By Maciek & Agnieszka Czaplinski

Casa Milà , better known as La Pedrera, meaning the 'TheQuarry', is a building designed by the architect Antoni Gaudíand built during the years 1905–1910, being consideredofficially completed in 1912. It is located at 92, Passeig deGràcia in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.It was built for the married couple, Rosario Segimon and PereMilà. Rosario Segimon was the wealthy widow of JoséGuardiola, an Indiano, a term applied locally to the Catalansreturning from the American colonies with tremendous wealth.Her second husband, Pere Milà, was a developer who wascriticized for his flamboyant lifestyle and ridiculed by thecontemporary residents of Barcelona, when they joked abouthis love of money and opulence, wondering if he was not rathermore interested in "the widow’s guardiola" (piggy bank), thanin "Guardiola’s widow". Gaudi, a Catholic and a devotee of theVirgin Mary, planned for the Casa Milà to be a spiritual symbol.Overt religious elements include an excerpt from the Rosaryprayer on the cornice and planned statues of Mary, specificallyOur Lady of the Rosary, and two archangels, St. Michael andSt. Gabriel. The design by Gaudi was not followed in someaspects. The local government objected to some aspects of theproject, fined the owners for many infractions of building codes,ordered the demolition of aspects exceeding the height standardfor the city. The Encyclopedia of Twentieth CenturyArchitecture states that the statuary was indeed Mary the motherof Jesus, also noting Gaudi's devoutness, and notes that theowner decided not to include it after Semana Trágica, anoutbreak of anticlericalism in the city. After the decision wasmade to exclude the statuary of Mary and the archangels, Gaudicontemplated abandoning the project but was persuaded not toby a priest. Casa Milà was in poor condition in the early 1980s.It had been painted a dreary brown and many of its interior colorschemes had been abandoned or allowed to deteriorate, but ithas since been restored and many of the original colors revived.

The building is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site"Works of Antoni Gaudí". The building is now owned byCaixa Catalunya.Gaudi wanted the people who lived in the flats to all knoweach other therefore there were only lifts on every secondfloor so people had to communicate with one another ondifferent floors.

Sagrada Família, is a large Roman Catholic church inBarcelona, Catalonia, Spain, designed by Catalan architectAntoni Gaudí (1852–1926). Although incomplete, the churchis a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Though construction of Sagrada Família had commenced in1882, when Gaudí took over the project in 1883 he transformedit with his architectural and engineering style—combiningGothic and curvilinear, Modernista forms with ambitiousstructural columns and arches. Gaudí devoted his last years tothe project and at the time of his death in 1926, less than aquarter of the project was complete. Sagrada Família'sconstruction progressed slowly as it relied on private donationsand was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War—only to resumeintermittent progress in the 1950s. Construction passed themid-point in 2010 with some of the project's greatest challengesremaining and an anticipated completion date of 2026—thecentennial of Gaudí's death. The basílica has a long history ofdividing the citizens of Barcelona—over the initial possibilityit might compete with Barcelona's cathedral, over Gaudí'sdesign itself, over the possibility that work after Gaudí's deathdisregarded his design, and the recent possibility that anunderground tunnel of Spain's high-speed train could disturbits stability.

The Basilica of the Sagrada Família was the inspiration of aCatalan bookseller, Josep Maria Bocabella, founder ofAsociación Espiritual de Devotos de San José (SpiritualAssociation of Devotees of St. Joseph). After a visit to theVatican in 1872, Bocabella returned from Italy with theintention of building a church inspired by that at Loreto. Thecrypt of the church, funded by donations, was begun 19 March,1882, on the festival of St. Joseph, to the design of the architectFrancisco de Paula del Villar, whose plan was for a Gothicrevival church of a standard form. Antoni Gaudí began workon the project in 1883. On 18 March, 1883 Villar retired fromthe project, and Gaudí assumed responsibility for its design,which he changed radically.

On the subject of the extremely long construction period, Gaudí is said to haveremarked, "My client is not in a hurry." When Gaudí died in 1926, the basilicawas between 15 and 25 per cent complete. After Gaudí's death, work continuedunder the direction of Domènec Sugrañes i Gras until interrupted by the SpanishCivil War in 1936. Parts of the unfinished basilica and Gaudí's models andworkshop were destroyed during the war by Catalan anarchists. The presentdesign is based on reconstructed versions of the lost plans as well as on modernadaptations. Since 1940 the architects Francesc Quintana, Isidre Puig Boada,Lluís Bonet i Gari and Francesc Cardoner have carried on the work. Theillumination was designed by Carles Buigas. The current director and son ofLluís Bonet, Jordi Bonet i Armengol, has been introducing computers into thedesign and construction process since the 1980s. Mark Burry of New Zealandserves as Executive Architect and Researcher. Sculptures by J. Busquets, EtsuroSotoo and the controversial Josep Subirachs decorate the fantastical façades.The central nave vaulting was completed in 2000 and the main tasks since thenhave been the construction of the transept vaults and apse. As of 2006, workconcentrated on the crossing and supporting structure for the main tower ofJesus Christ as well as the southern enclosure of the central nave, which willbecome the Glory façade.One projection anticipates construction completion around 2026, the centennialof Gaudí's death—while the project's information leaflet estimates a completiondate in 2017, accelerated by additional funding from visitors to Barcelonafollowing the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.Computer-aided design technology has been used to accelerate construction ofthe building, which had previously been expected to last for several hundredyears, based on building techniques available in the early 20th century. Currenttechnology allows stone to be shaped off-site by a CNC milling machine,whereas in the 20th century, the stone was carved by hand.In 2008, some renowned Catalan architects advocated a halt to construction,to respect Gaudí's original designs, which, although they were not exhaustiveand were partially destroyed, have been partially reconstructed in recent years.A 2010 exhibition, Gaudí Unseen, Completing La Sagrada Familia at theGerman Architecture Museum, Frankfurt am Main, describes the currentconstruction methods and future plans for the Sagrada Familia.

The style of la Sagrada Familia is variously likened to Spanish Late Gothic,Spanish Baroque and to Art Nouveau. While the Sagrada Família falls withinthe Art Nouveau period, known as "Modernisme" in Spain, Nikolaus Pevsnerpoints out that, along with Charles Rennie Macintosh in Glasgow, Gaudi carriedthe Art Nouveau style far beyond its usual application as a surface decoration.

PlanWhile never intended to be a cathedral (seat of a bishop), the Sagrada Famíliawas planned from the outset to be a cathedral-sized building. Its ground-planhas obvious links to earlier Spanish cathedrals such as Burgos Cathedral, LeonCathedral and Seville Cathedral. In common with Spanish Gothic cathedrals,the Sagrada Familia is short in comparison to its width, and has a greatcomplexity of parts, which include double aisles, an ambulatory with a chevetof seven apsidal chapels, a multitude of towers and three portals, each widelydifferent in structure as well as ornament. Where it is common for cathedralsin Spain to be surrounded by numerous chapels and ecclesiastical buildings,the plan of this church has an unusual feature: a covered passage or cloisterwhich forms a rectangle enclosing the church and passing through the narthexof each of its three portals. With this peculiarity aside, the plan, influenced byVillar's crypt, barely hints at the complexity of Gaudí's design or its deviationsfrom traditional church architecture.

SpiresGaudi's original design calls for a total of eighteen spires, representing inascending order of height the Twelve Apostles, the four Evangelists, the VirginMary and, tallest of all, Jesus Christ. Eight spires have been built as of 2010,corresponding to four apostles at the Nativity façade and four apostles at thePassion façade. According to the 2005 Works Report of the project's officialwebsite, drawings signed by Gaudí and recently found in the MunicipalArchives, indicate that the spire of the Virgin was in fact intended by Gaudí tobe shorter than those of the evangelists. The spire height will follow Gaudi'sintention, which according to the Works Report will work with the existingfoundation.The Evangelists' spires will be surmounted by sculptures of their traditionalsymbols: a bull (St Luke), a winged man (St Matthew), an eagle (St John), anda lion (St Mark). The central spire of Jesus Christ is to be surmounted by a giantcross; the spire's total height (170 metres (560 ft)) will be one metre less thanthat of Montjuïc hill in Barcelona. The lower spires are surmounted bycommunion hosts with sheaves of wheat and chalices with bunches of grapes,representing the Eucharist.The completion of the spires will make Sagrada Família the tallest churchbuilding in the world as well as the church with the tallest spire in the world.

FaçadesThe Church will have three grand façades: the Nativity façade to the East, thePassion façade to the West, and the Glory façade to the South (yet to becompleted). The Nativity Façade was built before work was interrupted in 1935

and bears the most direct Gaudí influence. The Passion façade is especiallystriking for its spare, gaunt, tormented characters, including emaciated figuresof Christ being scourged at the pillar; and Christ on the Cross. Thesecontroversial designs are the work of Josep Maria Subirachs. The Glory façade,on which construction began in 2002, will be the largest and most monumentalof the three and will represent one's ascension to God. It will also depict variousscenes such as Hell, Purgatory, and will include elements such as the SevenDeadly Sins and the Seven Heavenly Virtues.

Nativity Façade

Constructed between 1894 and 1930, the Nativity façade was the first façadeto be completed. Dedicated to the birth of Jesus, it is decorated with scenesreminiscent of elements of life. Characteristic of Gaudí's naturalistic style, thesculptures are ornately arranged and decorated with scenes and images fromnature, each a symbol in their own manner. For instance, the three porticos areseparated by two large columns, and at the base of each lies a turtle or a tortoise(one to represent the land and the other the sea; each are symbols of time assomething set in stone and unchangeable). In contrast to the figures of turtlesand their symbolism, two chameleons can be found at either side of the façade,and are symbolic of change.The façade faces the rising sun to the northeast, a symbol for the birth of Christ.It is divided into three porticos, each of which represents a theological virtue(Hope, Faith and Charity). The Tree of Life rises above the door of Jesus in theportico of Charity. Four towers complete the façade and are each dedicated toa Saint (Matthias the Apostle, Saint Barnabas, Jude the Apostle, and Simon theZealot).Originally, Gaudí intended for this façade to be polychromed, for each archivoltto be painted with a wide array of colours. He wanted every statue and figureto be painted. In this way the figures of humans would appear as much aliveas the figures of plants and animals. Gaudí chose this façade to embody thestructure and decoration of the whole church. He was well aware that he wouldnot finish the church and that he would need to set an artistic and architecturalexample for others to follow. He also chose for this façade to be the first onwhich to begin construction and for it to be, in his opinion, the most attractiveand accessible to the public. He believed that if he had begun construction withthe Passion Façade, one that would be hard and bare (as if made of bones),before the Nativity Façade, people would have withdrawn at the sight of it.

Passion Façade

In contrast to the highly decorated Nativity Façade, the Passion Façade isaustere, plain and simple, with ample bare stone, and is carved with harshstraight lines to resemble a skeleton if it were reduced to only bone. Dedicatedto the Passion of Christ, the suffering of Jesus during his crucifixion, the façadewas intended to portray the sins of man. Construction began in 1954, followingthe drawings and instructions left by Gaudí for future architects and sculptors.The towers were completed in 1976, and in 1987 a team of sculptors, headedby Josep Maria Subirachs, began work sculpting the various scenes and detailsof the façade. They aimed to give a rigid, angular form to provoke a dramaticeffect. Gaudí intended for this façade to strike fear into the onlooker. He wantedto "break" arcs and "cut" columns, and to use the effect of chiaroscuro (darkangular shadows contrasted by harsh rigid light) to further show the severityand brutality of Christ's sacrifice.Facing the setting sun, indicative and symbolic of the death of Christ, thePassion Façade is supported by six large and inclined columns, designed toresemble sequoia trunks. Above there is a pyramidal pediment, made up ofeighteen bone-shaped columns, which culminate in a large cross with a crownof thorns. Each of the four towers is dedicated to an apostle (James, Thomas,Philip, or Bartholomew) and, like the Nativity Façade, there are three porticos,each representing the theological virtues, though in a much different light.The scenes sculpted into the façade may be divided into three levels, whichascend in an 'S' form and reproduce the Calvary, or Golgotha, of Christ. Thelowest level depicts scenes from Jesus' last night before the crucifixion,including The Last Supper, Kiss of Judas, Ecce Homo, and the Sanhedrin Trialof Jesus. The middle level portrays the Calvary, or Golgotha, of Christ, andincludes The Three Marys, Saint Veronica, and Saint Longinus. In the thirdand final level the Death, Burial and the Resurrection of Christ can be seen. Abronze figure situated on a bridge creating a link between the towers of SaintBartholomew and Saint Thomas represents the Ascension of Jesus.

Glory Façade

The largest and most striking of the facades will be the Glory Façade, on whichconstruction began in 2002. It will be the principal façade and will offer accessto the central nave. Dedicated to the Celestial Glory of Jesus, it represents theroad to God: Death, Final Judgment, and Glory, while Hell is left for those whodeviate from God's will. Aware that he would not live long enough to see this

façade completed, Gaudí made only a general sketch of what the façade wouldlook like. He intended for the temple, like many cathedrals and facadesthroughout history, not only to be completed by other architects but also toincorporate other architectural and artistic styles.To reach the Glory Portico, there will be a large staircase, which will create anunderground passage beneath Carrer Mallorca, representing Hell and vice. Itwill be decorated with demons, idols, false gods, heresy and schisms, etc.Purgatory and death will also be depicted, the latter using tombs along theground. The portico will have seven large columns dedicated to spiritual gifts.At the base of the columns there will be representations of the Seven DeadlySins, and at the top, The Seven Heavenly Virtues.

InteriorThe church plan is that of a Latin cross with five aisles. The central nave vaultsreach forty-five metres while the side nave vaults reach thirty metres. Thetransept has three aisles. The columns are on a 7.5 metre grid. However, thecolumns of the apse, resting on del Villar's foundation, do not adhere to thegrid, requiring a section of columns of the ambulatory to transition to the gridthus creating a horseshoe pattern to the layout of those columns. The crossingrests on the four central columns of porphyry supporting a great hyperboloidsurrounded by two rings of twelve hyperboloids (currently under construction).The central vault reaches sixty metres. The apse is capped by a hyperboloidvault reaching seventy-five metres. Gaudí intended that a visitor standing atthe main entrance be able to see the vaults of the nave, crossing, and apse, thusthe graduated increase in vault loftiness.

The columns of the interior are a unique Gaudí design. Besides branching tosupport their load, their ever-changing surfaces are the result of the intersectionof various geometric forms. The simplest example is that of a square baseevolving into an octagon as the column rises, then a sixteen-sided form, andeventually to a circle. This effect is the result of a three-dimensional intersectionof helicoidal columns (for example a square cross-section column twistingclockwise and a similar one twisting counter-clockwise).Essentially none of the interior surfaces are flat; the ornamentation iscomprehensive and rich, consisting in large part of abstract shapes whichcombine smooth curves and jagged points. Even detail-level work such as theiron railings for balconies and stairways are full of curvaceous elaboration.

Geometric details

Alpha and Omega carving at Sagrada Família entranceThe towers on the Nativity façade are crowned with geometrically shaped topsthat are reminiscent of Cubism (they were finished around 1930), and theintricate decoration is contemporary to the style of Art Nouveau, but Gaudí'sunique style drew primarily from nature, not other artists or architects, andresists categorization.Gaudí used hyperboloid structures in later designs of the Sagrada Família (moreobviously after 1914), however there are a few places on the nativity façade—adesign not equated with Gaudí's ruled-surface design—where the hyperboloidcrops up. For example, all around the scene with the pelican there are numerousexamples (including the basket held by one of the figures). There is ahyperboloid adding structural stability to the cypress tree (by connecting it tothe bridge). And finally, the "bishop's mitre" spires are capped with hyperboloidstructures. In his later designs, ruled surfaces are prominent in the nave's vaultsand windows and the surfaces of the Passion facade.

Casa Batlló is a building restored byAntoni Gaudí and Josep Maria Jujol, builtin the year 1877 and remodelled in the years1904–1906; located at 43, Passeig de Gràcia, part of the Illa de la Discòrdia (the "Blockof Discord") in the Eixample district ofBarcelona, Spain. Gaudí's assistantsDomènec Sugrañes i Gras , Josep Canaletay Joan Rubió also contributed to therenovation project.The local name for the building is Casa delsossos (House of Bones), and indeed it doeshave a visceral, skeletal organic quality. Itwas originally designed for a middle-classfamily and situated in a prosperous districtof Barcelona.The building looks very remarkable — likeeverything Gaudí designed, onlyidentifiable as Modernisme or Art Nouveauin the broadest sense. The ground floor, inparticular, is rather astonishing with tracery,irregular oval windows and flowingsculpted stone work.

It seems that the goal of the designer was toavoid straight lines completely. Much of thefaçade is decorated with a mosaic made ofbroken ceramic tiles (trencadís) that startsin shades of golden orange moving intogreenish blues. The roof is arched and waslikened to the back of a dragon or dinosaur.A common theory about the building is thatthe rounded feature to the left of centre,terminating at the top in a turret and cross,represents the lance of Saint George (patronsaint of Catalonia, Gaudi's home), whichhas been plunged into the back of the dragon.

Park Güell is a garden complex with architectural elements situated on the hill of el Carmel in the Gràciadistrict of Barcelona. It was designed by the architect Antoni Gaudí and built in the years 1900 to 1914. It ispart of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Works of Antoni Gaudí".

The park was originally part of a commercially unsuccessful housing site, the idea of Count Eusebi Güell,whom the park was named after. It was inspired by the English garden city movement; hence the originalEnglish name Park (in the Catalan language spoken in Catalonia where Barcelona is located, the word for"Park" is "Parc", and the name of the place is "Parc Güell" in its original language). The site was a rocky hillwith little vegetation and few trees, called Muntanya Pelada (Bare Mountain). It already included a largecountry house called Larrard House or Muntaner de Dalt House, and was next to a neighborhood of upperclass houses called La Salut (The Health). The intention was to exploit the fresh air (well away from smoky

factories) and beautiful views from the site, with sixty triangular lots being provided for luxury houses. Count Eusebi Güell added to theprestige of the development by moving in 1906 to live in Larrard House. Ultimately, only two houses were built, neither designed by Gaudí.One was intended to be a show house, but on being completed in 1904 was put up for sale, and as no buyers came forward, Gaudí, at Güell'ssuggestion, bought it with his savings and moved in with his family and his father in 1906. This house, where Gaudi lived from 1906 to 1926,was built by Francesc Berenguer in 1904. It contains original works by Gaudi and several of his collaborators. It is now the Gaudí Museum(Casa Museu Gaudí) since 1963. In 1969 it was declared a historical artistic monument of national interest.It has since been converted into a municipal garden. It can be reached by underground railway (although the stations are at a distance from thePark and at a much lower level below the hill), by city buses, or by commercial tourist buses. While entrance to the Park is free, Gaudí's house,"la Torre Rosa," — containing furniture that he designed — can be only visited for an entrance fee. There is a reduced rate for those wishing tosee both Park Güell and the Sagrada Família Church.

Park Güell is skillfully designed and composed to bring the peace and calm that one would expect from a park. The buildings flanking theentrance, though very original and remarkable with fantastically shaped roofs with unusual pinnacles, fit in well with the use of the park aspleasure gardens and seem relatively inconspicuous in the landscape when one considers the flamboyance of other buildings designed by Gaudí.

The focal point of the park is the main terrace, surrounded by a long bench in the form of a sea serpent. To design the curvature of the benchsurface Gaudí used the shape of buttocks left by a naked workman sitting in wet clay. The curves of the serpent bench form a number ofenclaves, creating a more social atmosphere. Gaudí incorporated many motifs of Catalan nationalism, and elements from religious mysticismand ancient poetry, into the Park. The visitor was originally greeted by two life-size mechanical gazelles (a major euphemistic symbol of 'theyoung beloved' in the Hebrew strand of the medieval love poetry of the region), but these have since been lost during the turbulence of war.

Roadways around the park to service the intended houses were designed by Gaudí as structures jutting out from the steep hillside or running onviaducts, with separate footpaths in arcades formed under these structures. This minimized the intrusion of the roads, and Gaudí designed themusing local stone in a way that integrates them closely into the landscape. His structures echo natural forms, with columns like tree trunkssupporting branching vaulting under the roadway, and the curves of vaulting and alignment of sloping columns designed in a similar way to hisChurch of Colònia Güell so that the inverted catenary arch shapes form perfect compression structures.The large cross at the Park's high-point offers the most complete view of Barcelona and the bay. It is possible to view the main city inpanorama, with the Sagrada Familia and the Montjuïc area visible at a distance.

Maciek & Agnieszka