GAUDÍ ARCHITECTURE, part 1

Antoni Gaudí i Cornet (1852-1926) is Barcelona's most famous Moderniste architect.

Many consider the (still unfinished) church of Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) to be his masterpiece.

Maybe it was the crowds, maybe the discoloration of the older parts caused by decades
of air pollution, but we weren't as impressed with it as with other of his buildings.

In the same year that he began construction of the Sagrada Familia, 1883,
he started work on Casa Vicens in a more Oriental style (completed in 1886).

A few years later, in 1886, he began work on the Palau Güell
(completed in 1890; it is near La Rambla and not in the Eixample.)

Much of the mansion was closed for restoration when we visited,
but we were permitted to see the ground floor and the basement.

Note the beautiful wrought iron details above the main entryways.

What we saw of the house shows a place filled with all kinds of weird and wonderful elements.

Even the basement was fascinating, with huge columns lined with brick.

While we weren't able to get very close to them, the decorative chimneys on the roof were intriguing even from a distance.

Another of Gaudí's famous buildings is the Casa Milà, an apartment building in the Eixample.

Immediately apparent are Gaudí's signature undulating lines, here interspersed with jumbled wrought-iron balconies.

The apartment has a central open courtyard.

Even here, Gaudí made the entryway and courtyard staircase almost come to life with the shapes and colors he used.

The chimneys on the rooftop are truly spectacular, and known as the "espantabruixes" or "witch-scarers."
They reminded us of the imperial stormtroopers from the Star Wars movies.

The rooftop affords a view over the Eixample, including the Sagrada Familia (left) and the Torre Agbar (right,
a 33-story office building designed by French architect Jean Nouvel sometimes described as a giant blue cigar).

Click here to see other examples of Gaudí architecture.

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