Antoni Gaudí, Casa Batlló, Barcelona, Spain, 1905

Antoni Gaudi (25 June 1852 – 10 June 1926) was a Catalonian architect, whose most famous project is the Sagrada Familia in the center of Barcelona. He is commonly considered as a pioneer in the organic architecture. His works can be categorized in the jugendstil/art nouveau style. In Spain, Catalonia, this is called Catalonian modernism.

Casa Batllo, situated at the Passeig de Gracia in Barcelona, is one of these masterpieces built in the organic architecture style. The building itself was built in 1877, but Gaudi renovated it between 1904-1907 and it became a famous piece of art. The project was paid for by the merchant Josep Batllo i Casanovas, who was at that time a very rich and succesful businessman.

The red line in the design of the building was the representation of an enormous sea monster. All the lines, windows, walls.. are curved, referring to the waves of the sea. The facade and roof are covered in mosaic, reminding to the scales of a fish. The columns inside the masterpiece resemble the legs of a monster and the cooping of the roof is its spine. The balconies are the mouth and teeth, jumping out of the sea, trying to catch its prey. This peculiar concept is connected with the patron saint of Catalonia, Sant Jordi. He was a saint, not like the others. He was brave and known for his excellent fighting skills. The story goes he once killed a dragon.

The interior is flowing, where spaces are connected with walls or doors with organic shapes. Little see-throughs, windows and the same use of materials connect all the rooms and make it a complete whole. The colored glass gives the rooms a magical glare en creates the dreamy atmopshere gaudi was looking for.

References:

– www.casabatllo.es
– www.barcelona.com/barcelona_directory/monuments/casa_batllo
– San José Lahuerta: Casa Battlo , Gaudi, Barcelona – 2002
– Antoni Gaudi: Gaudi – 1987
– Tiziana Contri: Antoni Gaudi – 2006
– Juan Bassegoda Nonell: Gaudi, l’architettura dello spirito – 2009

Author: Max Vanhalst – Andrea Vaskova – Alena Mourova