Gaudi's Barcelona
The native Catalan architect certainly left his mark on this
great city and a visit to Barcelona wouldn't be complete without
taking in some of his greatest works. An architect seemingly
without contemporaries, Gaudi's free-flowing post modern
creations were decades ahead of his time. The world has taken
note of Gaudi and this is reflected in the fact that the
properties mentioned below are all UNESCO world heritage sites.
La Pedrera
The real name for this building is in fact, Casa Mila - La
Pedrera is a nickname and means "the quarry" in Catalan. When
Gaudi built this residence between 1905 and 1907 most Catalan's
at the time lambasted the architect for defacing the city's
skyline, hence the derogatory moniker. Today none of these
negative connotations remain and, indeed, city residents view it
as one of their proudest landmarks. Standing on the Passeig de
Gracia the building does not contain one single straight line,
instead following a wave-like, organic form. Highlights include
the wild and wonderful wrought iron balconies and the rooftop
with its wonderfully original chimney stacks.
Casa Batllo
Gaudi was commissioned to refurbish this building by the owner,
Josep Batllo. Taking this brief Gaudi embarked on one of his
most daring and easily recognisable designs as he completely
transformed the old building. His radical design showed equal
disregard for the straight line and he added bone-like balconies
and used the "trencadis" technique of using shards of broken
tiles to create a shimmering mosaic of colour on the fa