Gaudi

Traced to its Greek foundations, the word architect comes from archi (chief) and tekton (builder). In the case of Barcelona’s “chief builder” Antoni Gaudí, the derivation seems prosaic. For Gaudí, the word breaks easily into the three trademarks of his architecture: arches, technical brilliance and sureness, this last quality sometimes degenerating into rudeness and arrogance. Like many artists, Gaudí began with more detractors than fans. One critic in the early 1950s described his famous facades as “tortures of the imagination, fetuses in stone, bulbous obscenities.” But today, many hail him as a genius, some are calling on the Pope to make him a saint, and more than two million people come to Barcelona each year to stare at his buildings.

Antoni Gaudí was born in Reus, not far from Barcelona, in 1852 and received his Architectural degree in 1878. From the very beginning his designs were different from those of his contemporaries. Gaudi’s work was greatly influenced by forms of nature and this is reflected by the use of curved construction stones, twisted iron sculptures, and organic-like forms which are traits of Gaudi’s Barcelona architecture. Gaudí also adorned many of his buildings with colored tiles arranged in mosaic patterns. This added another important dimension to his buildings which is so often overlooked by architects – the use of color. The combination of original design, interesting shaped stonework, and vibrant colors in Gaudi’s work give the viewer a truly breathtaking visual experience.

Although Gaudi’s work is the most well-known, there is a lot more to Barcelona’s architecture than just Gaudí and the other modernists. We can say that Barcelona may be shared in two different architecture’s section: a modern one, full of modernist works, made of boulevards and colored buildings and an ancient one, made of very narrow streets crawling through the dark and medieval part of the city. The “Ruta del Modernismo” takes you on an itinerary of 115 of Barcelona’s fascinating modernist architecture sites, shops, street lamps and the like. And not just Gaudí either, with the work of Domènech i Montaner and Puig i Cadafalch also being well-represented.

Old cityscapes

In the Gothic Quarter, the center of the old city, many of the buildings date from medieval times, some from as far back as the Roman settlement of Barcelona. The best known buildings of this district are surely Barcelona’s Cathedral, started in 1298, under King Jaume II, known as ‘the Just’ and Palau Reial Major, another building characterized by the Gothic style. The building, part of the Historical Museum of Barcelona, was the former residence of Catalonia’s royal family. Two rooms stand out amongst the others inside the building: the Saló del Tinell, built by King Pedro el Ceremonioso between 1359 and 1362 and the 14th century Chapel of Santa Agata.

L’Eixample, a large extension designed by Ildefons Cerdà for Barcelona in 1860, is a big area laid out on a grid system which contains almost all of the modernist style buildings of the city, especially in the so-called “Quadrat d’Or“. Between the 19th and 20th centuries Barcelona’s upper class gave great impetus to this artistic movement which would make architects like Gaudí famous and world renowned.

Walking in these districts you will find the most important modernist works Barcelona has to offer. La Pedrera (aka Casa Milá), one of Barcelona’s main Gaudí residential buildings and one of the most imaginative houses in architectural history, defined more as a sculpture than a building. Casa Batlò, another one of Guadi’s Barcelona creations, looks like it has been made from skulls and bones, where the “Skulls” are in fact balconies and the “bones” are supporting pillars. Nevertheless, the building image is not dark and frightening because the designer used colors and shapes found in marine life as inspiration. Gaudi’s best known work in Barcelona is the immense but still unfinished church of the Sagrada Família, which has been under construction since 1882 and is still financed by private donations. As of 2007, completion is planned for 2026.

But as we said, Barcelona is not only Gaudí! Barcelona’s Palau de la Musica Catalana, work of Lluís Domènech i Montaner, has been included on UNESCO’s World Heritage List and is known as the most modernist building in the world. One of the most intriguing parts is the impressive sculpture which unites the two facades, celebrating popular Catalan music, but the most extraordinary room is the auditorium on the upper floor with its blue and gold ceiling and large sculptures.

Agbar tower

Just like Gaudi, Jean Nouvel was inspired by Monserrat’s landscape (Montserrat is situated just outside Barcelona), where the rock formations take on a parabolic shape projecting upwards towards the heavens, to create the Agbar Business Tower: a geyser which emerges powerfully from the earth and points its glass dome skyward. This is architecture adapted to the environment, sensitive to its impact on nature and minimizing environmental contamination. It takes advantage of the surrounding climate and conditions to achieve significant reductions in energy consumption with state of the art technology.

From its imposing 142 meter height, the Agbar Tower has become part of the permanent visual dialogue that flows between Barcelona’s most representative places. An exchange of glances that traces a profile and defines a personality and makes this spectacular modern masterpiece truly Barcelona’s new icon.

In 1999, Barcelona won the RIBA Royal Gold Medal for its architecture, the first time that the winner has been a city, and not an individual architect. It is said that Barcelona’s buildings reflect the city’s soul: a unique mix of genius, solidity, and unrestrained creativity.

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