Antoni Gaudi

Seven distinct properties, built in and around Barcelona, offer many different delights and represent the singular vision of one man — Spanish architect, Antoni Gaudí.

Gaudí’s creative genius, and the curves, shapes, and ornamentations it produced, literally changed the face of architecture and building technology during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Gaudí recognised the formal order, common in most architecture before his time, and deliberately turned it upside down. As a result, his buildings seem strikingly unique and almost surreal, even after a century.

Although Casa Batlló (pictured above) is a renovation and not an original construction of Gaudí’s, it was accomplished with such style and skill that it has become one of his best-known projects. Notable here is how the shapely, strange building was washed in colour with an extensive facade of ceramics and mosaics

Parc Güell is not a building but a green oasis in the middle of the city. Yet, Gaudí’s distinctive style is seen throughout, from the benches to the porches, and gives the entire space a magical air.

Casa Milà, also known as La Pedrera (The Quarry), is full of beautiful balconies. All the balconies have sensual, curved lines that seem to mimic living organisms.

Gaudí also left his mark on perhaps Barcelona’s most famous landmark: La Sagrada Familia Cathedral. Gaudí wasn’t the building’s original architect; he took over from Francisco de Paula after his death in 1883. Although Gaudi didn’t get to finish the cathedral, and work on the building continues to this day, his style is clear to see and admire. 

 

Adapted from an article entitled Works of Antoni Gaudi on National Geographic.com