A cultural complex designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, the Centro Niemeyer was inaugurated at the end of March in the city of Aviles, in Spain. Located on a large esplanade alongside the Ría de Aviles estuary, the all-white complex includes a 2,000 meter (6,561.67 feet) dome-shaped museum, a wave-shaped building for concerts with capacity for 1,200 persons, a viewing tower with a restaurant, and a multipurpose building that houses events like film screenings and conferences. Rising above the estuary, the viewing tower relies on a spiral staircase to access the spherical space at the top. A unique vision of the complex and the city can be admired from each of the 77 staircase¿s steps. The 20 meter (65.61 feet) high building will house a gastronomical project that will include the participation of prominent international chefs. The construction of the dome was accomplished with the use of an innovative system that consisted of a PVC membrane, inflated like a balloon, and injected with concrete to create the spherical structure. According to Javier Blanco, the architect heading the construction, one of the challenges faced in the construction of the cultural complex in Asturias was "to understand Niemeyer¿s architecture in order to bring it to Aviles and integrate it in a local environment that is so different." Construction began in 2008 and the regional government invested 44 million euros. A celebrity in the field of architecture, Oscar Niemeyer, who is now 103 years old, was awarded in Spain the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts, granted by the Oviedo (the Capital of Asturias) based foundation named after prince Felipe, heir to the Spanish crown. Niemeyer later on gave this foundation the project of the Centro, his first work in Spain, as a gift.