1. Antonio Gaudi
The son of a coppersmith, Antonio Gaudi 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.
Over the course of his career, Gaudi
developed a sensuous, curving, almost surreal
design style which established him as the
innovative leader of the Spanish Art Nouveau
movement. Gaudi’s characteristically warped
form of Gothic architecture drew admiration
from other artists.
Although categorized with the Art Nouveau,
Gaudi created an entirely original style. One of
the Gaudi’s famous works is Park Guell.
Park Guell may be the most unique of the many
works which Eusebi Guell entrusted to Gaudi. It
was declared a universal monument by UNESCO
in 1984, along with two more works by the
brilliant architect.
Guell originally wanted his property to
become a "garden-city," like those which were
built in England, for the rich of Barcelona. He
divided the land into 60 plots between 1000 and
2000 square meters in size, and triangular to
adapt to the topography of the land. When
somebody purchased a plot they had to sign a
contract accepting conditions including an
absolute prohibition on the felling of trees, a
limitation of the size of the house to 1/6 of the
total surface of the plot, and a maximum fence
height of 80 centimeters. Only three plots were
sold: two for the home of the Trias family, which
they still own, and another to build the show-
home, which Gaudi ended up buying in 1906, and
which is now a museum dedicated to the Park's
architect.
2. Plan of Guell Park
Park Guell Main Entrance
Park Guell Salamander
Guell Park, the construction was commenced
in 1900. The mountain really deserved its name,
because its vegetation was only simple grasses,
bushes and a few carob trees. Gaudi wanted to
cooperate with nature, so he ordered the
creation of a natural area based on
Mediterranean species, which are stronger, but
require less water and maintenance
View of the mountain of Park Guell
He did not only respect the atmosphere by
planting trees. When a topographic map was
made of the fifteen hectares which Guell had
purchased, Gaudi observed that, given the
characteristics of the land, many leveling and
embankments-which would ruin the beauty of
the land-would be necessary to build roads,
Viaduct Bridges
So, he designed the famous viaducts (bridges
composed of several small spans) which allowed
the mountain's natural shape to be preserved.
These viaducts are supported by inclined
3. columns, with manufactured brick centers, and
covered with natural stone from the site. There
is a total of three kilometers of roads.
Viaduct Roads
The park is surrounded by a rubblework wall,
which is crowned by the undulations of ceramic
"trencadís" (a type of mosaic made from broken
pieces of tile) and seven gates. On the main gate,
located on the Carrer d'Olot, large circular
medallions with the words "Park" and "Guell"
written with "trencadis" mosaic notify us that
this is where the park begins.
Trencadis
The grills for this door came from repairs
performed on the Casa Vicens in 1965; they were
placed to substitute the original wooden door. At
each side of the entrance we find two pavilions.
Grilled Doors
These pavilions, built between 1901 and 1902,
have an egg-shaped form with the complete
absence of straight lines or angles, and their
structure is based on wrought reinforced
ceramic beams and brick vaults supported by
weight-holding walls.
Vaults
4. Park Guell Mountain View
Also, besides respecting the essence of the
mountain, he used all the elements that she
provided. Worked its forms, curves, and her
stone. It devised a system that accumulated rain
water that seeped through the rocks in an
underground tank, and the advantage to support
vegetation of the whole.
View
However, in spite of the work and dedication of
Gaudi in this park, the project was a commercial
failure. The same distance from the center of
the city of Barcelona and the start of the First
World War, created uncertainty and made only
two of the sixty sell parcels of the whole. In one
of these domains is built what is now the Casa-
Museu Gaudi, where the architect lived between
1906 and 1925.This was why in 1922, after the
death of Eusebi Guell, Barcelona City Council
purchased the land to make it a public park. And
from that moment, the park became a point of
great confluence and showplace. Being away
from the busy city center and at altitude is
space and quiet haven, and spectacular
panoramic views of Barcelona.
View
5. Views
Park Guell is where Gaudi shows all his
architectural genius, and displays the vast
spatial solutions, structural, and materiality. And
it adds a great deal of symbolism and character,
making each decision taken is a perfect fusion of
each of the concepts. Without forgetting the
almost magical artistic research that generates
both awe and mystery at a time.
Views
