Symbolic Towers Jesus tower S till unconstructed, the Barcelona’s 558 feet church’s primary pillars will represent some of Christianity’s most important figures: Jesus, Natural Wonder Mary, the Gospel writers. PAUL PETER Financed entirely through private donations and tourist JAMES ANDREW revenue, the Sagrada Familia is inching closer to completion. THE GREATER A look at the church’s layout and design reveals a marvel JESUS of imaginative—and unprecedented—engineering. JOHN MATTHEW

BARNABAS PHILIP SIMON THOMAS JUDE BARTHOLOMEW MATTHIAS JAMES Apostles towers Evangelists towers Mary tower THE LESSER 410 feet 404 feet LUKE MARY MARK Barcelona

Madrid 384 SPAIN

Passion Grand Facades 367 E ach of the church’s 367 feet facade three facades depicts an event in the life of Christ. Construction The east-facing Nativity stages 351 feet symbolizes Christ’s birth, Completed 351 feet the Passion (west) his section death and resurrection, the incomplete Gloria (south) Sections not 323 yet built. the salvation of humanity. Details not yet finalized.

Gloria For his gargoyles, facade Gaudí chose to depict native wildlife—in particular, species (like this lizard) displaced by the Chapel of church’s construction. Penitence and the Blessed Sacrament

Sacristy

Nativity facade Chapel of the Assumption

Central vault 230 feet An Inner Forest T he Gothic interior is based Double on the Latin cross and set roof covering by initial architect Francisco del Villar. But Gaudí wanted the space to feel like a sylvan canopy. Columns rise like tree trunks before branching. Light is captured and reflected through a double roof. T he only facade with sculptures designed The choir’s The basic structure by Gaudí himself, the Baptistry Nativity focuses on Choir raised space of the entire church is the church’s namesake: holds 1,100 premised on a 24.6- the Holy Family. singers. foot grid. Most of the prominent features have proportions derived from this base measure.

Gaudí designed mosaics bearing the stylized initials of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph to mark the church’s crossing and apse. Lateral aisle

Central nave

Sacristy Crossing

Altar Cloister

Transept Cloister

Apse The total interior surface area of the church is 48,438 square feet and has room to Chapel seat 8,000 people.

et 295 197 fe

rart: fe nando g. baptista, shizuka aoki Cloister Design: fernando g. baptista and Oliver uberti research: kaitlin m. yarnall Text: Jeremy Berlin Gaudí fitted the MAP: Sam Pepple TIME LINE art: HIram Henriquez Sacristy consultants: JUNTA CONSTRUCTORA DEL TEMPLE EXPIATORI DE LA church’s crypt with SAGRADA FAMILIA, jordi cusso angles, Joan bassegoda, ANDREW D. light-welcoming CIFERNI. PHOTOS: DOS DE ARTE (lizard AND NATIVITY FACADE), JUNTA windows. He is still CONSTRUCTORA DEL TEMPLE EXPIATORI DE LA SAGRADA FAMILIA (MOSAIC) OPPOSITE SIDE: archive of the templo de la sagrada familia (gaudí the only person PORTRAIT), rebecca hale, ng staff (VINE), DOS DE ARTE (PINNACLES), buried here. STEPHEN CHAO (NAVE INTERIOR) Copyright © DECEMBER 2010 National Geographic Society

A Work in Progress H ere are some key steps in the church’s slow march to completion.

1893 1933 1978 2010 2020 2026 Eleven years after the The Nativity facade—which The Passion towers are Designed by Gaudí to The church’s main towers After 144 years, first stone was laid, Gaudí intended as the church’s completed. Later, sculptor both capture and distribute are slated to be finished. work on the the church’s crypt and structural and decorative Josep Maria Subirachs light, the central nave’s This will nearly double Sagrada Familia apse are finalized. template—is completed. begins the facade. vaulting is completed. the structure’s total height. will be completed.

1883 Gaudí becomes chief 1926 Gaudí dies 1936 The Spanish Civil T 1939 he civil war ends. 1992 Barcelona hosts the 2010 Pope Benedict XVI architect of the church. in Barcelona. War begins. Many of Gaudí’s Construction begins again Summer Olympics, boosting consecrates the basilica. 3-D models are burned. based on remaining models. church revenue via tourism.

remove poster here Design by Nature

Gaudí pioneered an architecture based on Sketch by Gaudí nature’s geometric forms. Structural and ornamental, they reflect his native region—and ingenuity.

Structures O rnaments Having observed their functional perfection Gaudí’s sense of aesthetic beauty in nature, Gaudí used twisted surfaces and was directly tied to physical utility. curved planes as the organic bases of his If perfect practicality arises in buildings. His columns, arches, and stairways the natural world, he concluded, all stem from this notion of natural design. so too must sublime decoration.

Columns Other Structures In his quest for a perfect column, Arches Follow Gravity H oneycomb Gates Gaudí studied the helicoid All of Gaudí’s works feature catenary T he patterns of honeycombs and growth of many plants—patterns arches, which form naturally via gravity palm fronds are etched on the that let leaves receive sunlight and are visible when a rope is hung. gates, walls, and floors of many of and lend structural strength. To determine the load capabilities Gaudí’s early architectural works. of the church’s arches, Gaudí hung proportionally measured sacks of lead.

Light

Romanic Gothic Gaudí

Gaudí’s ingenious three-dimensional Iron railing on the arch models were Nativity facade photographed and used in lieu of building plans.

Chinese abelia Vine Lines grows in a Gaudí often incorporated helicoid pattern. naturally spiraling helices. Passion fruit tendrils, for instance, adorn the side Diffuser walls of the Nativity facade. H ow It Works Gaudí’s columns follow the natural weight-distribution Double Roof pattern of trees. Beginning A unique feature Passion fruit vine with an eight-sided polygon of the church’s roof, and following the logic of quadric surfaces a double-twisting helicoid, called hyperboloids columns gain sides and reflect and filter Frieze on the Nativity facade strength with height. natural light.

Cologne Cathedral, Germany Spiral Stairways Found in plants, animals, and planetary systems, spirals are a recurring shape and theme in Gaudí’s works. O rganic Windows The Following the patterns found on Status quo natural objects, like those on a In Gothic marine diatom, Gaudí designed cathedrals, windows to allow for greater lateral loads are supported by passage of natural light. flying buttresses. Gaudí disliked the aesthetics of this system and considered buttresses to Garden snail be “crutches.”

Snail shells and falling maple-seed pods are among the natural spirals that Gaudí studied. 199 psi 356 psi 142 psi Marine diatom Pressure on the Stairway in columns in pounds Sagrada Familia per square inch Windows on the cloister Twop vie Area of detail LeaflikeR oofs T aken from the structure of a leaf and applied to a roof design, a curved plane called a conoid bears great weight and can Magnolia leaf Pinnacles of Detail channel rainwater. T he tower tops of the Sagrada Familia are modeled on the Sagrada architect’s study of crystals, Familia, cereal grain spikes, and Spain grasses growing in and around Barcelona. Gaudí’s response Gaudí strayed School designed from the Gothic by Gaudí tradition in part Pyrite by shifting the lateral load of the Sagrada Familia onto the nave columns— Gaudí looked at the geometry an engineering Tree Structures of crystallization in minerals feat made T o create the church’s such as pyrite, fluorite, and possible due inner “forest,” Gaudí galena and incorporated them to the column etched tree features in many of his works. systems’ unique 64 sides Designed to into his columns. house artificial load-bearing The crown of the capabilities. lights, Gaudí’s 6.5 feet columns copy column in the central the scars that nave represents the Lavender, 32 sides form naturally transition between wheat, and when a tree the trunk and branches grasses were branch is cut. of a great tree. some of the 1,138 psi 569 psi 159 psi plants Gaudí studied as he 13 feet designed his H yperbolic pinnacles. Hyperbolic paraboloids paraboloid abound in nature. Examples include tree Top view Area of detail 16 sides roots connected to trunks and the webbing between Lavender the human thumb and index finger.

The main columns of the Sagrada Familia come in four sizes and shapes, all of which finish in a circle. The diameter and number of sides depend on the load the column needs to bear. 26 feet

Pinnacle on the Apse

12-sided 10-sided 8-sided 6-sided Kapok tree Column base from 69 feet tall 57 feet 46 feet 34 feet the Passion facade

8 sides

Barcelona Gaudí’s Works 1 Sagrada Familia 2 Casa Vicens 9 3 Finca Güell 8 N 4 Palau Güell 5 5 Col·legi de les 2 Teresianes 10 3 1 ES 6 Casa Calvet 7 AVINGUDA DIAGONAL LAN 3 mi 12 ATA 7 Cripta de la (5 km) 11 Colònia Güell 6 8 Bellesguard A DE LES CORTSGOTHIC C 9 Parc Güell N VI RA QUARTER G 4 10 Finca Miralles 11 Casa Batlló 0 mi 1 Medit. 12 Casa Milà (La Pedrera) 0 km 1 MONTJUÏC Sea 13 El Capricho de Comillas 14 Palacio Episcopal FRANCE Barcelona’s Architect de Astorga 13 Barcelona Most of Gaudí’s works 15 Casa de los 14 15 17 are found in or around Botines de León PORTUGAL CATALONIA 16 Barcelona. They have 16 Celler Güell Madrid become symbols of 17 Primer Misteri de Lisbon SPAIN 18 both the city and the Glòria a Montserrat region of Catalonia. 18 Catedral de Palma R appelling workers lend a sense of scale to the church’s central nave vaulting. de Mallorca

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