The works

of

ANTONIO
GAUDI

THE AMERICAN HOTEL

Around 1908, Gaud was allegedly
approached by an
American businessman who
commissioned a design for a
hotel in New York, to include
exhibition space, lecture halls
and restaurants. Juan Matamala,
Gaud's collaborator in sculpture, has
provided drawings of this project
which
show a building somewhat
reminiscent of the recent Casa
Mil in its lower details. Intended to
be only slightly smaller than the
Eiffel Tower, the soft-nosed bullet
forms sluggishly torpedo into space.

Double exterior walls were to have

provided space of elevators and staircases.
The structure
would
be topped by a starred spherical
observatory in the
shape of a sea urchin, capable of
holding up to thirty
people. The halls in the large
central tower were to be
reserved for conventions,
theater and exhibitions. Around
the halls were to be lobbies, elevators
and observation
galleries. The lateral towers were
to be occupied by bars,
smoking rooms, rooms for
small meetings and a few
apartments.

BELLESGUARD
The Torre Bellesguard also
known as la Casa
Figueras, is located at
16-20 Carrer de Bellesguard in
Barcelona. It was built from
1900-1905 in an area close to
the Collserola
mountain, in the vicinity
of the spot where the Counts
of Barcelona had a palace of
the same name though little
trace of the palace remained in
the 19th century. building.

Doa Mara Sagus, widow

of Jaime Figueras commissioned
the house after acquiring a large
tract of land there. The
openings of the building are
geminate or triform, tall and
narrow, except where the
balconies mark a break in this
sheer hard
skin. The turret on the corner is
crowned with a glass-covered
four-armed cross that appears to
shimmer in the sun. The
building is mostly constructed
of local stone and brick.

The ceramic benches in

front of
the house and those in the
garden are the work of
Gaud's
assistant, Domingo
Sugraes, and do not keep
with the general style of
the building.

BODEGAS GUELL
In 1895, Count Gell decided
to construct a new edifice
on his vineyard at Garraf,
near Sitges, on the rocky
coast of the Mediterranean
Sea. The building
contained living quarters,
stores, wine cellars and a
personal chapel, was
constructed with local
stone and brick.

Finished at the turn of the century,

it is a magnificent example of
adaptation to the older adjacent
buildings, among them a
medieval tower, united by means
of a parabolico arc. Although
begun by Gaud, his collaborator
Francisco Berenguer
Mestres(1866-1914), was
responsible for much of the
direction of the work. However,
the Bodegas certainly bear
Gaud's mark. Notable is the
guard house at the main entrance
with its beautiful iron gate,
formed by braided chains.

CASA BATTLO
The Casa Batll is an Apartment
building in Barcelona which
was totally renovated by
Gaud from 1904 to 1906 on
a commission from the textile
industrialist Josep Batll i
Casaanovas. Along with the
Casa Amatller by Puig i
Cadafalch (1900) and the
Casa Lle Morera by
Domnech i Montaner
(1905), the Casa Batll
makes up the Manana de la
Discrdia (Block of Discord).

Casa Batll reflects an intense

yet abstract naturalism. At the
first floor level of the
undulating facade is a striking
stone structure in the form of
a loggia (roofed open gallery)
supported by columns that
frame windows decorated
with stained
glass. The
ceramics and multi-colored
glass mosaics of the upper
part are interrupted by
aggressive iron balconies in
the form of masks.

Crowning the whole is a

suggestive tile roof over
double garrets which evokes
the back of a fantastic dragon.
Also on the roof is a round
tower with a floral dome
topped with a four-branched
cross, one of Gaud's favorite
motifs, behind which stand
the colorful sculpted
chimneys with their allusions
to sturdy guardians.

The interior impresses as well. An

splendid hall stands at the
entrance with winding stairs
and
attractively designed
windows which are cast with
changing blue tones according
to the graduated
colors of
the ceramic tiles. The first floor
was decorated by Gaud who
created some of his best
interior design pieces for it in
magnificently built fireplaces,
wooden floors, furniture,
stained glass,and wrought iron
elements

Rear view of Casa Battlo

CASA CALVET
Casa Calvet (Calvet House),
located at No. 48 Carrer de
Casp in Barcelona, was
erected between 1898 and
1900 for the Calvets, a
family of textile
industrialists. It was built
with offices on the ground
floor,though the space now
hosts a restaurant. Gaud's
most conventional work, it
received the Barcelona City
Council Award in 1900.

The edifice is the first built by

Gaud along the strictly
codified lines of houses in the
Eixample district. The stone
facade with its bay windows
and sculptural
decoration as well as the
vestibule, stairway, and
elevator reflect baroque
influences. The
remainder shows a much more
personal and functional
solution in which
the bay-windows form a
visual continuity..

The roof is topped with two

pediments, each
supporting a wrought iron
cross, and are surrounded
by various pieces of stone
ornamentation as well as
statues
of San Gins and Saint
Peter, patron saints of the
Calvet home town of
Vilasar de Mar.

CASA MILA
Casa Mila also known as La
Pedrera(the quarry), is an
apartment building situated
at Passeig de Grcia No. 92
in Barcelona was built
between 1906 and 1910 for
the Mila family The last
example of Gaudi's civil
architecture, it is one of his
finest and most ambitious
creations, extraordinarily
innovative in its functional,
constructive, and
ornamental aspects.

The spacious apartments are arranged

along the facade & around 2 large
interior patios. From these patios a
spiral staircase connects with the
first floors while a ramp leads to the
underground carriage area. This
plan used a new and audacious
building structure supported on
columns of stone & brick and
incorporating a steel web without
load-bearing walls. This gave a total
freedom to the distribution of the 5
floors where broken undulating
planes dominated, forming
curvilinear perspectives.

CASA VICENS
The residential Casa Vicens
(Vicens House) was built
between1883 and 1888 for the
ceramics industrialist Manuel
Vicens i Montaner at No. 22
Carrer de les Carolines in
Barcelona.
This budding originality of
Gaudis style is seen in the
bands of glazed ceramic on
thelower part of the building
and on the columns of the
upper
section with its large towers at
the corners.

Especially exceptional is the

interior decoration in Mudejar
style, a combination of the
elements of Christian art with
Arab ornamentation. The
interior is at times completely
patterned
after decorative styles in
vogue in Granada in the 14th
and 15th centuries, such as the
stylized stalactitic ceiling in
the fumoir.
Indeed, many of these elements
can still be seen in
theAlhambra.

The ceiling is vividly

naturalistic in expression
with sculpted sparrows and
bunches of cherries surrounding
the beams suspended by slender
cords.The flowers and plants
destroyed by the construction
reappear in the building as
elements of the architecture. The
building was expanded in 19251926 under the architect Juan B.
de Serra
Martnez keeping to the original
style and under the guidance of
Gaud. The building remains
privately owned.

COLEGIO TERESIANO
The Colegio Teresiano is a
convent-school located at
319 325 calle de
Ganduxer, Barcelona. Its
roots extend back to 1876,
when the priest Enrique de
Oss i Cervell founded
the Compaia de Santa
Teresa de Jess, an
institute for female
Catholic teachers in his
native town Vinebre in
Tarragona.

The congregation purchased some land at

the municipal terminus of San Gervasi
de Cassoles for 130,000 pesetas from
the Ganduxer family upon which the
orders new headquarters was to be
constructed. On September 1 the same
year, the foundation stone of the
new building was laid under
the direction of an unknown Architect.
Later that year, the Reverend Oss
offered the project to Gaud for reasons
unknown. Construction proceeded
rapidly. The Colegio was built in less
than two years. Its completion was
shortly after that of the Palau Gell. The
differences in conception and
style demonstrate Gauds continued
experimentation while the similarities
bear Gauds unique style.

The exterior of the building presents

a rhythm of parabolic arches that
are
concealed
in the setting of the windows of
the central building, themselves
in parabolic
form behind rectangular blinds.
On the main faade, a
jutting-out section,
which rises to the height of the
second floor, breaks
the flat surface to form a
gallery.. The entrance gate is a
graceful parabolic arch, closed at
its base by a wrought iron gate.

Elsewhere on the faade,

Gaud used brick
extensively, including for
the window frames, the
ducts of the floor
ventilation, in the
verandah of the flat roof,
in the Communitys Coat
of Arms, and in the four
doublebranched crosses.

COLONIA GUELL
Colonia Guell (Guell Colony) is
a textile estate which Eusebi
Gell installed in Santa
Coloma de Cervello, near the
Llobregat River outside of
Barcelona. Gaudi designed the
estate's
church while the
Cooperative and some of the
houses were completed by his
disciples F. Berenguer and J
Rubio i Bellver. Gaudi began
work on the church in 1898
but only the crypt was finished
(1908-1916).

Situated on a pine-covered hill, the

ground plan is
inscribed in the shape of
an irregular oval with the
central body
divided by two bays which, by
means
of 4 central columns, support a
series of irregular exposed brick
ribs. Surrounding this is an
ambulatory with other columns
supporting the ribs of the roof. In
front of the entrance is a porch
which is right beside the stairway
leading to the upper level where
the church was to be built.

The pillars are inclined in

accordance with the loads the
have to bear while the
traditional
Catalan brick vault adopts the
form known as hyperbolic
paraboloid (saddle-shaped),
years ahead of its modern
avant-garde architecture. The
crypt is constructed of roughhewn basaltic stone brick with
mosaics and stained glass in
doors and windows.

PALAU GUELL
The Palau Gell (Gell
Palace), an urban residence
built between 1886 and 1888
for the family of Eusebi Gell
Bacigalupi, is located at No.35
Carrer Nou de la Rambla in
Barcelona. It became the first
large scale work by Gaud to
clearly manifest the search
for new ideas in construction
as well as a totally personal,
innovative interpretation of
historical styles.

The facade is of rather severe stone

with a running balcony along
the first floor, rectangular and
vertical in design, with two
large doors in the form of
catenary Arches. Between these
is set a massive coat of arms of
Catalonia in wrought iron. The
door grilles are of an interesting
sinuous decoration, topped with
an interwoven wrought iron
"G". Each of the gates leads to a
corresponding rear door to the
where the stables were situated.

Crowning the structure is a unique roof

with 18 projecting chimney and
ventilation pipes in various suggestive
forms covered in trencads (broken
pieces of ceramic) . A bat-shaped wind
vane points the wind direction
between a cross and a textured, stone
spire. The rear facade is adorned with
a bay window equipped with a fine
wooden jalousie. UNESCO classified
Palau Gell as World Heritage in
1984. It now houses the Library of the
Institut del Teatre.

PARK GUELL
An urban park on Carrer d'Olot
standing on the Muntanya
Pelada to the north of the
Barcelona district of Grcia,
Gaud planned and directed
the construction of the park
from 1900 to 1914 for
Eusebi Gell as
infrastructure and facilities
for a residential garden city
based on English models. It
was intended for sixty
single-family residences.

The project was unsuccessful and

the park became city property in
1923. 2 pavilions at the main
entrance complete the wall
surrounding the park. Intended as
a porter's lodge and administrative
building, these pavilions are of
stone with roofs of Catalan vaults
of flat-laid brick finished with
pieces of broken ceramic called
trencads. The ceramic trencads
follows the sinuous geometric
surfaces, a device which gives all
of the park's ornamentation a
unique beauty.

A grand stairway divided by a

mythological dragon or lizard
(which also serves as an overflow
for the cistern) leads to the large
hypostyle hall destined as the
housing development's market
place. The dragon is the oftphotographed symbol of the park
to its visitors.The hall is built with
84 columns of Doric inspiration
supporting quarter-sphere domes.
These in turn support the great
upper plaza, a fine balcony
overlooking the city and the sea.

Another feature is the large cistern

for collecting rain water from the
plaza by way of the columns. The
cistern lies beneath the Hypostyle.
Also noteworthy are the viaducts
which support the roads for
vehicular traffic with retaining
walls and robust inclined pillars
which form elegant arches faced
with rough-hewn stone. Near the
base stands the house which
Gaud had built for his own use in
the park, has since been converted
into the Casa- Museu Gaud.

PAVELLONS GUELL
The Pavellons Gell, also
referred to as Finca Gell
and Pabellones Gell, consist
of the stables and porter's
lodge (1884-1887) on what
is now Avinguda de
Pedralbes which were
designed by Gaud for the
large Gell estate that was
later converted into Pedralbes
Palace.

The 2 buildings are separated by a

monumental gate of cast iron
and connected to the body of the
pinnacle which bears the letter
"G", crowned by floral motifs.
An extraordinary wrought iron
dragon , part of the gate, guards
the main entrance, a reference to
the mythological garden of the
Hesperides, inspired by J.
Verdaguer's long epic poem
"Atlntida" written in 1877. The
dragon sits on a square base,
Composed of cast iron plates
engraved with roses.

The structure itself is of brick

vaults and parabolic arches
corresponding to a Catalan
tradition with Gothic roots.
The exterior decoration of
tile, ceramic, and false
mosaic is of Oriental tradition.
The construction, which is of
stone at the base, makes
use on the outside walls of
blocks of adobe brick joined
by pillars and strings of
brick. The adobe is decorated
with moldings of geometrical
motifs.The parabolic arches
are in cantilever brick.

PUERTA DE LA FINCA
MIRALLES
At the turn of century, Gaudis
friend, the printer and
publisher Hermengild Miralles,
requested Gaudi to design a
wall enclosing a great
property that he had in Sarri.
Gaudi designed the entire
wall,consisting of 36
sections, as well as the front
entrance.

The work was completed during

1901-1902. The front gate is
the only remaining portion, and
can be seen in the paseo
Manuel Girona. Steel cables
bear the weight of the pitched
roof over the entrance. The
entrance is crowned by an iron
four-armed cross, a favorite
motif of Gaudi. The wall was
topped with a grate and
extended from the gate with a
sinuous and serpentine
movement.

SAGRADA FAMILIA PARISH

SCHOOL
This was a cheap simple
Building erected quickly in
1909 to the side of the spot
where Gaudi planned to erect
the Gloria facade of the
church. The building's
provisional character led
Gaudi to employ an
economical procedure and to
rely to the maximum on the
structural properties of
the humble materials used.

Resting on a stone base, the

rippling brick walls
provide an effective
counterpoint of convex
and concave movements
and the treatment of the
tile roof is Gaudi's clearest
example of hyperbolic
form. It was a drawing of
this work that Le
Corbusier chose to record
in his notebook during his
visit to Barcelona in 1928.

EXPIATORY TEMPLE OF THE

SACRED FAMILY
The monumental church El
Temple Expiatori de la
Sagrada Famlia is Gaud's
most famous work, the
finest sample of his
visionary genius, and a
world-wide symbol of
Barcelona.Gaudi dedicated
his life, in his later years to
the exclusion of all else, to
carrying out this ambitious
undertaking which due to
his sudden death was left
unfinished.

The church was based on the plan

of a Gothic basilica with five
naves, a transept, an apse, and
ambulatory. Gaud planned
monumental facades on the
central nave and the arms of the
transept. He wanted to give the
edifice a spectacular vertical by
way of an effusion of pinnacles
and high, spiral-shaped towers
which would be covered in
abstract patterns of Venetian
glass Mosaic crowned by
Episcopalian symbols and the
cross.

Works personally undertaken by

Gaud are the neo-Gothic crypt,
the constructed part of the apse,
and the magnificent facade of the
Nativity (eastern side). Of the 4
towers Of this facade, Gaud
only saw that of St. Barnabas
completed. Gaud became
obsessed with the church to the
point that he set up residence in
his on-site study On June 7,
1926, Gaudi was hit by a street
car while crossing the Gran Va
at Gerona.3 days later not having
regained consciousness, Gaud
died at the age of 74.

Work continued on the church,

until it was interrupted in 1936
when the crypt and Gaud's study
holding his notes and designs
were burnt by Spanish Civil War
shelling. The project was resumed
in 1952. From 1954 to 1976, the
facade and the 4 towers of the
Passion (Western side) were
completed. The sculptor Josep. M.
Subirachs joined the project team
to work on the sculptures on the
Portal of Passion in 1987.

Today, the constructed part is

open to visitors as well as the
small Museu del Temple
Expiatori de la Sagrada
Famlia with maquettes and
drawings showing the
construction process. The
towers can be climbed as
well offering incredible
vistas of the city.