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Antoni Gaudí: architecture in Barcelona,
city of art and colour

Spain zone

Part of a facade on the Sagrad Familia

Barcelona and St George

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Barcelona and Antoni Gaudí

the Sagrada Família and Antoni Gaudí

Barcelona and its art

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la Vuelta a Espagna

a climber’s race - La Vuelta a Espana 2011

Vuelta a Espana, 2010 - an eco-tour

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introduction - antoni gaudí
the sagrada família
parc güell
casa batlló
casa milà
end notes

Antoni Gaudí i Cornet [1852 - 1926]

Antoni Gaudí i Cornet was a Spanish architect who designed and built many buildings in Barcelona. Gaudí greatly influenced the city’s architecture, including street furnishings and decoration; his work and influence is now to be seen all around the city.A street seat by Gaudi

Antoni Gaudí apparently was born in Reus in 1852. He studied architecture at the Llotja School and the Barcelona Higher School of Architecture, from where he graduated in 1878. From early on, his designs were stood apart from those of his contemporaries.


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Antoni Gaudi's great work - the Sagrada Familia, work in progress complete with cranes
Antoni Gaudí’s great work - the Sagrada Família, work in progress complete with cranes

New translation, the Magna Carta

Gaudí’s work was greatly influenced by forms in nature, reflected in the use of curved rounded stone construction, twisted iron sculptures and organic-like forms in their decoration. Gaudí also adorned many of his buildings with ceramic mosaics and tiling. This adds another dimension to his constructions, so often forgotten by other architects—the use of colour. His style is decorative and entertaining, making much use of ceramic mosaics, incorporating natural motifs and frequently avoiding straight lines and angles. All of these are traits of Gaudí’s Barcelona architecture.
Wrought ironwork and textured stone facade of the Sagrada Familia
       Wrought ironwork and textured stone facade of the Sagrada Familia
 

This combination of design, original stone cutting and bright colours in the work of Gaudí is a breathtaking visual experience for the viewer. To give you an idea of his style, we show a selection of architectural works of Gaudí, describing further the Sagrada Familia on another page.

pinnacle top at Antoni Gaudi's Sagrada Familia

the sagrada família

The Sagrada Família, started in 1915 and still to be completed, is an enormous, magnificent and idiosyncratic ecclesiastical building. This gigantic temple is probably one of the most impressive works of Antoni Gaudí and is the most visited attraction in all of Barcelona.

Spires of Sagrada Familia with cranes.

With its eighteen towers, currently still supplemented by soaring cranes and three enormous themed facades, the exterior of this huge basilica is breath-taking, and that is before even mounting the steps and entering the vast nave.

Part of a facade on the Sagrad Familia

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Parc Güell

At the entrance to Park Guell on a summer's day
At the entrance to Park Guell on a summer’s day

Parc Güell was commissioned by Eusebi Güell to create a private park for the aristocracy of Barcelona. It is a magical creation of garden and buildings, absolutely fantastic sculptures and ceramics, all designed by Gaudí. There is also the architect’s former residence in the Parc Güell, now open to the public as a museum.

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casa milà, or la pedrera (the quarry)

Casa Mila, Barcelona

This Art Nouveau work is the largest civil building designed by Antoni Gaudí, and the second most popular building to visit in Barcelona. Casà Milà , an apartment block was commissioned by Roser Segimon and her second husband, Pere Milà, and constructed between 1906 and 1910. It was Gaudi’s last work prior to his monumental life’s work - the Sagrada Familia.

Constructed entirely in natural stone, the vast Casa Milà is bereft of variation in colour and ornamentation. Its exterior has cliff-like walls with openings looking somewhat like troglodytes’ caves. This is the source of Casa Milà’s local nickname, the Quarry - La Pedrera.

Inside and out, there are nothing but curves and arches, while the roof is supervised by ventilator and chimney guardians.

pinnacle top at Antoni Gaudi's Sagrada Familia

Seven of Gaudí’s works have been declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. The first six are all in Barcelona.

1984 the Parc Güell,
the Palau Güell,
the Casa Milà;
2005 the Nativity facade, the crypt and
the apse of the Sagrada Família,
the Casa Vicens
the Casa Batlló.
The crypt of the Colònia Güell in Santa Coloma de Cervelló.

pinnacle top at Antoni Gaudi's Sagrada Familia

end notes

  1. It is not certain where Gaudí was born. His identification document gives Reus as his birthplace, but from 1915 Gaudí himself would state that he was born in neighbouring Riudoms. It is possible that the rejection of his proposal to restore the Misericordia sanctuary of Reus made at this time was the reason behind his birthplace shifting.

 

 

 


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