Gaudi's Barcelona

When Antoni Gaudi graduated at age 26 from Provincial School of Architecture in 1878, the school's director reportedly said, "Today we have given an architecture degree to a madman or to a genius."

Few who have seen his work would disagree.  

Frustrated parents of boys whose minds wander to what they find more exciting subjects than their teacher's lesson plans may take heart in knowing Gaudi was a poor student.

A sickly child, on forced days off school he found deep appreciation for nature.  Antoni also helped at his father's coppersmith shop, where he learned the value of hard work as well as an understanding for shaping materials to conform to a vision. 

As a young man, Antoni took time from college for military service, a break that might have given him time to mature, which was something I personally found helpful in my own life.

Upon returning to college, Gaudi may have been a full-grown man but he still became easily distracted from text books by concerts, poetry readings, plays and other intellectual pursuits.  Supporting himself while attending college also diverted time from his studies, but he worked as a draftsman for architects, including a restorer at Montserrat Monastery, which helped lay groundwork for his career.

Young Antoni also spent a lot of time perusing photos of oriental buildings on his own, considering different ways of seeing the world.  He delved into classes not directly related to architecture, like History and Philosophy, always continuing his devotion to religion from his boyhood days attending a Catholic school.

The crowning achievement of his religious fervor is La Sagrada Familia, widely acknowledged to be a must-see in Barcelona.

Ten years ago, in conjunction with a Royal Caribbean cruise from Barcelona, we made a point to see the exterior of Gaudi's best-known work.  While we were impressed, we didn't feel compelled to see more of Gaudi's work on that trip.

Returning on a guided tour of Barcelona during our recent fall cruise aboard Riviera, we were accompanied by a knowledgeable local guide.  She helped us understand better what we saw and added local color throughout a fantastic tour.

Without going into all the details here, the style is Spanish Gothic morphed into curvilinear Art Nouveau.  Construction began in 1882, but when Gaudi took over the project a year later, he significantly changed the design, and it is his vision that has been in process of unfolding ever since.

In ultra-Catholic Spain, they understand that cathedral projects frequently take centuries, so they allowed businesses to open in buildings all around La Sagrada Familia where the final plan will eventually force demolition to allow for the planned walkways designed to maximize visual impact approaching the church.

In the meantime, lifetimes of store owners come and go, during which time the stores benefit from the draw of a major tourist attraction.

As the conclusion of the exterior by 2026 and the entire project in the early 2030's draws to a close, it will be interesting to see what those businesses will do.

The sides of the exterior have specific themes.

The first side to be completed was the Nativity Facade, dedicated to the birth of Jesus, so it is oriented to the rising sun in the northeast.

Its highly decorative design also has porticoes dedicated to the virtues of Hope, Faith and Charity as well as the Tree of Life.  Begun in 1894, it took 36 years to complete.

The second side faces the setting sun, and that is appropriately dedicated to the Passion of Christ.  It is austere, with symbols of His persecution and preparation prominent.  As a sort of triangle, the lowest level portrays the night before the the Crucifixion of Jesus, including the Last Supper and the Kiss of Judas.  The second level is Calvary itself.  The top level is burial and resurrection.  Begun in 1957, I believe it is considered completed.  

The largest and most spectacular side will represent the Celestial Glory of Jesus after death.  Began in 2002, it is based on fragments of a model completed by Gaudi before his death.  The model was destroyed in 1936, the same year the Spanish Civil War broke out.

This side will serve as the main entrance, going directly into the central nave.  It will be decorated with symbols of death, judgement and final glory.  An underground passage will be decorated with symbols of hell and vice.

Theoretically it could be finished in our lifetime.

Eight spires that look like improbably-peaked sandcastles to me, are the most identifiable elements of La Sagrada Familia.  The current spires (four at each of the completed facades) represent apostles.  Ten more will be built, for a total of eighteen, representing all twelve Apostles, the four Evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), the Virgin Mary and the central one, topped by a cross representing Jesus. At 560 feet tall, the Jesus spire will make this the tallest church in the world.  However, it will be one foot shorter than Montjuïc, the tallest hill in Barcelona, because Gaudi didn't think his work should exceed God's.

The interior is purportedly as incredible as the exterior.  It was recently ranked one of the Top Ten Inspirational Interiors by Viking Cruises.

Our full-day tour would take us not only around Gaudi's Barcelona but all the way to the Montserrat Monastery, which obviously inspired his artistic vision, so we had to pass this time.  Admission runs 15 to 29 Euro, depending on how extensive your tour is, but you are welcome to see the exterior on your own at no charge.

Gaudi's religious aspirations may be personified in La Sagrada Familia, but all of his work is inspired by and intended to be harmonious with that of the Creator of the World.

When we began to consider his work as it relates to nature, we found much greater appreciation for his artistry.

His apartment designs in Barcelona, reminded us of building shapes you might see in Disneyland, Barney Rubble's Bedrock neighborhood, or the Middle Earth village of Hobbiton.

They're rather dreamlike in their unconventional waves.

Built for the aristocracy, the designs also had to be practical and livable.  The building owner would live on the first floor, the most prominent location, so that everyone could see how wealthy they were.  Their renters lived above them. According to our guide Marta, great care was taken as to whom rented, because leases in Barcelona were for three generations.

What's so striking about Gaudi's work is that no one else was doing what he did, but he never stopped believing in the beauty of his vision.

Eusebi Güell saw something very special in Gaudi's work.  He commissioned Gaudi to design a planned unit development community for sixty houses at Muntanya Pelada (Bare Mountain) near another upscale suburban community on the outskirts of Barcelona.

Gaudi built a beautiful park-like community, bringing in foliage carefully selected for aesthetics and built large structures with stones, with an aqueduct reminiscent of the Roman Empire but at the same time more primitive, as if Fred Flintstone's company had done the construction.

There are also wavy shops that seem surreal, not unlike something you might see in Fantasyland.

Park benches at first seem to be mostly art with unusual curves, but it turns out Gaudi had a bad back and intentionally engineered these seats with excellent lumbar support as well as having basically conversation nooks in an unbroken design.

The plaza where farmer's markets were to have been held was a terrace supported by what almost seem like Roman pillars but which are slanted at unusual angles.

These angled columns were designed by Gaudi in an unusual way.  He calculated that he could hang models upside down like mobiles, and then he could replace the strings with columns that would evenly support the roof when the design was inverted and replaced with heavy construction materials.

The columns also filtered water through them to fill an aquifer below to be used for irrigation.  Why don't we do something like this in California, with our water shortages?

Covered walkways designed to have natural curves like you might find in caves snake through the development, including one pathway for the washerwoman, who is the only person honored with having her likeness included in the design, a nod to his deep respect for the working class.

Eusebi Güell bought a mansion that was already in existence at his new development, and he had a model home designed by a different architect.  That model didn't generate much interest, so Güell sold it.

At the encouragement of his wealthy patron on this project, Gaudi bought a home in Park Güell, which like the other two had been designed by a different architect.


He lived there until he died, but it didn't encourage anyone else to move there. 

Whether because of its remote location or Gaudi's avant-garde design, Park Güell attracted little buyer interest.  No other lots sold in the project that had taken from 1900 to 1914 to complete.

According to our guide Marta, after years of failure to bring in more residents, Gaudi lamented to Güell, "It seems no one likes my work except you and me, my friend."

Güell is said to have responded, "I never said I liked your work.  I just think it might be important."

In 1926, Antoni Gaudi tragically passed away after being struck by a streetcar in Barcelona, where he had been engrossed in building La Sagrada Familia.

The failed housing project of Güell was converted into a public park that same year.

In the end, Eusebi Güell proved to have been right in backing the unconventional Gaudi.

In 1984, Park Güell became a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the broader category, "Works of Antoni Gaudi."

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