1 post tagged “gaudi”
Among my favorite souvenirs from 2006 are the memories and photos from the creations Gaudí in Barcelona. Not many architects can build a house that makes you change your opinion of what a house is. Gaudi certainly coud and he did over and over again!
Antoni Gaudí was one of the greatest architects of the 20th century, and a great innovator. His architecture and art is inspired by nature: His method for building arches is inspired by trees, his stairwells inspired by snail shells and the details and decorations are inspired by every kind of plant or animal you can imagine.
Gaudí lived most of his life in Barcelona, and the city has several famous buildings and landmarks designed by him. I have visited two homes, both museums: Casa Batllo and Casa Mila. They are both typical of Gaudí's style and yet very different.
Casa Batllo
Casa Batllo is inspired by the ocean -- the house has soft fluid lines and all kinds of nuances of the color blue. This house is very delicate and even the fascade has very fine details. Gaudí even designed the furniture -- it's very functional and very beautiful, very modern yet with a classical feel to it.
Casa Mila
Casa Mila is called The Quarry by the locals and you can see why. The exterior is made of roughly cut stone and the building has a heavy, monumental character -- the oposite of the light and delicate details of Casa Batllo. In the attic of Casa Mila you can take a free audio tour that will give you a lot of interesting details of Gaudí's methods of construction.
Parc Güell
Parc Güell was ment to be an exclusive residetial area where people could buy lots and Gaudí designed the houses and the park around. For some reason the project wasn't very popular and only 2 or 3 houses were ever built. The park was still completed and today it is a great place to spend a day walking in beautiful surroundings. And the view of Barcelona from the park is spectacular. My friend Tor has a post about Parc Güell.
Gaudí's most famous work is the Church of the Holy Family, la Sagrada Familia. That fascinating building is material for another post.
There are more great photos of Gaudí's masterpieces in my Gaudí collection (click on the image to the left). I also recommend the web site that was published for the 150th anniversary of his birth in 2002.
