While in Barcelona we went to several buildings designed by Antoni Gaudi, the Church de la Familia, Casa Batllo, Palau Guell, Guell Park and Mila la Padrera. Gaudi had a very different way of envisioning life and it carried over into his designs. When he received his architectural degree the professor started he was not sure if they graduated a architect or a mad man, only time will tell.
Casa Batllo
Kind of a combination of a hobbit house, HR Pufnstuff, and a gingerbread house. All done with great craftsmanship. The rooms were not large, and went from one room to another with the staircase being near the center.
The ceilings weren’t real high, like we are used to seeing in the older buildings. I think all the corners, inside & out, up & down, were curvy.
The window frames were as well. Window casings were such that if there were 3 windows, they each provided support for the next one. They could be raised & lowered individually or all together, leaving a large window opening without obstructions to your view.
The doors don’t close flush with the frame, they are offset to overlap the door frame.
Much of the glass in the windows and transoms is leaded & stained. The colors are mostly muted rather than deep.
The front facade rises above the roof line. From certain angles, the shingles & roof edge looks like a dragon.
What we would today call an apartment complex, it is a
large building with homes for many families.
Because the apartments are occupied, we were allowed to view only two on the upper floor, along with the roof and attic.
Some of the art work on the roof looks like it came out of Star Wars, it was very interesting.
Gaudi was a very religous man, he used crosses and other religous symbols in his designs.
He studied odd and unusual shapes and utilized these many different things to enhance his designs. This is the skeleton of a Python.
The skeleton of the Python above is the inspiration for the attic shown in this picture
The rooms were as they were in the early 1920s, it was like looking back in time.
The furnishings were beautiful and in fantastic shape for being as old as they were. Like his houses the pieces were unique and very interesting.
This is a small detail on the original hand made lace curtains. They were very impressive for hand made, I wonder how long it took to make them.
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