Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Barcelona Metro


Sant Andreu Station

On the recent trip the Celtic Sage stayed some 3 miles from the centre of Barcelona in the city suburb of Sant Andreu which was a short hop on the Red Line (L1) to the main central transport interchange of Catalunya on the Plaça Catalunya. This was more of an introduction to the commuter system than I banked on as there are two lines which go through Sant Andreu, not just the Metro but also the suburban line which has a metro like feel with similar carriages. There were two giveaways to uninitiated tourists like ourselves that we were NOT on the Metro. Firstly steps came out from the automatic doors and you had to step up into the carriage and secondly, and somewhat alarmingly, after the next station of Fabra i Puig the train continued non-stop to Catalunya. No harm done as we got into the centre quicker and over the next few days we came to know and rely on this impressive and comprehensive integrated transport system as we travelled around Barcelona.



In the 83 years since its opening, the Barcelona Metro has grown to a network of six lines, spanning 86 kilometres and serving 115 stations. Backed by enormous investment and vision on the part of its parent company, Ferrocarils Metropolitans de Barcelona (FCMB), the city transit authority (Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona, TMB) and the Catalan government, the system is poised for impressive growth. Various extensions and state of the art upgrades will provide Barcelona residents with one of the most expansive and sophisticated metros in the world by the end of this decade.


System Map

Faced with crowding population and outward urban expansion, the post-industrial revolution Barcelona of the late 19th and early 20th centuries drastically needed public transit. The city initially found relief in a fleet of street trams that entered operation in 1872. However, the trams were limited by increasingly dense traffic and the convoluted street layout of the city's Gothic Quarter. In 1907, after an exhaustive study commissioned by the city on traffic conditions and transport options, the urban planners Pau Muller and Gonçal Zaragoza recommended the construction of an underground metro system. Although the project had been approved within a few years, construction did not begin until 1922. On 30 December 1924, the Catalan capital finally inaugurated its first underground route - Line I of the Gran Metropolitano, from Plaça Lesseps to Plaça Catalunya.





Construction of the second line of the Gran Metro, from Aragó in the central Eixample Dreta neighbourhood to the central post office near the port, was complicated by several factors - not least of which were an abundance of subterranean water and a city council ruling that prohibited diverting traffic for construction under Via Layetana, one of the city's busiest streets. Nonetheless, Line II entered into service in 1926 with two new stations, Urquinaona and Jaime I, as well as a connection to line I at Aragó. The then lines I and II correspond to segments of today's lines 3 (L3) and 4 (L4), respectively.

The Barcelona Metro today is a conglomeration of two operating companies, the "Ferrocarril Metropolita de Barcelona" (Metro) which operates metro lines 1 through 5, and "FGC", Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, which operates two city-only lines, U6 and U7, and several suburban lines all from a terminal station at Placa de Catalunya. Fares are integrated into Autoritat del Transport Metropolità, a city-wide system that also includes local and regional buses and some regional train services. 98% of the rail tracks are subsurface.

The Metro lines 1-5 were built in the beginning of the 1920s and several lines are still being extended today. In May 1999 a new plan for metro and light rail lines in the Barcelona metropolitan area was approved by the ATM. The plan includes some 50km of new lines, intended to be built within 10 years. Line 9 will be the longest tube line in Europe, stretching between Santa Colomna and the airport. A very similar plan was approved in 1971 for the period up to 1979 to create a network of 111km and 142 stations. But almost 30 years later, the Barcelona Metro had only reached 83.5km.




Fabra i Puig Station

This time it would appear that the politicians mean business and there will be a vast expansion of the network to cover the urban expanse of Barcelona. Construction work is taking place currently on L9 / L10, which will run from Badalona and Santa Coloma to the Zona Franca district and El Prat International Airport. The lines, which will share a central section between Bon Pastor and Torrassa (L1), will be the longest underground metro line in Europe, at 26.6 miles (42.6km), and will have 52 stations. The project was approved in 2000 but has been challenged by some technical difficulties and some of their sections are pending further geological analysis, which of 2007 is the reason for the delay in the construction of some of the mentioned sections, which won't be ready until 2012 or even as late as 2013. As of mid 2007, there are currently 150 operational stations in the Barcelona Metro, served by the 9 lines in current use, which will increase to an impressive 209 when lines L9 and L10 are finally completed. The average distance between stations is of 650 metres.





The evolution experienced by the public transport network in Barcelona has taken place in a parallel manner to the urban growth of the area, and has both adapted itself to and promoted the expansion of the built-up areas. Since the launching of the first tramway line, in 1872, the public transport in Barcelona has gone through several phases. The metro was born from the need to complement the existing road transport network in the city and in 1908 there were tunnels built below Via Layetana.

However, it was not until 1924 that the first metro line was inaugurated. Today the Barcelona Metro has five lines in service, 115 subway stations and 83.5km of track (two whole new lines are being constructed and four others are being extended). Its rolling stock is made up of 105 five-carriage car trains, of which 93 are, unlike the London Underground, equipped with air conditioning. TMB (Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona) is the corporation that manages 86% of the public transport system.

The Barcelona Metro is one of the most under-used resources available to tourists. It is safe to use at any time of day and it comprehensively covers most of the city and is pretty cheap. Metro maps appear on most Barcelona maps and guide books usually say which stop is the nearest to a particular sight (it is an 'M' in a diamond shape in most guide books) so you will always know where you are going. The Metro in Barcelona is open until midnight from Sunday to Thursday, until 2am on Friday and through the night on Saturday.


Line Diagram

One of the most important things to get your head around is the various tickets available. Choosing the right ticket is essential to taking full advantage of the low prices of the Barcelona Metro. The ticket machine display can be put into English, so the first thing to do is press the British flag at the bottom of the screen (unless you are really confident in your Catalan!) You should see a screen like in the picture on this page. The options available to you are:




Ticket Machines

Single ticket (Price: 1.30€) The most expensive ticket and not worth buying unless you really only plan on making one journey. Worth buying for your journey to the airport, when your other ticket has run out.

T-10 Ten Journeys (Price 7.20€) Much cheaper than buying individual tickets, each journey works out at 72c, which is a fraction over half price and at 50p compares well with the cheapest cash fare of £2.00 in London! More than one person can use the ticket at the same time too - you can pass the ticket back and your companion can pass it through the machine too. A “journey” lasts 75 minutes, so you can change metros as many times as you want in that time and can even go onto a bus. You have to remember to validate your ticket each time in the machine provided.

So, really, the T-10 is the only ticket worth buying. If you come to your last day and have a busy day ahead, buy the T-DIA, and if you come to your last journey, get a single ticket. But, fellow visitors use the Metro, No more expensive taxis all the time! The Barcelona Metro is cheap and will get you to your destination so much quicker, allowing you more time to explore new areas of the city. Go on now, don't be scared, try it!


Sagrada Familia entrance


Sagrada Familia Station

The Funicular de Montjuïc, a funicular railway, is fare-integrated and listed on maps as part of the metro network, being connected directly to the metro at Paral•lel station. In addition to those, Renfe and FGC trains and the increasingly important Trambaix and Trambesòs routes and stations are displayed on most recent maps, including the info maps in the metro stations, all in a single variety of dark green.








Funicular de Montjuïc

An overwhelming majority of stations in the network lack related buildings or structures above ground, as opposed to other subway networks as the London Underground, mostly consisting of an access with stairs, escalators and sometimes an elevator. The official TMB metro indicator, a red rhombus with a M inside, isn't still used by FGC lines, which use their company logo and a different rhombus-shaped logo inside stations. Below ground their decoration is remarkably sober, with the exception of a few stations.

The ambience of the system is good even if the entrances are lack lustre lacking any real drama or great presence at street level. However step free access is far better than, say, London Underground with numerous lifts, occasional “stair lifts” and permanent ramps on platforms. Unlike London, which tends to over engineer such items, here the platform ramps are yellow poly ramps permanently at the front and back of the platforms serving 3 carriage doors each. Simple, cost effective, visible and easily understood. Where it does fall down is like of access information on maps so passengers cannot easily work out the step free access / egress and connections to enable them to plan independent journeys.




Carriage Interior

Station lighting is good, normally back lighting, resulting in bright platforms and the standard of surfaces is also generally good due to the amount of newly built lines and the whole system being upgraded for the 1992 Olympics so that the whole system has a similar “look and feel”. Cleaning is OK but of course Barcelona has a great advantage over London in that several tons of “free” newspapers are not dumped on it each day, not to mention “strays” in the tunnels to cause line stopping tunnel fires (http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/09/litter-is-disgusting-so-are-those.html ). System security is taken seriously with highly visible CCTV, armed Police, and sniffer dogs, security guards and visible staff. The Police presence is throughout the system and not like London where it tends to be show piece “high visibility” policing gestures with the system generally abandoned the rest of the time. Obviously the visible, continuous and clearly integrated security on the Metro is a response to the Madrid train bombings but certainly results in a high degree of reassurance for residents and visitors alike.


An assault being captured on CCTV

On platform the train time displays are obviously driven off sophisticated signalling and control systems as they count down the arrival time of the next train in seconds, a revelation to somebody used to the notionality of London Underground minutes and an excellent value added perception for waiting passengers! Once on the carriages they are bright and well maintained with no sense of crowding due to all the doors being doubles and well spaced and the rolling stock being at least 2 feet wider than London Underground surface stock as they are running on the Spanish gague of 5 ft 5⅔ in. (1,668 mm ). This is the same as surface stock as there is no “tube” stock and this certainly results in roomy carriages with good circulation and most carriages have comfort cooling similar to that which will be introduced on London Underground sub surface stock up to 2012. Traction power is by high voltage overhead wires which is more efficient and requires fewer transformers than rail traction power. It also greatly simplifies track maintenance and increases safety compared to rail traction power systems, as in London.

Information is very good with displays and Digital Voice Recorders (DVRs) announcing the next stations. Two nice features are; Stations illuminate on the Line diagrams over the door to show you which stations the train has gone through giving passengers a quick visual reference on where they are and at the top left and right corners at the end of the carriages a green arrow illuminates to indicate the side on which doors will open at the next station. Generally these are staggered at alternate stations in the central area. Most train sets have walk through connectors (as proposed on the new London Underground stock) giving an airy and secure feel to the train sets as commuters don’t feel isolated in individual carriages.


Plaça Espanya Station

Many of the newer carriages have airline style video displays in the carriage vestibules and I was expecting these to contain advertising. However I was pleasantly surprised as in a refreshing reflection both of the public service ethos of the Metro and the pride the citizens of Barcelona feel in their system they contain short passenger safety informercials and public service notices. More tellingly, and in sharp contrast to the balkanised operation on the London Tube, there were longer informercials on the operation and maintenance of the system. For Barcelona Metro is a vertically integated operation and does everything cost effectively “in house” so it builds up and controls its own operational expertise. So there were informercials on track maintenance, signalling, train operations, security and much more. The effect of this vertical integration was apparent in the quality of the operation on the ground with excellent ambience, no delays, clean carriages, good information and an overall impressive look and feel to the system. The combination of roomy carriages, comfort cooling and a smooth ride due the combination of high track quality and automatic train operation with soft start / soft stop and regenerative braking made for a pleasant experience in transit in contrast to the jerky uneven ride on London Underground. Indeed what London has lost from its “Alice in Wonderland” PPP model can be seen in many other aspects of the service such as soft start / soft stop on escalators which go into slow “sleep” mode until passengers approach them and trigger the movement detectors. Far better not to waste energy in the first place than have heat build up due to waste power being dissapaited in the Underground! Indeed I have probably been unfair to Alice in Wonderland as it was written by a mathematician who was aware that things need to add up!


1924 Stock


New Barcelona 9000 series

Metro stations occasionally hold events, and the TMB has recently organised a Music in the Metro series with scheduled live performers. Service is also extended for certain holidays, such as all night service during New Year's Eve or the city's annual festival of La Mercé, once again a reflection of the flexibility and ability to respond to customer needs which comes from being in control of your system. From what I saw the pride of Barcelona’s citizens in its transport system is well justified as it displays an impressive quality in its management and operations due to the simple focus on public service and operational competence which goes in hand with the vertical integration of operations and maintenance functions. This in turn is reflected in staff pride, customer identification and lower operating costs reflected in fare levels which are, on average, 40% of those charged per kilometre in London. The Barcelona Metro has been serving city residents for more than eight decades and is on track to becoming one of the most sophisticated and user-friendly in the world.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

URBEATZ Liverpool - Combating Knife Crime



Caught in Between Showcase - Young People lead fight to combat Anti-Social Behaviour and Gun and Knife Crime‏

Hello,

On Friday 28th November a group of young people from across Liverpool are aiming to combat the growth in youth anti-social behaviour and gun and knife crime with a multi-arts showcase about these hot topics. The night is a culmination of their learning from a course entitled 'Caught in Between' that looked at the phenomenon of youth gun and knife crime and anti-social behaviour.

"This group are choosing not to adopt the names they are labeled with. This group have chosen to follow their dreams and this will reduce the chance that they will be caught in between. They have chosen to lead in a new direction that will celebrate their unique gifts and inspire others to do the same"

A Celebration of Life. Music. Dance. Poetry. Drama. Film. Comedy.



November 28th 7.30 -10.30 at Novas Contemporary Urban Centre.


To attend please contact Jernice : jernice.urbeatz@gmail.com

Performances by: KOF, J Will (1Xtra), MD Productions, Cody Urban Dance, DJ Kwame and so many more
Speakers: Basil Reynolds, Geoff Thompson and more

Hope you can come and support.

--

URBEATZ
"...quality in every endeavour..."

Download ALL of KOF's Best Tracks for FREE at www.kofmusic.com

* ICE Creative Business of The Year 07-08
* MBHMG Business Sector Award 2008

a. URBEATZ, PO Box 90, Liverpool, L31 9WA
m. 0797-011-0709
e. yaw.urbeatz@gmail.com
w. www.urbeatz.com
w2. www.kofmusic.com
w3. www.compressedmag.com

URBEATZ is an Urban Music, Media and Youth Culture Company.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Antoni Gaudí and Barcelona Modernisme style


Antoni Gaudí

I felt some excitement at a long overdue first trip to Barcelona to see the works of Antoni Gaudí and the other architects associated with the Modern Movement in Barcelona. As an architectural student in Dublin there was little exposure to this movement. True, we had the example of Michael Scott and Busáras (the Central Bus Station) and the architects own house at Sandycove but these were post-war and isolated and we knew little of the Irish designer who was at the very vanguard of the Modern Movement, Eileen Gray and the wonderful E1027 at Roquebrune in the South of France

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/09/e-1027-roquebrune-cap-martin.html


Instead we tended to associate the movement with disciples of Berthold Lubetkin and Tecton in England who were at the more brutalist end of the International Movement. So seeing the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Glasgow School

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/07/charles-rennie-mackintosh.html

emphasised both how far adrift Ireland had been from the zeitgeist of European Architecture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries due to political turmoil and the conservatism after independence. Mackintosh also showed how he was part of a “Glasgow School” of fellow architects, artists and crafts people and showed how this was a great opportunity lost for an independent Ireland to establish its own identity, a point further reinforced when you see how an independent Latvia embraced Art Nouveau during its remarkable period of independence between the wars

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/08/riga-capital-of-country-in-transition.html



Like many visitors before me I had come to Barcelona to experience the animal-, vegetable- and mineral-like buildings that have made this architect's work synonymous with the city they adorn. Barcelona equals Gaudí. This makes sense, because Gaudí was a fervent Catalan nationalist, and an equally fervent Catholic, whose architecture has been a rallying point in stone, concrete and his hallmark broken glazed tiles. The Modernist architects expressed themselves in different ways, some wanted to revive Romanesque architecture, others imported the French neo-Gothicism of Violet le Duc, others still searching for a modern style in Germany, Austria or France. What seems to be characteristic is the use of nature-forms: flowers, plants and animals, decorative forms in ironwork, ceramics and stained glass. The aim was to create a modern art based on Catalan traditions, mixed with the use of new materials, like cast and wrought iron.



Three buildings of the early 1880's seem to mark the beginnings of Modernism : The publishing house of Montaner i Simon(1880), Josep Vilaseca's factory for F. Vidal (1884) and Gaudi's Casa Vicens (1883- 5). All three flow from a revival of a Spanish style: the neo- Mudéjar, with the use of Moorish decorative forms and techniques as characteristics. Modernism seems to have begun earlier and ended later than in most countries in Europe. Modernismo was the term which in Spain described the fin-de-siècle style which in Germany and Austria was called Jugendstil, and in France Art Nouveau. For this reason Gaudi's work is never at the “form follows function” end of modernism but incorporates colour in the Moorish manner as transferred to Spain and reflects his obsession with natural forms which gives his designs an organic feel which gives them a feeling of humanity which transcends architectural conceit or grandiosity.






Casa Vicens

This single-family residence for Manuel Vicens was the first Gaudí designed. The site was small (smaller today after the widening of the street) and conventional structures already existed in the area. This early work exhibits several influences, most notably the Moorish (or Mudéjar) influence, particularly evident at the top. The house is constructed of undressed stone, rough red bricks, and colored ceramic tiles in checkerboard and floral patterns. Manuel Vicens was the owner of a brick and tile factory so the ceramic tiles pay tribute to his employment. The yellow, zinnia-flowered tile, designed by Gaudí, was manufactured by Vicens.



The son of a coppersmith, Antoni Gaudí was born in Reus, Spain in 1852. He studied at the Escola Superior d'Arquitectura in Barcelona and designed his first major commission for the Casa Vincens in Barcelona using a Gothic Revival style that set a precedent for his future work. Antonio Gaudí was a unique architectural talent, not easily compared with other architects in the terms used by architectural historians. Not only was his work strongly individualized, but Antonio Gaudí was fortunate to have loyal clients to support him. From early in his career, wide attention was given to his work, although Gaudí shunned publicity becoming almost hermit like in later life.

Antonio Gaudí has been identified with the Catalan Modernisme movement of the late nineteenth century and, by extension with the international art nouveau style. His strong personality drew like-minded people of talent to him, and the collaboration of structural engineers, sculptors, and metalworkers was needed to carry out his ideas. It is often possible to identify the artists and engineers involved.








Gaudí's House & furniture - Parc Güell

The nationalist desires of Catalonians had been a problem of long standing for Spain. By the late nineteenth century, Barcelona had developed strong trade relationships with the UK and Western Europe. The wealth created contrasted with the difficult economic times in the rest of Spain and the loss of its last possessions in the war of 1898. The artistic activity in Barcelona was supported by business clients who by their travels were well acquainted with other countries, particularly with the arts and crafts movement in the United Kingdom. The development of illustrated periodicals further spread the art news to Barcelona. The cafe Els Quatre Gats, where Picasso's early work was shown and for which Antonio Gaudí designed menus in 1899, was an example of the international influences of the time.

Over the course of his career, Gaudí developed a sensuous, curving, almost surreal design style which established him as the innovative leader of the Spanish Art Nouveau movement. With little regard for formal order, he juxtaposed unrelated systems and altered established visual order. Gaudi's characteristically warped form of Gothic architecture drew admiration from other avant-garde artists. Although categorised with the Art Nouveau, Gaudí created an entirely original style. He died in Barcelona on July 10, 1926 after he had been knocked down by a tram three days before. He was buried in the Crypt of the Sagrada Família on the 12th July and it is said that the whole city turned out to honour Gaudí.

After the traumatic Civil War Franco despised Barcelona and Catalonia, where even the speaking of the Catalan language was outlawed. Not only was it one of the key centres of opposition to his petty and spiteful fascist regime, but the city was a commercial and cultural rival to Castilian Madrid. It suffered during the Franco years, yet Gaudí's architecture gave it a mystery, a swagger and a wilfulness that helped to keep its head held high.







From the very beginning Gaudi's designs were different from those of his contemporaries. His work was greatly influenced by forms of nature and this is reflected by the use of curved construction stones, twisted iron sculptures, and organic-like forms which are traits of Gaudi's Barcelona architecture. Gaudí's style of architecture went through several phases. On emergence from the Provincial School of Architecture in Barcelona in 1878, he practiced a rather florid Victorianism that had been evident in his school projects, but he quickly developed a manner of composing by means of unprecedented juxtapositions of geometric masses, the surfaces of which were highly animated with patterned brick or stone, gay ceramic tiles, and floral or reptilian metalwork. The general effect, although not the details, is Moorish - or Mudéjar, as Spain's special mixture of Muslim and Christian design is called. Examples of his Mudéjar style are the Casa Vicens (1878-80) and "El Capricho" (1883-85) and the Güell Estate and Güell Palace of the later 1880s, all but "El Capricho" located in Barcelona. Next, Gaudí experimented with the dynamic possibilities of historic styles: the Gothic in the Episcopal Palace, Astorga (1887-93) and Casa de los Botines, León (1892-94) and the Baroque in the Casa Calvet at Barcelona (1898-1904). But after 1902 his designs elude conventional stylistic nomenclature.

Except for certain overt symbols of nature or religion, Gaudí's buildings became essentially representations of their structure and materials. In his Villa Bell Esguard (1900-02) and the Güell Park (1900-14), in Barcelona, and in the Colonia Güell Church (1898-c. 1915), south of that city, he arrived at a type of structure that has come to be called equilibrated - that is, a structure designed to stand on its own without internal bracing, external buttressing, and like, as Gaudí observed, as a tree stands. Among the primary elements of his system were piers and columns that tilt to transmit diagonal thrusts, and thin-shell, laminated tile vaults that exert very little thrust. Gaudí applied his equilibrated system to two multi-storeyed Barcelona apartment buildings: the Casa Batlló (1904-06), a renovation that incorporated new equilibrated elements, notably the facade; and the Casa Milá (1905-10), the several floors of which are structured like clusters of tile lily pads with steel-beam veins. As was so often his practice, he designed the two buildings, in their shapes and surfaces, as metaphors of the mountainous and maritime character of Catalonia.



Gaudí also adorned many of his buildings with coloured tiles arranged in mosaic patterns. This added another important dimension to his buildings which is so often overlooked by architects - the use of colour. The combination of original design, interesting shaped stonework, and vibrant colours in Gaudi's work give the viewer a truly breathtaking visual experience.

One of Antonio Gaudí’s loyal clients and friends was Count Eusebio Güell, for whom Antonio Gaudí designed many projects. For the housing development near Barcelona, Antonio Gaudí designed his famous park (1900-1914) on a sloping site. The Park Güell extends over a market area and is supported on columns sloped to reflect the transfer of loads from the plaza above. The use of coloured tile is most remarkably evident in the curving bench at the edge of the plaza. The tile work was designed by Antonio Gaudí’s collaborator, Josep Maria Jujol I Gibert (1879-1940) and is considered an important work of art. The park was left incomplete because the development project failed to attract investors, particularly with the start of World War I.


















Parc Güell

This park is a place of great plastic beauty. A grand stairway divided by a mythological dragon or lizard leads to the large hypostyle hall. Originally intended to act as a “market place” for the planned community. This is built with 84 inclined columns. These in turn support the great upper plaza, a fine balcony over-looking the city and the sea and feature superb tiled circular designs on the underside. The large plaza is delimited by an extraordinary balustrade-bench which twists in serpentine manner to form winding course, recesses and small semi-enclosed areas where the facing of brightly coloured ceramics creates a spectacular collage which seems to have anticipated a vein explored by later avant-garde artists.

Casa Milà has become known in Catalan a "La Pedrera" - 'the quarry'— which was the name an astounded Barcelona population gave to this completely unique building. It could be compared with the steep cliff walls in which African tribes build their cave-like dwellings. The wavy facade, with its large pores, reminds one also of an undulating beach of fine sand, formed, for example, by a receding dune. The Casa Mila apartment house is a late example of Antonio Gaudí’s commercial design. On a corner site, the building facade is curvilinear in form and based on organic concepts. The heavy facade is tied to the floors behind. The most successful portions of the design were the roof vaults, clustered chimneys, and balcony railings designed by Jujol. This design caused much public comment, and Antonio Gaudí was forced to defend his organic forms in general terms.












Casa Milà - "La Pedrera"

The façade is an impressive wave-like mass of rough-shipped stone. The windows and doors seem to be dug out of this stone mass and are trimmed in exquisitely crafted wrought iron work with vegetal forms on the balconies and astonishing grilles on the two street-doors. On the stepped terrace, coming as an elegant surprise are the huge stair exits of sculptured spirals and faced with broken ceramics and marble. The chimneys bring to mind knights wearing visors. All of this makes up a fantastic and futurist space. The interior marine decoration - ceilings, columns and the furniture designed by Gaudí for this house are extremely modern.

Casa Batlló has been described as “Mighty pillars that appear to resemble the feet of some giant elephant are the first thing to meet the eye of the passer-by from street level. The roof reminds him of a completely different animal: it is bordered by a jagged line similar to the backbone of a gigantic dinosaur.” Apartment block totally renovated by Gaudi between 1904 and 1906 in Barcelona for the Batllo's family. One of the architect's most complete works, it produces an indefinable sensation of lightness in spite of the profusion of forms and motifs. At the first floor level of the undulating façade is a striking stone structure in the form of loggia supported by columns which frame fine windows decorated with stained glass.






Casa Batlló

The ceramics and multi-coloured glass mosaics of the upper part are interrupted by iron balconies in the form of Venetian masks. Crowning the whole is a suggestive tile roof over double garrets, which evokes the back of a fantastic dragon. The first floor was decorated by Gaudi who created some of his best interior design pieces for it, a magnificent built: fireplace, plaster whirling ceilings, stained glass, wrought iron elements, wooden doors and "avant garde" furniture.

The Palau Güell is a town mansion (translated literally a "palace") in Barcelona, Catalonia, designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí for his great patron industrial tycoon Eusebio Güell. The house was greatly expanded and remodelled from Antonio Gaudí’s designs from 1885 to 1890. The facades are more severe than in Antonio Gaudí’s other works, except for the extensive wrought-iron work, the polychrome roof forms, and the principal internal event, a central space rising up through the house to the capping cupola. Drawings of sections of the palace were displayed in Paris in 1910.









Palau Güell

This was the first large-scale work by Gaudi to clearly show the search for new ideas in construction as well as a totally personal, innovative interpretation of historical styles, with Moorish elements. The building is centred on a grand vertical space crowned by a large parabolic dome with star-shaped windows. The others areas: salons, corridors, living rooms are organized around this space which constitutes the main salon. The luxurious interior decoration is a magnificent compendium of the taste of the time- marble columns, ceilings panelled in precious woods; elaborate iron work, incredible stained glass windows, paintings and astounding furniture. On the roof there are eighteen chimneys in various suggestive forms covered with broken pieces of ceramics. UNESCO classified the Güell Palace as a World Heritage site in 1984.

Casa Amatller is a building in the Modernisme style in Barcelona, designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch. Along with Casa Batlló and Casa Lleó-Morera, it makes up the three most important buildings in Barcelona's famous "Mançana de la Discòrdia" ("Block of Discord"), noted for its unique modernist buildings. The building was originally designed as a residence for chocolatier Antoni Amatller and was constructed between 1898 and 1900. The Casa Amatller is beside the Casa Lleó Morera and the Casa Batlló. This building with its stepped gable (more reminiscent of northern Europe than Spain) is Puig i Cadafalch's most elaborate creation. The facade is largely influenced by religious Catalan Gothic (especially the window surrounds on the lower floors) but the architect has added some playful touches. The facade is covered in ceramic tiles with a slight metallic sheen.












Casa Amatller

Gaudí had a bad temper (there is a Catalan saying: "Gent de camp, gent de lamp," which means "People from the country are quick-tempered people"). He said that his bad temper was the one thing he was never able to control in his life. On the other hand, Gaudí took interest in the social problems of the workers, and felt attached to the people. In his old age, Gaudí was a man who conformed to little in the way of convention and dressed without much care; so much so that the day of his accident nobody recognised him as he lay on the ground. On June 7, 1926, he was run over by a tram at the intersection of Carrer de Bailén and the Gran Vía, and the taxi drivers refused to take a poor vagabond to the hospital (the municipal police fined them later for not assisting an injured man). He did not seek out contact with journalists and he avoided cameras, so there are few photographs of the architect.

This change in attitude may have been caused by a series of events that took place beginning in 1912. That year, his niece, Rosa Egea, who lived with him in Barcelona, died. In 1914, his faithful collaborator, Francesc Berenguer Mestres, died, and for matters of professional fees, he was involved in an acrimonious legal case with the Milà family. In 1915, the continuity of the construction of the Sagrada Familia was endangered by a serious economic crisis. En 1914, construction of the Colonia Güell was interrupted by the war. Two years later, his friend, Doctor Torras i Bages, Archbishop of Vic, died. In 1918, his best friend and patron, Eusebio Güell, passed away. They were sad events that affected him but did not limit his energy and desire to see his greatest work, the Sagrada Família, come into being but from his appearance and behaviour it probably left him without a sense of balance in his life.


Sagrada Família

Gaudí died at the age of 74 (June 10, 1926), but if it hadn't been for the tram he may have lived many more years, since his father had lived to the age of 93, with all his vigour. Half of Barcelona dressed in black to give final homage to a man that had become very popular, although few had ever met him personally. His body was buried in the crypt of the edifice where he had worked for the last 43 years of his life, the Sagrada Familia. Gaudí himself was unlike other architects before or since. An intensely religious celibate vegetarian ascetic who lived increasingly like a hermit and dressed in what seemed to his contemporaries like rags, he nevertheless designed some of the most highly charged, highly wrought buildings yet known.



For me on this journey to Barcelona it was better to arrive as to travel for the legacy of Modernisme and of Antonio Gaudí is a remarkable statement of design, of craftsmanship and of the spirit of Barcelona and Catalonia. This is even more remarkable as this was the architecture of a wealthy elite in a city riven with class tensions which were often expressed violently. However with the resurgence of Catalan identity this unique legacy is the patrimony, not of an elite, but of all the citizens of this unique and artistic city and of a proud and dynamic Catalonia.