234. Gaudí and La Sagrada Familia

Where: Barcelona, Spain
When: May 14, 2013
With: Suzannah, Rachel and Aryeh

One of the standout characteristics of Barcelona is all its weird and wacky architecture. And the man whose responsible for either creating, or at least inspiring, most of it is Antoni Gaudí. Born in 1852, his use of art nouveau to incorporate religion and/or nature created some of Barcelona's most recognizable buildings that continue to be ahead of their time in design, even today.

The first building we stumbled upon on our quest for Gaudí was the Casa Milà. When following along a steet of fairly square houses and facades, the exterior of this building surprises you with its undulating shape and steel balconies. Apparently its exterior is also indicative of the interior: there are no straight lines anywhere in the building. The other name for this building is La Pedrera, or "rock pile".

The line to get in was long, and the entrance fees were high, but apparently, the roof is like being in a colorful, candy wonderland and best viewed at the end of the day when the sun's light plays off the colors, tiles and shapes.  While we didn't get to see it, we headed into the gift shop, and got a sneak peak of the interior lobby.

The next stop on the tour was for Gaudí's main masterpiece: La Sagrada Familia. 

If you see any skyline view of Barcelona, you will immediately notice this building. While its multiple, candle-like spires stand out, its the multitude of cranes surrounding the building that get your attention. That's because despite being started in the mid-1800s, this building is not yet finished. Fingers are crossed for a completion on the 100th anniversary of his death in 2026. 

In what we were learning to be typical Gaudí fashion, the Sagrada Familia was not your typical building, let alone church. Gaudí  believed that nature and religion were one, and this was his opportunity to worship both through his design. 

The current entrance of the church is not what will ultimately be the entrance upon completion. Instead of entering through the main nave, your first view is the entrance on the western side. This may look counter-intuitive based on the position of the spires, but that's because there's still more spires to be built.  When it's done, it will look like the photo on the right (currently, only the tan portion has been completed). 

Over the current entranceway is an incredibly impressive series of sculptures depicting the stations of the cross. Carved in harsh, angular lines, the sad faces convey the gravity of the scene and the message. 

Upon entering, I have to say, I was completely blown away. Never in my life have I seen a building that comes closer to my imagination's depiction of a castle in a fairy tale. The play on light, the variety in color, and the design of the interior were just too much for my brain to handle, and I needed to stand in awe for a good five minutes before I could continue exploring. My camera just didn't do it justice.

Gaudí was very sensitive to the play on light. He said that both too much light and too little light cause blindness, so he tried to master the perfect balance inside the church. The prism of stained glass windows against the warm, white stone was a perfect combination. 

The interior had a feel that was very similar to the Casa Milà. The wave-like pattern of balconies gave a very water-like flow to the interior. This beachy feeling was further increased by the interior pillars. Rising up high above your head, the columns looked like giant palm trees, with carved leaves and branches making a canopy rather than a roof.

Unlike most churches, the center altar drew attention, but in a subtle way (surprising to do, given its surroundings). At the very top of the altar was what looked like a lit fire made of stone and light, leading up to the heavens and ending with a window that let in blinding white light from the outside.

 In the center of it all, looking down on you, were four stained-glass plaques containing animal representations of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I thought these were a cool way to pay tribute, but in an atypical way for a church.

The entire combination of all these different pieces is hard to capture, but here's my attempt.

On the other side of the church, the scene under the spires is distinctly different than the one at the entrance. Meant to depict scenes from the birth of Jesus, the design is far softer and happier. It was really cool to see such a clear example of how the design can give just as much impact as the scenes themselves.

After the Sagrada Familia, we continued on to our final stop on the very quick Gaudí tour of Barcelona, the Casa Batlló. Inspired by marine life, this building also stands in stark contrast to its neighboring buildings.

The rooftop looks like the scales of a fish, while the balconies look like the edges of a manta ray.

Again, we didn't enter, but the roof and interior are also supposed to be as weird and wacky as the outside. 

All-in-all, the contributions that Gaudí made to the city of Barcelona are clear. It would be so cool if one day, architecture took a page out of his 150 year old book and started creating more buildings like this in modern day life.