Spain - Works of Antoni Gaudí (4)

Partial view of  Casa Batlló.

Sent by Jordi, a postcrosser from Barcelona, Spain.

Spain - Works of Antoni Gaudí (3)

Park Güell in Barcelona.

Sent by Lopez, a postcrosser from Barcelona.

Spain - Works of Antoni Gaudí (2)

Sagrada Família in Barcelona.

Sent by Jordi, a postcrosser from Barcelona, Spain.

Spain - Salou - Costa Darauda

Salou
COSTA DAURADA.

Sent by Abel, a postcrosser from Salou, Spain.

This is from Wikipedia : The Costa Daurada (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈkɔstə ðəwˈɾaðə], Spanish: Costa Dorada, meaning in English "Golden Coast") is an area on the coast of Catalonia, Spain, between Cunit and the mouth of the Ebro River. It is entirely included in the province of Tarragona.

Spain - A Human Tower (Castell)

La Placa Sant Jaume of Barcelona - Human Tower.

Sent by Luis, a postcrosser from Barcelona, Spain.

This is from UNESCO : Castells are human towers built by members of amateur groups, usually as part of annual festivities in Catalonian towns and cities. The traditional setting is the square in front of the town hall balcony. The human towers are formed by castellers standing on the shoulders of one another in a succession of stages (between six and ten). Each level of the tronc, the name given to the second level upwards, generally comprises two to five heavier built men supporting younger, lighter-weight boys or girls. The pom de dalt – the three uppermost levels of the tower – comprises young children. Anyone is welcome to form the pinya, the throng that supports the base of the tower. Each group can be identified by its costume, particularly the colour of the shirts, while the cummerbund serves to protect the back and is gripped by castellers as they climb up the tower. Before, during and after the performance, musicians play a variety of traditional melodies on a wind instrument known as a gralla, setting the rhythm to which the tower is built. The knowledge required for raising castells is traditionally passed down from generation to generation within a group, and can only be learned by practice.

Spain - Works of Antoni Gaudí (1)

Barcelona.
La Pedrera (1906-1912). Antoni Gaudi.

Sent by Jordi, a postcrosser from Barcelona, Spain.

This is from UNESCO : The works of Antoni Gaudí represent a series of outstanding examples of the building typology in the architecture of the early 20th century, residential as well as public, to the development of which he made a significant and creative contribution. It is, furthermore, an outstanding and well-preserved example of the ideal garden cities dreamed of by the urbanists of the end of the 19th century. It exhibits an important interchange of values closely associated with the cultural and artistic currents of his time, as represented in El Modernisme of Catalonia. It anticipated and influenced many of the forms and techniques that were relevant to the development of modern construction in the 20th century.

Gaudí was born in 1852 in Reus, a small town south of Barcelona, and he died in a street accident in 1926. The intellectual context towards the end of the 19th century in Catalonia was marked by Modernisme, a movement that extended from around 1880 to the First World War, parallel to currents such as Naturalism, Arts and Crafts, and Art Nouveau. It was motivated by return to traditions as an expression of national identity, as well as by the introduction of modern techniques and materials. Modernisme differed from the other movements by becoming important for popular cultural identity. Gaudí's work represents the genius of the architect, expressing particular spatial qualities and plasticity in the undulating lines and harmonies of colours and materials in architectural surfaces and sculpted features.

His main undertaking is the church of Sagrada Familia, based on the Latin cross. The work had been started by architect Francesc de P. del Villar in 1882 in Gothic revival style. In 1883 Gaudì made fundamental changes to the first project and continued the work until his death. The crypt was built in 1884-89 and the Nativity facade finished in 1905. The four fantastic bell towers were finished in 1925-30. The transept elevation of the Passion was started in 1960, and construction of the church still continues.

Casa Vicens, a suburban residence, was the first independent design by Gaudí, built in 1883-88 and enlarged in 1925 by Serra Martinez in consultation with Gaudí. The design combines mastery in brick and a variety of Valencia tile. Its wrought ironwork is remarkable. In the interior, there is a fine series of painted wall decorations. The luxury villa of El Capricho (1883), near Comillas, Santander Province, was commissioned by a rich industrialist. The architecture has similarities with the Casa Vicens, reflecting Catalan influences.

In 1884, Gaudí designed the pavilions of the Güell estate, with porter's lodge and stables, in the suburban areas of Barcelona. Most spectacular is the imaginative dragon gate. The Parc Güell (1900-14), a garden-city of 60 lots, is an incontestable masterpiece, the final blossoming of 19th-century eclecticism. He was invited in 1887 to plan a new episcopal palace at Astorga. This granite building with its vaulted interiors reflects the medieval character of the nearby Gothic cathedral. Work on the college of the Teresianas had already started when Gaudí was invited to take on the project. The building is severe and consisting of a single elongated rectangular block.

Gaudí was commissioned in 1902-4 to study the renovation and restoration of the Gothic cathedral of Palma de Mallorca, La Seu (1300-1600). Gaudí's project resulted in spatial and structural changes and the new design of various details especially around the main altar. He removed the large traditional choir structures, placing the elements on the sides, and opening up the central nave. In 1898 came a commission to design a church for the Colónia Güell, a community working in textile industry outside Barcelona. The work started in 1908, but was interrupted in 1914 with only the Crypt built. This unique structure was used by Gaudí to experiment building in brick and stone, stretching the possibilities of traditional Catalan structures to their utter limits.

The other buildings making up the World Heritage site are: Casa de Botines (1892), Casa Calvet (1898), the residential villa of Figueras, or Casa Bellesguard (1900) and Casa Batlló (1904-7), an urban residence in Barcelona.

Spain - Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona

Palau de la Música Catalana (1905 - 1908). Lluís Domènech i Montaner.

Sent by Ekaterina from Barcelona, Spain.

These two monuments are masterpieces of the imaginative and exuberant Art Nouveau that flowered in early 20th century. The Palau de la Música Catalana has uniqueness, authenticity, and beauty and it is an unparalleled testimony, in the Modernist style, to a public concert hall whose symbolic, artistic, and historical value is universal. The Hospital de Sant Pau is the outstanding example of its type of exceptional interest because of its beauty, size and unique architectural design.

The inspiration of the Palau de la Música CataIana was the concept of the choir of Orfeo Catalá that emerged during the Barcelona Universal Exhibition of 1888. The performance of Catalan music formed part of the overall political movement to resurge of Catalan nationalism. In October 1904 the choir acquired a site in Calle de Sant Pere Més Alto and commissioned Doménech i Montaner, then at the peak of his career, as architect of its new building. Construction began in 1905 and was completed three years later. He had already begun work at that time on the Hospital de Sant Pau. In 1892 a Paris banker of Catalan origin, Pau Gil, left a large sum of money in his will for the construction of a hospital in his native city, to be named in honour of his patron saint.

The Palau de la Música Catalana is one of the most emblematic buildings of Art Nouveau (Modernism), exceptional both for its qualities and its setting in the historic centre of Barcelona. It was outstanding from the moment of its conception because of two factors that were to be of great future importance: a special concept of space and a very intelligent use of new technologies developed during the Rationalist revolution. The Palau was the most important source of an architectural concept of great future relevance: the reticulated metallic structure, free floor space, and non-load-bearing outer walls like continuous curtains of glass. The entire building was designed as an intelligent interplay of spaces stemming from the abrupt separation between the exterior and the interior and making maximum use of natural light.

The use of a steel framework makes it possible for the internal floor plan to be free and with a series of large open spaces, in particular the great concert hall. In this way the Palau de la Música Catalana became an exceptional example of the fusion of two basic concepts: tradition and modernity elevated to the level of art. The coming together of music and architecture is clearly manifested in the Palau de la Música Catalana. Several of the most important artists and craftsmen of the time contributed to the Palau, such as the sculptors Pau Gargallo, Francesc Modollel, Miguel Blay, and Eusebi Aranau; the mosaicists Lluís Bru, Francesc Labarta and Mario Maragliano; the painter Miguel Massot, and the stained-glass artist Jeroni Granell. The relationships between architect and artists was intimate and constructive:especially harmonious is the concert hall, with its great inverted dome of painted glass, where the lavish decoration contributes to the spatial continuity and integrity.

From a historiographical point of view, the Hospital de Sant Pau is of immense importance because it is the largest hospital complex in Modernist style. Historically, the Hospital de Sant Pau, at one and the same time original and daring, demonstrates how Doménech i Montaner had studied the problem of modern hospitals. Work began in 1901 and by 1911 eight blocks of the complex had been built and were in use. In 1913 the architect brought his son, Pere Doménech i Roura, into the project, and they worked together on the church and further hospital blocks until Lluis Domènech i Montaner's death in 1923. Pere Doménech i Roura was responsible for completion of the project, which continued until 1930.

The architect planned to erect 48 individual buildings in a quadrilateral. Its floral decoration and abundant use of sculptures by the best artists of the period emphasize in a remarkable way the structure of the buildings. Doménech i Montaner's value as the creator of architectural volumes is also revealed by light. For Doménech i Montaner it was essential to be able to give sick people a feeling of well-being and beauty, which would most certainly contribute to an early convalescence, as according to him beauty has therapeutic value. After almost a century of existence and uninterrupted public use, the Hospital de Sant Pau has international prestige from both the medical and the architectural and artistic points of view. (Source)

Spain - Barcelona - La Rambla

The mapcard of La Rambla, a famous street in Barcelona, Spain.

Sent by Gabriela, a postcrosser who lives in Barcelona.