Spain's Greatest Architect

One name is synonymous with Barcelona architecture and that is Antonio Gaudi. Gaudi, a native Spaniard, died in the 1920's but his creative daring was so ahead of others that he didn't need to live through the remainder of the 20th century in order to create enduring buildings capable of still captivating the imagination of Barcelona visitors in the era of instant communication and space travel.

Gaudi is most often associated with the Art Nouveau school of design but his works didn't rely exclusively on the stylized depictions of flora common to that movement but borrowed and bastardized various other styles, most notably, Gothic, to create his own permanent place in the architectural pantheon.

Sagrada Familia

This huge church was to be Gaudi's final masterpiece. As a testament to his genius he died before the demanding building was even enclosed and yet it's still considered a masterpiece. Leaning heavily toward Gothic, it's the most popular architectural site in Barcelona.

Casa Batllo

This six-story apartment building seems alive. Nothing is aggressively angular. Everything flows. Gaudi's style was not only sinuous but, indeed, sensuous. The balconies ripple. The texture is scaly. The facade seems fibrous.

Casa Mila

This multi-family private residence looks as if it was carved out of a solid chunk of rock. And in fact, it was derisively nicknamed "The Quarry." Regardless of its association with such a stationary form as rock, this building visually moves. It occupies a street corner but it doesn't appear to simply sit on the corner. Thanks to its wave-like facade lines Casa Mila seems to be undulating its way around that self-same corner.

Park Guell

Named after the businessman who financed the project, this assignment would seem the perfect job for Gaudi. Gaudi had spent his career learning to design man-made structures from observing structures in nature and now he would have the opportunity to design an urban setting where he could not only mimic nature but incorporate it, untranslated, into the final work.

Casa Vicens

If you want to see where it all begins, visit this villa outside of Barcelona. A businessman contracted Gaudi to design a summer house and garden. The end result was a structure that gave clues of what was to come. The house is more traditional in shape than future Gaudi projects, using more formal lines but look at all the media and color and construction techniques in this one house. This relatively sedate summer villa is considering the point at which Gaudi jumped off the conformist train and began hitchhiking through the figurative woods for inspirations in nature.

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Other noteworthy Gaudi sites in the Barcelona area include Palau Guell and Casa Calvert.