The Ham Nomads

26 Feb 2015. <ES> Barcelona, Catalunya —

Barcelona, Day 2. Our mission for today is — Casa Milà (aka "La Pedrera") and Casa Batlló. We trained in to Plaça de Catalunya, then took the Metro to Diagonal station and walked a couple of blocks east to La Pedrera, at Carrer de Provença, 261-265, then walked to Casa Batlló about 3 blocks southwards (at Passeig de Gràcia, 43). After this, the Metro (from Passeig de Gràcia to Plaça de Catalunya), and then the train back 'home' to El Masnou.

So, La Pedrera. This name means 'the quarry', and it was applied derisively to the place when it was first constructed, but is now borne proudly as a mark of distinction.

"La Pedrera" referred its uneven grey-stone facade, whose balconies form waves around the corner of Carrer de Provença, emphasised by elaborate wrought-iron decorations. Casa Milà was built as a family home for industrialist Pere Milà and his wife, Roser Segomón, with associated apartments for rent. It is still being used for apartments, with sections of its upper floors being made available for tourists and Gaudí afficianados in general. This building is considered the crowning achievement of Gaudí prior to La Sagrada Familia (which is tomorrow's mission!).

The whole complex is built around two large courtyards, which provide both light and ventilation to the rooms not facing outward onto the street. These courtyards, in typical Gaudí fashion, are organic in form, beautiful in their own right. But, once again, the artistic form is entirely functional. Another innovation was that none of the inner walls in the various apartments is load-bearing. This means that the tenants were free to remove walls and put up others to suit their own purposes — rather innovative for the time!

We've mentioned Gaudí's rooftops and attics before, but here they reach their culmination. The attic, Espai Gaudí, is formed from 270 catenary brick arches. The catenary arch, which was used extensively by Gaudí, is the stongest load-bearing structure possible. It is the shape taken by a chain suspended by its ends, which when inverted forms a very strong structure. Gaudí didn't work out the shape mathematically, but used strings with attachment points along their length, from which he hung small bags into which he put lead weights proportional to the load that part of the arch would be supporting. In this way, he found the exact shape required, even if the load wasn't to be evenly distributed over the supporting arch. Brilliant! The arches themselves look so fragile — Gaudí in pne way was a minimalist, in that he used his materials in the most economical way to achieve the greatest effect (both structurally and aesthetically!)

On the rooftop, through the two arches,
two more of Gaudí's works can be seen!

From La Pedrera, we went for a bite to eat, and then on to Casa Batlló. This home, a renovation and redevelopment for Josep Batlló, completed in 1906, is Gaudí's whimsical flight of fancy. There's hardly a straight line in the place, with facades, doors, windows, walls, ceilings a continuous swirl of sinuous lines, the whole effect being that of a living being. The roof is capped with Gaudí's inimitable chimneypots, and the uneven blue-tiled roof itself represents Sant Jordi (Saint George) and the dragon. (This is another pro-Catalan statement — whereas Santiago is the patron saint of Spain, Sant Jordi is the patron saint of Catalunya.)

Casa Batlló, like La Pedrera, is built around a central courtyard, although this one is tiled with blue tiles, getting darker as they near the glassed-in roof (to make the light coming in look more evenly distributed. And the roof! The chimney-pots are another amazing Gaudí extravaganza, and the tiling over the "dragon" — WOW!

Again, in the attic space, Gaudí has worked wonders with his catenary arches to provide a housekeeping area as well as controlled "air conditioning" for the residence!

Next door is a building by another of the senior figures of Modernista (Art Nouveau) architecture, Casa Amatller by Josep Puig i Cadafalch — but this building pales in the face of the amazing innovation of Gaudí that sits right beside it!

The facade of Casa Batlló, with its organic balcony supports which have distinctly skeletal shapes, has given the place its alternative name, "The House of Bones". And this facade is covered with shards of blue, mauve and green tiles in the typically Gaudí style.

Again, we were at risk of overdosing on Gaudí (is that even possible?), so we left La Pedrera and made our way home.

Tomorrow, more Gaudí — La Sagrada Familia (there is an interesting link between La Pedrera and La Sagrada Familia, but we will reveal that tomorrow!) and Park Güell. Must point out that all these Gaudí sites we're visiting were given UNESCO World Heritage status in 1984!

Distance driven — today, nil; to date, 14,402 miles ( 23,178 km )