architecture in the Escuela Superior de la Arquitectura in the same city, during his studies he became aware of his interest for geometry and the resistance of structures unlike most of architecture students that seek a more aesthetic view if things.

 His studies continued after his graduation in 1935 but quickly ended with the eruption of the Spanish Civil War in which he fought for the side of the Spanish Republic. After the war, since he had fought against Francisco Franco, he couldn't return to Spain and was released along with more prisoners in a boat towards Mexico where he would lead a whole architectural movement that would gain him world wide fame.

After his arrival in Mexico, he started to focus more deeply in structural engineering given his knowledge on thin reinforced concrete, knowledge that would serve him well as most of his projects occurred in a relatively short period of time for the amount of buildings. 
His main client was the mexican goverment, Adolfo Ruiz Cortines said "Nothing could be more serious than to sit in the shade of the buildings we are about to build."
After this period, for most of the rest of his career he became a professor and would eventually reside in the United States to help him recover from so many years of stress that usually complain these type of professions.

Some of his more important works:

L'Oceanografic - City if Arts and Sciences 

Pabellon de los Rayos Cosmicos

Palacio de los Deportes

Restaurante Los Manantiales

As a bonus, here is an article of the Princeton University Art Museum in which Dorothy Candela relates a much  more personal image of who was Felix Candela.