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Joel
Joel
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Editor Pick

More of Gaudi's Masterpieces

  • October 18, 2009
  • Rated 4 of 5 by airynfaerie from St. Augustine, Florida
More of Gaudi's Masterpieces

Two buildings by Barcelona's famed architect and designer, Antoni Gaudi lie within blocks of each other and are noted stops for visitors of all ages while in the city. The Casa Batilo and Casa Mila (La Pedrera) are both located on Passeig de Gracia and are two of the most noted pieces of Gaudi's work besides the Sagrada Familia and Park Guell.

This section of the boulevard Passeig de Gracia which contains both buildings is known as the Mancana de la Discòrdia, or "Block of Discord". Named for the discourse of several modern buildings, both with each other and with the buildings around them. Visitors can enjoy the large sidewalks along the avenue with the decorative street lights and tree-line paths, while passing the works of three noted architects including Gaudi, Cadafalch, and Montaner.

Casa Batilo was build in 1877, but restored by Gaudi in 1905. The exterior resembles bones and skeletal forms to many, and even if this wouldn't be the description you'd choose, it definitely is a unique facade by any means. As in true Gaudi form, nature remained his primary influence, as he chose colors from the sea and coral for the mosaic like exterior. Designed for a wealthy aristocrat, it now is a public museum, and is highly praised by architects worldwide for the attention to detail, unique forms, and strange usages of organic shapes.

Casa Mila, is also known as La Pedrera (meaning "quarry") because of the stone-like and rocky form. Originally built as apartments between 1906-1910, now this unique building is a public museum. The exterior is one of Gaudi's most recognized piece of work, and although plain in colors and adornments, is rich with strange wavy shapes and whimsical rooftop chimneys. Located on a corner, this building is shaped so that each space during the day gets at least a little bit of sunlight. Supposedly though, one of the reasons it didn't work as an apartment building, was because renters couldn't place their furniture because of each room's odd shape.

Just a walk along the Block of Discourse to view the exteriors of these buildings in an experience in itself, but if you've save up enough euros for the entrance fees, then by all means, take the trips inside...another world awaits you there.

CASA BATLLO
• http://www.casabatllo.es/
• Casa Batlló, No.43 Passeig de Gràcia
• Metro stop Green Line, L3: Passeig de Gràcia
• Admission fee: 17.50euros
• Open daily 9am - 8pm

CASA MILA (La Pedrera)
• http://www.lapedreraeducacio.org/flash.htm
• Passeig de Gràcia, No.92
• Metro stop Green Line, L3: Diagonal
• Admission fee: 9.50euros
• Open daily 9am - 6:30pm (winter), 9am - 8pm (summer)

From journal Some of the Major Sites of Barcelona

Editor Pick

In Nature there are no Straight Lines...

  • September 10, 2009
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Jennifer23 from Sunderland, United Kingdom
During my recent trip to Barcelona, I was very interested in visiting the various works of Antoni Gaudi.
Having visted Parc Guell and The Unfinished Church, we then went to visit La Casa Mila, or 'La Pedrera' as it is more commonly known.

Placed in Paseo de Gracia, work on La Pedrera began in 1905 and finished in 1910, it is the last commissioned work that Gaudi undertook, before concentrating his last years on La Sagrada Familia (the Unfinished Church).
The owner, Pere Mila Camps had purchased the land, and having seen some of Gaudi's other work, he commissioned him to build a large building of rental flats on his land.


A first look at this five floor building is enough in order to understand it's nickname: La Pedrera ( the stone quarry). Standing outside looking up at this building, I really thought it looked fantastic, with its curves and rounded balconies, working on the theme of Gaudi's thoughts : 'In nature, there are no straight lines'.
Our guide told us it is described as a stone mountain with caverns which open to the facade. A building of impressive, visual strength. I must agree that is quite an accurate description.

The facade of this building is composed of a series of waves that go along with the movement of the whole structure.
Gaudi himself declared "...the sun will invade everywhere and it will be like an image of paradise on earth..."

There was quite a long queue outside of visitors waiting to gain entry to the building, but fortunately we did not have to wait too long. Inside you can visit an apartment, ( many of the apartments are privately owned ) and I thought these look even more unusual when inside, with rounded, waving walls and curves.
There is also an exhibition on the main floor.
Deep courtyards, sculptures, gardens which stick out into an empty space, I really have never been in a building anything like this! It really is very clever and beautiful in a strange way.

Climbing up to the attic and terrace of this building, you once again appreciate the fantasy of this revolutionary architect. I loved the unusual chimneys and sculptures up on the terrace.

We were told that there were various problems with the city chiefs during and after construction, mainly due to size limits being exceeded.
The main problem was the height of the building exceeding the limit imposed. This lead to the City Hall ordering the attic to be torn down, or the owner would have to pay a fine of 100,000 pesetas, which was almost one fifth of the cost of construction.
Eventually after many arguments, a meeting was held, and it was decided that the building had great artistic value and became exempt from the imposed limits.
Gaudi was so happy that he asked for a copy of the official minutes.
I am pleased that the issues were resolved without the attic having to be torn down as it was one of my favourite parts of the building.

Open daily, entrance to La Pedrera is 9 Euros, however, if spending some time in Barcelona you can purchase a discount card from tourist information centres and online. This gives you free unlimited transport on the Barcelona transport network, and free entry or discount to many attractions.
Discounts are also available in restaurants and shops on production of your card. You are also given a map and guide - invaluable when sight-seeing as this city is huge!
The Barcelona card is valid from 2-5 days, with the price varying depending on how many days you choose. A two day pass is 26 Euros , rising to 42 Euros for 5 days, so the longer you choose, the more you save. A reduced rate is available for children.
Visit Spainbookers.com for more information regarding booking online.

If you are a fan of Gaudi's work, as I am, then no trip to Barcelona is complete without a trip to La Pedrera. It was declared a World Heritage site in 1984.

From journal A Break in Barcelona

Editor Pick

Casa Mila

  • March 19, 2008
  • Rated 5 of 5 by MichaelJM from Nottingham, England
Casa Mila

Before you even enter the Mila you’re with the strange and yet fascinating world of Gaudi – the building looks “off the wall” from the main street and I could feel the excitement building as I neared the front of the queue for the ticket booth. The mosaic walls are enhanced by the organic curves of the bow windows and the randomly shaped and positioned balconies. Delicately carved “twig like” columns serve more as decorative additions rather than structural support and the 20 plus windows over 5 floors almost seem to be smiling down at us. This place has character and really doesn’t seem to be an inanimate building – I know that sounds daft, but the house does seem to “live”.

Once inside two magnificent decorative vases catch our attention (you’d actually be hard-pressed to ignore this colourful twosome) standing proudly on tall tables on the highly polished wooden floor under an eye-like inset light and in the stairwell of a fantastic wooden staircase. The detail, even at this early point of our visit is incredible and I’m both amused and fascinated by the beautifully finished and unique wavy skirting board.

It’s impossible not to caress the stair rail as we ascend to the first floor and enter a womb like ante room. Throughout the building elaborate leaded windows abound and there’s an abundance of fascinating, dare I say fantastic (in the literal sense) chandeliers, and some truly amazing windows. The walls of the house are creatively sculptured confirming my belief that this dwelling almost “lives”. There’s a brilliant, almost amusing, log burning stove set back in a recessed accessed by a mushroom shaped open entrance. In this recess are a couple of bench seat, fully integrated with the tiled walls, where on a cold winter’s day the house’s occupants could snuggle down to keep warm.

The main room of the first floor is exquisite with its sensational partially stained glassed windows, their intriguing shape and those delicate pillars. A myriad of colours and shadows drench the room giving a surreal sensation on the senses. Although I felt things couldn’t get any better the house piles more of the Gaudi experience on to you.

Magnificent shaped and sculptured doors give a soft and delicate feel to the entrances and the amazing atrium, with a bizarre four-person lift is just amazing to behold. It’s tiled in beautifully contrasting blues that catches the light to perfection and numerous windows look down on to this open-air courtyard.

We headed next for the house’s courtyard and garden space. By now you won’t be surprised to read that once again this space is “littered with mosaics” and the view of the back of the house, with its fine wrought iron balconies is almost reminiscent of an ocean liner. The lines of the house undulate both horizontally and vertically given the house a unique appearance.

We’d walked up the stairs and I was determined to trey out the lift. However, it’s real small so I was guaranteed a wait. Not that it mattered because there were plenty of things to check out whilst waiting: the crazy doors that open onto the landing; the immaculate tiling; the carefully constructed lift space; the airiness of the atrium, beautifully constructed, staircases; shiny marbled steps. Just to highlight a few!
The journey down in the lift was steady and comfortable but you wouldn’t want to suffer from claustrophobia and having reached the bottom I couldn’t resist climbing the staircase once again to check out parts that I'd missed on my ascent.

What a great, fascinating experience - can't recommned it highly enough.

From journal A Bit of Gaudi

Editor Pick

Casa Mila - Top Floor and Beyond

  • March 13, 2008
  • Rated 5 of 5 by MichaelJM from Nottingham, England
Casa Mila - Top Floor and Beyond

The roof spaces are never usually designed to inspire and often you’d only clamber to the top to explore the view, but here at Casa Mila you’ll get the best of both worlds. There’s almost a 360° panorama of the City’s skyscape, but more impressive is the Gaudi influence on the foreground. It’s almost weaved into the cityscape and although this will have changed considerably over the years it’s almost as if Gaudi took account of it when undertaking the work high up here on the roof of Casa Mila.

Of course like many rooftops there’s a plethora of chimney pots but these are somewhat different - there’s a myriad of colours on the curious shaped stacks and for Lewis Caroll fans you’d almost be excused thinking that you’d passed through Alice’s looking glass. The chimneys twist and turn with each curve lovingly covered in shiny mosaic tiling. Each stack is topped with a carefully crafted pyramid and a tiny sphere seems to hang timorously at the pinnacle. Each one is unique.

At one end of the roof is a curiously shaped building, which I suspect must have been a storage space at one time. People were queuing up enter, so of course we need to join the throng and check out the inside of the building. Some people come out looking slightly bemused whilst others seem highly animated and excited. We wait in line! We didn’t need to wait that long and we entered the “ginger bread house” into a dimly lit room with a water feature as a centrepiece. I didn’t really grasp the point of this and although it was “interesting” I think I left with that “slight bemused look” on my face.

To the side of this attic annex there were some “different views” across town as I peered through the facia of the building and glanced up to a stylish and ornate cross that sat stylishly on the top of the “ginger bread house”.

On the floor below the rooftop is a perfectly well preserved wash room area. I’m guessing that it must have been a bit of a drag having to lug everything up to the top floor but the detail that has gone into this attic space is no less than anywhere else in the house.

A Beautifully arched room shows glimpses of light from the small windows reflecting onto the chequered floor. The original small washroom spaces off a fascinatingly white arched arched corridor are still there to check out and although these are utilitarian spaces they’re still nicely kitted out. The large arched room has a simple message from Gaudi provided from a hologram installation on the wall. It’s kind of spooky but really brings home the impact that this man still has on the architecture of Barcelona.

There’s a beautifully crafted spiral staircase almost hidden from anything other than preying eyes and once again although it’s not in full view the craftsmanship and eye for detail is almost beyond belief. Certainly in many houses of its age this would have been a basic construction. But not in Casa Batllo.

An amazing part of the house which continues the "theme" of a fairy-time experience.

From journal A Bit of Gaudi

Editor Pick

La Pedrera

La Pedrera

Anyone interested in Antoni Gaudi, the eccentric Catalan architect, should visit La Pedrera, designed in 1905. I know there is a mass of choice of Gaudi architecture to visit in Barcelona, including his more famous Sagrada Familia, but this little gem is unmissible. It's an amazing building packed with things to see, including a thoughtful museum, stunning roof-top views and (best of all, in my opinion) the recreation of a completely furnished, turn-of-the-century apartment.

Even with my two trusty maps I found it difficult to find La Pedrera and had to ask for directions. If you look for the junction between Passeig de Gracia and Carrer Provenca you should be able to find it much easier then I did. It is quite distinctive when you do spot it. From the outside it looks like it’s curving stone edges have melted in the sun (La Pedrera is a nickname, Catalan for The Quarry or Stone Pile).

I left it a bit late so there was a queue when I got there. At busier times of the year (I went in October) I would recommend you go as early as possible. The website www.lapedreraeducacio.org has information on opening time, which seem to vary throughout the year. It cost 8 Euros to get in – a bargain when you discover all there is to see. There’s also the usual gift shop, audio tour malarkey you find at major tourist attractions, though I will say I got on fine without an audio guide and thought that the prices at the gift shop were quite reasonable (a good place to stock up on souvenirs I’d say).

After paying and admiring the beautiful courtyard you can go up to the main parts of the museum by elevator where can choose which part of the building to explore first: the rooftop, the Gaudi museum or reconstructed apartment.

I ended up going through the museum first. It’s an excellent, informative museum about Gaudi and his architecture, including architectural models of his work and displays of natural materials that inspired him. Other state-of-the-art exhibits included video consoles highlighting different aspects of Gaudi’s design throughout La Pedrera: the woodwork, metalwork and tiling.

I then wandered out onto the roof which has some excellent view of the Eixample and the Sagrada Familia. All the chimneys are elaborately decorated to the point where you have to think that Gaudi must have intended people to see and admire the details. Wandering back down to the museum I followed some signs to the floor below where the apartment was.

The reconstructed apartment was truly fascinating. Inside you could see how every detail of Gaudi’s design was beautifully planned, from the art nouveaux friezes around the windows and doors, to the elegant curved handles and the small, but-perfectly-formed laundry room. They have taken great pains to recreate every detail of a turn-of-the-century apartment – including original furniture, wallpaper and decorations.

Visiting La Pedrera was definitely a highlight for me and I would highly recommend

From journal Discovering Barcelona

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