Antoni Gaudí was a distinctive architect and the leading figure of
Catalan Modernisme (Art Nouveau).
His name is most associated with being the architect of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.
Gaudí was influenced by his observations of nature since a child. He studied plants, animals,
rock formations, shells, etc.
Instead of straight lines, he preferred curves. Instead of
classical symmetry, he used organic forms.
He was deeply religious and very proud of his Catalan
identity.
He combined all of these elements in his designs.
The Sagrada Família is Gaudí’s most ambitious and most famous project. Construction began in 1882, when he was 30 years old, and he worked on it for more than forty years. He never saw it completed. (As a matter of fact, it is still not completed.)
The church tells the story of Christianity through architecture. It has three façades that represent different parts of the life of Jesus. The Nativity side is full of detail, plants, animals, carved figures.
The Passion side is stark and dramatic, with sharper lines and a much more serious mood. The third façade, Glory, is still being finished and will represent heaven and the spiritual ascent.
When complete, there will be eighteen towers: twelve for the apostles, four for the evangelists, one for Mary, and one central tower for Jesus. The tallest one, for Jesus, will be will reach 172 meters, just slightly lower than Montjuïc hill. Gaudí believed nothing built by humans should be taller than God’s creation.
I have to confess, I am not the biggest fan of the exterior. But, inside, is a different story. Instead of heavy stone columns like other European churches, the supports branch out like trees, supporting a ceiling that spreads like a canopy of leaves. It feels like a forest, following Gaudi's love of nature.
Colored light pours in through stained glass in shifting colors. Cool blues on one side, warm reds on the other. As the sun moves, the whole interior shifts in tone. We were inside on a cloudy day, and it is pretty amazing how bright it is.
It doesn’t feel like a dark cathedral. It feels open, bright, and made to feel like standing in a forest made of stone and light.
Another of Guadi's famous designs in Barcelona is the Casa Batlló (The House of the Dragon.) Casa Batlló plays to Gaudi's playful and imaginative side. Gaudí didn’t build it from scratch — he redesigned an ordinary apartment building and transformed it into a fantasy home for businessman Josep Batlló.
The front of the building, covered in colorful broken ceramic tile called trencadis, gives the illusion of rippling water. Blues, greens, oranges, and purples (apparently) shimmer in the sunlight. We did not have a lot of sunny days, so, I am not an expert on that.
The balconies look a bit like masks, or even skulls, which is why some people call it the “House of Bones.
The roof curves like the scaled back of a dragon. Many people connect it to the legend of Saint George, the patron saint of Catalonia, slaying the dragon. There is a small tower topped with a cross, which is often interpreted as Saint George’s sword piercing the dragon.
Inside, everything flows with soft curves and no sharp corners.
Even the skylight in the center of the building is carefully designed — the tiles get darker toward the top so sunlight spreads evenly to every floor.
The door handles were shaped to fit comfortably in the
human hand.
This is inside one of the owner's apartments. Even the furniture had been designed for the apartment.
A couple of blocks away is Guidi's Casa Milà, also called La Pedrera, which translates to “the quarry”. This is because when it was first completed it was not popular and people said it looked like a stone quarry. There are no straight lines here either. The stone façade rolls along the street like a wave frozen in time.
Wrought iron balconies twist across the surface resembling seaweed.
The big huge door led to an underground garage - a new novelty at the time.
An impressive entry way for guests.
The rooftop is different. Instead of a flat surface, it undulates like waves and is filled with chimneys and ventilation towers shaped like abstract sculptures or helmeted warriors.
They aren’t just decorative, they actually work, but Gaudí made them beautiful anyway, because the rooftop was designed for the residents to enjoy.
Structurally, Casa Milà was innovative. Inside, the attic space is supported by a series of curved brick arches that repeat one after another. It looks almost like the inside of a rib cage.
Gaudí used a steel
and stone framework that allowed flexible floor plans.
Two large interior courtyards bring light and air into every apartment.
The engineer in John is very impressed with Gaudi and his thought process: Curves instead of straight lines. Light as part of the design. Nature as the model. Beauty and engineering working side by side.
But John, no,
we are not in the market for a home, yet!
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