Barcelona Barcelona Design and architecture— —Design and architecture Modernisme Urban fairytales Design and architecture — The built environment Few cities in the world are as architecturally rich as Barcelona. The beguiling fairytale structures of Antoni Gaudí and his modernistes contemporaries defined the city’s visual identity and have inspired more than a century of imaginative, and at times surreal, architecture. But this is also a city that has refused to rest on its laurels. Look no further than the 1992 Olympics for proof: the Casa Comalat, Dreta de Recinte Modernista de Sant Catalan capital reinvented l’Eixample Pau, Guinardó itself with an explosion of Double the appeal Healing environment cutting-edge creations, celebrating the games Architect Salvador Valeri i This 27-pavilion complex with innovative structures Pupurull’s 1911 creation sits suffers from sitting behind La and a trailblazing tradition on a triangular plot of land that Sagrada Família (see page 111), of both graphic and affords it two different façades. which inevitably steals some industrial design. The main view on Avinguda of its thunder. But this work of So while we explore the Diagonal is symmetrical and modernisme is not to be missed. marvels of modernisme majestic, with a romantic The former hospital was we also delve deep into flourish: the banisters on the designed by Lluís Domènech Barcelona’s architectural balconies resemble the grille i Montaner, who died seven landscape, unlocking on a knight’s helmet and echo years before it was finished in its lesser-known gems. Gaudí’s nearby Casa Batlló, 1930. He believed in the healing There are modernist the epitome of modernisme. nature of beauty so he decked masterpieces that defied The side facing Carrer the grounds with stained glass, the monotony of the de Còrsega is more magical: ornate façades, allegorical fascist period, sci-fi-style colourful, irregular bay statues and all the other proper social housing projects windows curve around like a touches of modernisme. Indeed, and residential curios colourful tree and the ceramic if Gaudí’s works celebrate dotting the Eixample glaze patterning that adorns the the style, this is its carnival. It neighbourhood, not full façade further underlines was awarded Unesco World to mention the awe- Pupurull’s unique style. Sadly Heritage status in 1997. inspiring skyscrapers and the building isn’t open to the 167 Carrer de Sant Antoni contemporary wonders public but there’s more than Maria Claret, 08025 on the city’s skyline. enough to admire outside. 134 93 553 7801 442 Avinguda Diagonal, 08037 santpaubarcelona.org 106 107 Barcelona Barcelona Design and architecture— —Design and architecture Early 20th century Casa de les Punxes, Dreta Modernisme Post modernisme de l’Eixample Dragon layered Modernisme is often referred to as Catalan art nouveau but This fanciful house by such a proxy epithet doesn’t modernista architect Josep Puig i do the style justice. All eight BBVA Bank, Barri Gòtic Cadafalch embodies the story of Barcelona’s World Heritage Conspicuous wealth of Sant Jordi (Saint George), Unesco-listed buildings are Catalonia’s patron saint. products of the movement. A muscular structure that Cadafalch’s main influence Modernisme was born in screams prosperity and was Neuschwanstein Castle in the 1870s when Barcelona modernity – or it did in 1939, Bavaria, as seen in the casa’s was enjoying industrial when Barcelona was booming soaring, conical spires. prosperity and had recently – this art deco building by On the roof are four expanded beyond its medieval architect José Yárnoz Larrosa plaques: three pay homage walls. This afforded architects and painter Luis Menéndez to the sisters of the Terradas such as Antoni Gaudí and Pidal seems more fitting for family, for whom the house Josep Puig i Cadafalch a Wall Street than Barcelona. was built, and one depicts Sant torrent of commissions and Once the regional HQ of the Jordi, invoking him to guard the new neighbourhoods in which Bank of Spain, today it houses building. It’s a place steeped in to erect the structures of their the offices of bbva bank. Left allegory and fairytale romance dreams. This historic period of and right of the entrance are Casa Xina, L’Antiga Esquerra – even the bright shingles on flourishes was known as the two statues, one holding the de l’Eixample the roof resemble the reddish- renaixença (renaissance) and cog of industry and the other Fine China green scales of the dragon that brought with it a resurgence the crest of Catalonia: an the saint vanquished. of Catalan identity, which unambiguous statement of When Valencian architect Joan 420 Avinguda Diagonal, 08036 modernisme sought to the building’s purpose. Guardiola unveiled Casa Xina 134 93 016 0128 manifest in architectural form. 6 Plaça d’Antoni Maura, 08003 in 1930, writer Manuel Brunet casadelespunxes.es In homage to Catalan labelled it “a new milestone history, gothic, Moorish for the museum of horrors”, and medieval styles were a ridiculous offshoot of the woven together with the numerous modernista buildings nature-inspired motifs of art that had been similarly derided nouveau; allegorical themes two decades earlier. found expression on splendid As with modernisme, time façades; and imaginative, Barcelona Pavilion, Montjuïc has mollified the city’s opinion Casa Amatller, Dreta de colourful materials such as Reconstructed glory of Guardiola’s eccentricity. Art l’Eixample trencadís (broken ceramic deco-inspired motifs abound, Fusion of styles tiles) took centre stage. The Also known as the German with pagoda fans on the upper buildings that this period Pavilion, this gem was designed ledge and Egyptian-revivalist As the ziggurat-style roofing of produced are fairytales told by Mies van der Rohe for the graffito medallions dotting the the building suggests, architect with bricks and mortar rather 1929 Barcelona International façade. The interior is equally Josep Puig i Cadafalch drew than ink and paper. Exposition. Through green wondrous but you’ll need to on a breadth of architectural Although the movement marble, travertine, onyx, steel befriend a resident to see it. sources to design this house dwindled and finally fizzled out and glass he manifests the 54 Carrer de Muntaner, 08011 for chocolate magnate Antoni in 1911, it made an undeniable rebirth, modernity and honesty Amatller, from neo-gothic impression on the look of the that Germany sought to express to golden-age Amsterdam. city and continues to inspire after the First World War. The interior is an explosion architects in the modern era. While the furniture (including of modernisme. With twisting the white-leather Barcelona pink-marble columns, chair) is original, the structure romanesque mosaic floors and is a reconstruction. It was ornate carriage-sized fireplaces, dismantled after the exposition Casa Amatller makes as great but rebuilt in the 1980s by an impression today as it did Catalan architects. when completed in 1900. 7 Avinguda de Francesc Ferrer 41 Passeig de Gràcia, 08007 i Guàrdia, 08038 134 93 461 7460 134 93 215 1011 amatller.org miesbcn.com 108 109 Barcelona Barcelona Design and architecture— —Design and architecture Gaudí Design pioneer Antoni Gaudí i Cornet (1852 to 1926) altered Barcelona’s visual identity immeasurably. Inspired by neo-gothic and oriental styles, and drawing on natural shapes and imagery, he drove the modernisme movement and left a distinct mark on the city’s urban look. 01 — 02 La Sagrada Família, Sagrada Família: Under construction from Gaudí’s blueprints since 1882; completion is slated for 2026. 03 sagradafamilia.org 03 — 05 Casa Vicens, Gràcia: The first of Gaudí’s major casas, finished in 1885. Its style fuses an array of architectural traditions such as Moorish-revival. casavicens.org 06 Palau Güell, Barri Gòtic: Designed for Gaudí’s patron, Eusebi Güell, this house is 01 02 04 05 more neo-gothic. Its wrought- iron façade is a wonder. palauguell.cat 07 Casa Milà, Dreta de l’Eixample: Also known as La Pedrera (The Stone Quarry). Its chimneys resemble veiled faces, perhaps a nod to Spain’s Islamic heritage. lapedrera.com 08 Torre Bellesguard, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi: 11 Emulates the 15th-century castle of Martin I, King of Aragón, on the site of which it’s built. 06 07 10 bellesguardgaudi.com 09 — 10 Parc Güell, Gràcia: Head here for a taste of Gaudí’s eccentric gingerbread-like houses. parkguell.cat 11 — 12 Casa Batlló, Dreta de l’Eixample: This house resembles a cross-section of a dragon: the tiled roof is the scaly skin and the skeletal balconies the creatures it has consumed. casabatllo.es 08 09 10 12 110 111 Barcelona Barcelona Design and architecture— —Design and architecture Residential Living spaces Walden 7, Sant Just Desvern Futuristic feel To conceive this utopian social- housing project, architect Ricardo Bofill decamped to the Algerian desert in the 1970s with a handful of poets, philosophers and sociologists in search of an architectural vision. The result is Walden 7, whose name comes from the 1948 sci-fi novelWalden Two. Inside the terracotta-hued social-housing complex are 446 apartments, as well as gardens, fountains and two rooftop swimming pools (complete with a nudist section). The structure is also modular: the ceramic-tiled walls can be manipulated to add an extra window or join two apartments together for more space. It’s a grand utopian experiment La Ricarda, El Prat that, since 1975, has drawn as de Llobregat many intellectuals enamoured Smart home by Walden 7’s idealist design as working-class families wanting For decades La Ricarda better living standards. was a haven for Barcelona’s 106 Carretera Reial, 08960 intelligentsia, from Joan 134 93 371 8063 Miró to Josep Lluís Sert. walden7.com Catalan architect Antoni Bonet designed the modernist masterpiece as a country house for close friend Ricardo Gomis in 1963; the planning and construction took more than a decade, with Bonet scrapping an initial design in favour of the current style.