Art Nouveau and Antoni Gaudi

7/22/2019 Art Nouveau and Antoni Gaudi

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TECHNICAL ELECTIVESSTRUCTURE AND FORM IN ARCHITECTURE

Art Novueau and Antoni Gaud

Submitted

by:

Sagar

Kudtarkar

Fourth Yr. B.

ArchDYP, Pune


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CONTENTS:I. ART NOUVEAU

i. INTRODUCTION

ii. TIME & PLACE

iii. BIRTH OF ART NOUVEAU

iv. MAIN FEATURES

v. CHARACTERISTICS

vi. PRINCIPAL USES OF ART NOUVEAU:

Graphic Arts:

Painting Arts:

Architecture:

vii. FEATURES

Mural And Mosaic Designs

Furniture And Glassware

II. ANTONI GAUDIi. INTRODUCTION

ii. EARLY YEARS

iii. CHILDHOOD

iv. UNIVERSITY

v. DEVELOPMENT AS A PROFESSIONAL ARCHITECTvi. THE MATURE ARTIST

vii. ASSESSMENT


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viii. AN EXCEPTIONAL MAN

ix. FIRST COMMISSIONS

x. MAJOR PROJECTS

xi. HERITAGE

xii. ARTISTIC STYLE

xiii. FORMS USED BY GAUDIxiv. DEATH

xv. QUOTES

III. WORKS OF GAUDI UNDER ART NOUVEAULA SAGRADA FAMLIA

i. ARCHITECTURE:

o DESCRIPTION OF THE PARTS OF THE CHURCH

o GEOMETRY

DOUBLE TWISTED COLUMN

ELLIPSOID

HELICOID AND CONOID

HYPERBOLOID

PROPORTIONS

RULED SURFACES

o EXPIATORY CHURCH

o BEYOND THE GOTHIC

o THE TREE STRUCTURE

o THE FOUNDATION

ii. HISTORY

o ORIGINS: 1866-1882

o BEGINNINGS: 1883-1913

o GAUD: 1914-1926

o RESUMPTION: 1939-1985

o PRESENT: 1986-2013


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iii. SYMBIOLOGY AND STRUCTURE

o GLORY FAADE

o PASSION FAADE

o THE NATIVITY FAADE

BELL TOWERS

THE PORTAL OF HOPE THE PORTAL OF CHARITY

o APSE FAADE

o CENTRAL NAVE AND SIDE NAVES

o CHAPEL AND SACRISTIES

o CLOISTER

o STAINED GLASS

IV. CONCLUSIONV. BIBLIOGRAPHY


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Art Noveau

Introduction

(French for 'new art') is an international styleof art, architecture and design that peaked in

popularity at the beginning of the 20th

century (1880-1914) and is characterized by

highly-stylized, flowing, curvilinear designs

often incorporating floral and other plant-

inspired motifs.

Time and Place

Art Nouveau art and architecture flourished

in major European cities between 1890 and 1914.


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It embraced all forms of art and design:

Architecture

Furniture

Glassware

Graphic Design

Jewelry

Painting

Pottery

Metalwork

Textile

This was a sharp contrast to the traditional separation of art intothe distinct categories of

fine art (painting and sculpture) andapplied arts (ceramics,furniture, and other practical

objects).

Birth of Art Nouveau

The last third of the 19thcentury saw the development of a fundamentally approach

to architecture and interior design. All over Europe there was a need for liberating change

of direction, a desire to break away from set formulas based on pastiche of historical styles

and a search for original ideas, all of which resulted at the beginning of the 1890s in the

birth of Art Nouveau.

The name 'Art Nouveau' derived from the name of a shop in Paris, (Maison de la'Art

Nouveau) that showcased objects that followed this approach to design.

This Arts & Crafts movement was a British and American style between 1880 and 1910

basically rejected the cold, impersonal aesthetics brought on by the Industrial Revolution.

Objects made during the Arts & Crafts movement were smaller, affordable objects such as

textiles, pottery, furniture, etc.


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A high point in the evolution of Art Nouveau was the Exposition Universelle of 1900 in

Paris, in which the 'modern style' triumphed in every medium. It probably reached its

apogee. Art Nouveau made use of many technological innovations of the late 19th century,

especially the broad use of exposed iron and large, irregularly shaped pieces of glass in

architecture. By the start of the First World War, however, the highly stylized nature of Art

Nouveau design which itself was expensive to produce began to be dropped in favorof more streamlined, rectilinear modernism that was cheaper and thought to be more

faithful to the rough, plain, industrial aesthetic that became Art Deco

Main features

The general features that can be

recognized in Art Noveau are:

Flat, decorative patterns;

Intertwined organic forms

such as stems or flowers;

An emphasis on

handcrafting as opposed

to machine

manufacturing;

The use of new materials;

Inspiration from nature

and the abundant use of

nautal elements, but

preferably in plants and

organic type roundedinterwined with the

central motif.

Use of the curved line and

the asymmetry in both plans and elevations of buildings and decoration.

Tendency to stylize for the reasons, with less frequent representation. Strictly

realistic.

Use of feminine images in attitudes delicate and graceful, with a generous use ofwaves in the hair and the folds of her clothes.

Attitude tending to sensuality and sense of gratification, reaching the eroticism in

certain cases.


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Freedom in the use of exotic type reasons, be tey purely fantasy or inspiration in

different cultures, such as the use of Japanese prints. And the rejection of earlier styles

Characteristics:

Works of art in the Art

Nouveau style typically

feature objects of nature

such as birds, flowers and

insects but also include

women and fantasy

creatures. Embellishment is

introduced in the form of

intertwining curvilinear

vegetal forms such as leaves,

flowers, vines, grasses and

even seaweed. Art Nouveau

has the appearance of

flatness which is

accomplished by the absenceor reduction of shading;

abstract line work is often

used as a filler.


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In Architecture

Art Nouveau is a Bourgeois art, very expensive, which attempts to integrate all the

architecture in the arts.

It is a stream essentially decorative, but has original architectural solutions.

Developed between the 19thand 20thcentury

This movement uses the solutions that are the revolution of iron and glass contribute

to the architecture, but uses the industry for interior decoration.

The shapes are soft and rounded, although this is not the only characteristic of

modernism, but the profusion of decorative motifs. Dynamic, undulating, and

flowing, with curved 'whiplash' lines of syncopated rhythm, characterized much of

Art Nouveau. Another feature is the use of hyperbolas and parabolas in windows,arches, and doors. Conventional moldings seem to spring to life and 'grow' intoplant-derived forms. Like most design styles, Art Nouveau sought to harmonize itsforms. The text above the Paris Metro entrance follows the qualities of the rest of the

iron work in the structure. Art Nouveau in architecture and interior design eschewed

the eclectic revival styles of the Victorian era. Though Art Nouveau designers

selected and 'modernized' some of the more abstract elements of Rococostyle, suchas flame and shell textures, they also advocated the use of highly stylized organicforms as a source of inspiration, expanding the 'natural' repertoire to embraceseaweed grasses, and insects.Features

Art Nouveau buildings have many of these

features:

Asymmetrical shapes

Extensive use of arches and curved forms

Curved glass

Curving, plant-like embellishments

Mosaics

Stained glass

Japanese motifs


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Hotel Tassel (Victor Horta) 1stArt Nouveau Building in the World


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Clockwise from top:

1 and 2: A glass and metal installation

3: Crystal House

4: Entrance Gate by August Endell


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Mural and Mosaic Designs

The Art Nouveau movement

embraced mosaic art.

In Barcelona, Antoni Gaudi

worked with Josep Maria Jujol to

produce the stunning ceramic

mosaics of the Guell Park (below)

in the first two decades of the

20th century. These used a

technique known as trencadis in

which tiles (purpose-made and

waste tiles) covered surfaces of

buildings. They also incorporated broken crockery and other found objects, a revolutionaryidea in formal art and architecture.

Art Nouveau was a movement that was broad based enough to encompass a whole

lifestyle: it was possible to live in an art nouveau house with art nouveau furniture,

silverware, crockery, jewelry, etc

The presence of decorative elements such as flooring, stained glass, plasterwork, sculpted

stone, wrought ironwork, ceramic inlay and mosaics is a key determinant of Art Nouveau

buildings.


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ntoni Gaudi

Introduction

Antoni Gaudi was a spanisharchitect, leader of the Catalan

Modernism. He was mainly

influenced by the Gothic Art and

Oriental Styles.

The son of a coppersmith, AntoniGaud was born on June 25, 1852,and took to architecture at a youngage. He attended school inBarcelona, the city that wouldbecome home to most of his greatworks. Gaud was part of theCatalan Modernista movement,eventually transcending it with hisnature-based organic style. Gauddied on June 10, 1926, in

Barcelona, Spain.Gaud's works reflect his highlyindividual and distinctive style andare largely concentrated in Barcelona, notably his magnum opus, the Sagrada Famlia.

Gaudi was an architect with an exeptional sense of geometry and volume, as well as

great imaginative power that allowed him to mentally project majority of his work

before passing them on paper.

He preferred to recreate them on three-dimensional models, shaping every detail basedon the thoughts upcoming mentally.

He studied to the smallest details of his creations, architecture integrating a range ofhandicrafts which he mastered ti perfection: ceramics, glass, iron forging, carpentry, etc.

Much of Gaud's work was marked by his big passions in life: architecture, nature,religion. Gaud studied every detail of his creations, integrating into his architecture aseries of crafts in which he was skilled: ceramics, stained glass, wrought

ironwork forging and carpentry. He introduced new techniques in the treatment ofmaterials, such as trencads, made of waste ceramic pieces.


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Early YearsArchitect Antoni Gaud was born in Catalonia on the Mediterranean coast of Spain onJune 25, 1852. He showed an early interest in architecture, and went to study inBarcelonaSpain's most modern city at the timecirca 1870. After his studies wereinterrupted by military service, Gaud graduated from the Provincial School ofArchitecture in 1878.

Childhood

Antoni Gaud i Cornet was born on 25 June 1852 and baptised the following day at the

church of Sant Pere in Reus, the city where he spent his childhood. He was the son of a

coppersmith from Riudoms, from whom he learned the trade, and from 1860 to 1869 he

studied at theEscolapian School in Reus,where he distinguished himself in geometry and

arithmetic and received a traditional religious and humanistic education. As a boy he

suffered from an illness that forced him to spend long periods resting at the family home

in Riudoms. He took advantage of the opportunity to observe nature, which was to be a

reference point throughout his life. At that time he did a number of drawings to illustrate

the manuscript magazine El Arlequn, which published ten issues of twelve copies each.

UNIVERSITY

In 1869 Antoni Gaud moved to Barcelona and enrolled as a free student at the Middle

School to follow the elements of physics and natural history courses. He went on to the

Faculty of Sciences at the University of Barcelona and, from 1873, prepared the entrance

exam for theBarcelona Province School of Architecture,at the Llotja in Barcelona, where he

obtained the official architect's diploma in 1878.

He did a number of jobs forLa Obrera Mataronense,, the first workers cooperative

company in Spain. At the same time, to pay for his studies he worked as a draughtsman forthe master builder Josep Fontser, who was landscapingCiutadella Park at the time. He

also wrote a set of notes known asEl manuscrit de Reus.

From 1876 Gaud worked as a draughtsman for his teacher Leandre Serrallach and, shortly

afterwards, with the architect Francesc de Paula del Villar on sketches for the apse and the

altar niche at La Mare de Du de Montserrat, a work which began in 1887.


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Development as a Professional Architect

Upon graduation, Gaud initially worked in the artistic vein of his Victorian predecessors,but he soon developed his own style, composing his works with juxtapositions ofgeometric masses and animating the surfaces with patterned brick or stone, brightceramic tiles and floral or reptilian metalwork. The salamander in Park Gell, for

instance, is representative of Gaud's work.

During his early period, atthe Paris World's Fair of 1878,Gaud displayed a showcasehe had produced, whichimpressed one patronenough to lead to Gaud'sworking on the Gell Estate

and Gell Palace, amongothers. In 1883, Gaud wascharged with the constructionof a Barcelona cathedralcalled Basilica i TempleExpiatori de la SagradaFamilia (Basilica and ExpiatoryChurch of the Holy Family).The plans had been drawn upearlier, and construction hadalready begun, but Gaudcompletely changed thedesign, stamping it with hisown distinctive style.

Gaud also soon experimented with various permutations of historic styles: the EpiscopalPalace (1887'93) and the Casa de los Botines (1892'94), both Gothic, and the CasaCalvet (18981904), which was done in the Baroque style. Some of these commissionswere the result of the 1888 World's Fair, at which Gaud once again staged animpressive showcase.

After a few years, under the influence of neo-Gothic art and Oriental techniques, Gaudbecame part of the Modernistamovement which was reaching its peak in the late 19thand early 20th centuries. His work transcended mainstream Modernisme, culminating inan organic style inspired by nature. Gaud rarely drew detailed plans of his works,instead preferring to create them as three-dimensional scale models and molding the

details as he was conceiving them.Gaud's work enjoys widespread international appeal and many studies are devoted tounderstanding his architecture. Today, his work finds admirers among architects and thegeneral public alike. His masterpiece, the still-uncompleted Sagrada Famlia, is one of


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the most visited monuments in Catalonia. Between 1984 and 2005, seven of his workswere declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Gaud's Roman Catholic faithintensified during his life and religious images permeate his work. This earned him thenickname "God's Architect" and led to calls for his beatification.

AN EXCEPTIONAL MAN

Antoni Gaud is one of the outstanding

figures of Catalan culture and international

architecture. He was born in Baix Camp

(Reus, Riudoms), but it was in Barcelona

that he studied, worked and lived with his

family. It is also in the city that we find

most of his work. He was first and

foremost an architect, but he also

designed furniture and objects and

worked in town planning and landscaping,

amongst other disciplines. In all those

fields he developed a highly expressive

language of his own and created a body of

work that speaks directly to the senses.

FIRST COMMISSIONS

In 1878, with his architect's diploma, Gaud received his first official commission from

Barcelona Council, to designstreet lamps part of the urban equipment of the city. At the

same time Eusebi Gell's father in law, Antonio Lpez, Marqus de Comillas, commissioned

him with the project for the furnishings forthe family chapel and vault,near the Palau deSobrellano, in Comillas (Cantabria).

He had more work as an architect after 1883, the time when he was working as a

draughtsman and associate of the architect Joan Martorell. That was when he was

commissioned with the construction ofCasa Vicens, Villa El Capricho in Comillas, and the

continuation of the work onExpiatory Church of La Sagrada Famlia was entrusted to him.

Shortly afterwards he received the first major commission fromEusebi Gell,his future

patron and main customer, which gave him the building of thepavilions at the Gell Estate,

followed byPalau Gell,in Carrer Nou de la Rambla.


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In 1887 he began to planthe Episcopal Palace in Astorga and the following year the works

onthe Teresian School in Barcelona. He then built theCasa de los Botines in Len and in

1892 worked on a religious building for the Franciscan friars in Tangier ,the Catholic

Missions of Africa,which he never completed.

MAJOR PROJECTS

One of the last works Gaud did for the

industrialist Eusebi Gell was the building of

the church at Colonia Gell, in Santa Coloma de

Cervell, which he began in 1898. In the same

year be built Casa Calvet, which won the

Barcelona Council annual award, and in 1900 he

started the works on Gell Park and the Torre

de Bellesguard.At the same time he did a

number of religious projects: at Montserrat the

First Mystery of Glory of the monumental

Rosary, and in Palma the restoration of the cathedral. In 1905 he worked in La Pobla de

Lillet on the Artigas Gardens and the Xalet del Catllars. And in 1906, when he finished

Casa Batll, he began the building of Casa Mil. He is attributed the preliminary project for

a hotel in New York, which was never done.


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HERITAGE

On 7 June 1926, at the junction of Gran Via de les Corts

Catalanes and Carrer de Bailn, Gaud was knocked

down by a number 30 tram. Seriously injured, he was

taken to the Hospital de la Santa Creu, where he died

three days later. His body was buried on 12 June in theCarmen chapel in the crypt of La Sagrada Famlia. His

coffin, which was carried through a large part of the city,

was followed by a crowd who wanted to say farewell to

the man who was the city's most illustrious architect.

The building of La Sagrada Famlia was continued by his

associate architects and artists. Over the years, the workhas been enriched by the participation of

many architects and artists with the aim of following

Gaud's original idea.

With the years, the figure of Gaud has gained adepts,

has become very famous and is highly appreciated

today. His work has become one of the main cultural

attractions of the city, and is a legacy that has been

declared UNESCO World Heritage.

The Mature Artist

After 1902, Antoni Gaud's designs began to defyconventional stylistic classification, and he created atype of structure known as equilibratedthat is, itcould stand on its own without internal bracing,external buttressing, etc. The primary functionalelements of this system were columns that tilted toemploy diagonal thrusts and lightweight tile vaults.Notably, Gaud used his equilibrated system toconstruct two Barcelona apartment buildings: theCasa Batll (190406) and the Casa Mil (190510),

whose floors were structured like clusters of tile lilypads. Both projects are considered to becharacteristic of Gaud's style.


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Assessment

The architectural work of Gaud is remarkable for its range of forms, textures, andpolychromy and for the free, expressive way in which these elements of his art seem tobe composed. The complex geometries of a Gaud building so coincide with itsarchitectural structure that the whole, including its surface, gives the appearance of

being a natural object in complete conformity with natures laws. Such a sense of totalunity also informed the life of Gaud; his personal and professional lives were one, andhis collected comments about the art of building are essentially aphorisms about the artof living. He was totally dedicated to architecture, which for him was a totality of manyarts.

Artistic Style:

Gaud's first works were designed in the style of gothic and traditional Catalanarchitectural modes, but he soon developed his own distinct sculptural style.

Eugene Viollet-le-Duc proved a major influence on Gaud.

He integrated the parabolic arch, nature's organic shapes, and the fluidity of water

into his architecture.

He observed the forces of gravity and related catenary principles.

Using the Catalan trencadis technique, Gaud often decorated surfaces with broken

tiles.

Art Nouveau architecture, a precursor to modern architecture.


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LA SAGRADA FAMLIA

Church of the Holy FamilyGaud's first works were designed in the style of gothic and traditional Catalan

architectural modes, but he soon developed his own distinct sculptural style. Eugene

Viollet-le-Duc proved a major influence on Gaud. He integrated the parabolic arch,

nature's organic shapes, and the fluidity of water into his architecture. He observed the

forces of gravity and related catenary principles.

Using the Catalan trencadis technique, Gaud often decorated surfaces with broken

tiles.The church is built in Art Nouveau architecture, a precursor to modern architecture.


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Gaud spent most of his professional career building the Expiatory Church of La Sagrada

Famlia, He received the commission in late 1883 and it occupied the his whole life. He did

other work there, such as the Provisional Schools of La Sagrada Famlia (1909), and the

construction of the workshop, where he worked with models and photographs, and where

for his final years he went to live to follow the work from closer up. Walter Gropius came to

the church in 1907, but did not manage to talk to Gaud, "who was working busily".

In 1910 Gell promoted an exhibition of Gaud's work at Le Grand Palais in Paris, It had a

certain international echo, which reached as far as the United States and introduced him to

the architect Sullivan (Chicago School).

A few years later, in 1922, the Congress of Spanish Architects was held in Barcelona and

supported his work. The same year he received a commission to do a project for a church

for Our Lady of Rancagua, in Chile, for which he proposed to build the chapel of the

Assumption in the apse.

In 1923-1924 the architects Neufert and Linder, on the advice of Walter Gropius, visited

Gaud. They made friends with him and published an important article in the

journal Deutsche Bauzeitung.


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PHOTO GALLERY


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DESCRIPTION OF THE PARTS OF THE CHURCH

The expiatory church of La Sagrada Famlia is a church with five naves and a crossing with

three, forming a Latin cross. The interior measurements are: nave and apse, 90 m; crossing,

60 m; width of the central nave, 15 m; side naves 7.5 m, total main nave, 45 m; width of the

crossing, 30m.


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BSIDE

CHAPELS

CLOISTERCROSSING AND TRANSEPTS

CRYPT

GLORY FAADE

THE NATIVITY FAADE

PASSION FAADE

MAIN NAVE

SACRISTIES
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GEOMETRY

During the last fifteen years of his life, Gaud planned many parts of the church so that they

could be built in the future. He did so combining geometrical forms, chosen for their

formal, structural, luminous, acoustic and constructive qualities: hyperboloids, paraboloids,

helicoids, conoids and ellipsoids.

Many of these surfaces are ruled, which makes the construction easier. He assigned one of

these forms to each type of the elements that make up the naves. With helicoids he

invented a new column in the history of architecture: the double twisted column. He used

hyperboloids for the openings of the windows and the vaults. With paraboloids he created

linking surfaces on the vaults, the roofs and the columns of the Passion faade. He

generated the knots or capitals of the main columns with ellipsoids. And earlier he had

planned the building of the parish schools with conoids.

Moreover, Gaud developed a system of proportions applied to all the dimensions and

elements of the church.


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ELLIPSOID

The ellipsoid is a solid in which all the flat sections are ellipses. Because of its elliptical

shape it was chosen by Gaud for the knots or capitals that subdivide the lower columns

into branches. The different knots are the result of adding and subtracting ellipsoids from

one another.


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HELICOID AND CONOID

The helicoid is a ruled surface generated by a straight line that revolves according to a

spiral around a vertical axis.

The conoid is a surface formed by a straight line which is displaced above another straightline and above a curve, for example a sinusoid.


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HYPERBOLOID

The hyperboloid is a surface

generated by a hyperbola which

revolves around a circle or ellipse.

They can be solid or empty, solid to

pass from the column to the vaults,

empty where the light enters the

interior of the church. The

hyperboloid contains two sheaves

of inclined straight lines tangent to

the circle or the ellipse. On the

vaults and windows, the

hyperboloid is bounded by star shapes created by the straight lines. The vaults and thewindows are intersections between hyperboloids, linked with paraboloids thanks to straight

lines that are common to two surfaces.


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PROPORTIONS

A single system of proportions, based on the twelfth parts of the largest dimension, orders

in series the general measurements of the church (width, length and height of each part),

the diameters of the columns and the diameters of the openings of windows and vaults.


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RULED SURFACES

Ruled double curve surfaces are, as their name suggests, surfaces that contain straight lines

because they are generated by the movement of one straight line that follows a particular

route.

With the use of twisted ruled surfaces (hyperboloids, paraboloids, helicoids and conoids),

Gaud planned a naturalistic architecture formed only of geometrical surfaces with

hyperbolic and parabolic sections, of fine structural, acoustic and light distribution

qualities. The fact of being generated by straight lines makes the construction easier.


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EXPIATORY CHURCH

The expiatory church of La Sagrada Famlia is a work on a grand scale which was begun on

19 March 1882 from a project by the diocesan architect Francisco de Paula del Villar (1828-

1901). At the end of 1883 Gaud was commissioned to carry on the works, a task which he

did not abandon until his death in 1926. Since then different architects have continued the

work after his original idea.

The building is in the centre of Barcelona, and over the years it has become one of the

most universal signs of identity of the city and the country. It is visited by millions of

people every year and many more study its architectural and religious content.

It has always been an expiatory church, which means that since the outset, 132 years ago

now, it has been built from donations. Gaud himself said: "The expiatory church of LaSagrada Famlia is made by the people and is mirrored in them. It is a work that is in the

hands of God and the will of the people." The building is still going on and could be

finished some time in the first third of the 21st century.


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BEYOND THE GOTHIC

Gaud made a detailed study of the main examples of Gothic cathedrals. The evolution of

his project for La Sagrada Famlia cannot be understood with the desire to overcome all the

defects he found in the Gothic structural system, mainly the following:

a) Shifting of the loads to exterior elements (buttresses and flying buttresses), moreexposed and more vulnerable, considered by Gaud the "crutches" of the Gothic building.

b) Excessively complex and fragile structural web. The demolition of one part can bring

about the ruin of the whole building.

c) Light wooden roofs, excessively vulnerable to fire, damp, xylophagous insects...

Gaud's contributions to going beyond the Gothic can be summarised as:

a) Double roof of stone, to give the building long life.

b) Verticalisation of the whole project, verticalisation of the forces and reduction of the

horizontal thrusts. He thus achieves the total suppression of the structural elements that

were exposed to the exterior.

c) Inclined columns branching like trees.


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REINFORCED CONCRETE:

The use of reinforced concrete at La Sagrada Famlia should come as no surprise, as Gaud

had provided for it. He was one of the first architects to use the material because Eusebi

Gell was the owner of the first Portland cement factory in the country, at Castellar de

n'Hug.

At La Sagrada Famlia we can find reinforced concrete on the terminations of the towers of

the Nativity faade, built directly by Gaud, who also proposed to use it on the construction

of the naves to concentrate the horizontal forces on the columns and reduce the amount

of scaffolding for the construction.

Since current regulations have enormously increased the requirements and the impositions

now demanded from a structure, at La Sagrada Famlia the number of armatures, thequalities and the bearing capacity of the concrete have had to grow in a similar proportion,

while maintaining the sections and the slenderness of Gaud's original design


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THE TREE STRUCTURE

Gaud planned inclined branching columns in the

shape of a tree for the church.

From a long, meticulous empirical study of models

of inverted weights with chains or strings andgraphic calculations, he managed to determine the

inclination of the load-bearing elements (columns-

trees) in order to optimise the structural

behaviour by transferring the loads to the

central nucleus. In that way he makes the

compression elements work and reduces the

flexed elements to the minimum. He alsomanages to bring down the main loads along

the interior pillars of the nave and not along the

perimeter of the floor or the exterior elements.


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STRUCTURE OF THE NAVES

Gaud wanted to create a new architecture, with balanced, self-resistant structures. And so

in his professional career he constructed parabolic and catenary arches and experimented

with a reverse model of strings and bags for the church at Colonia Gell to calculate andconstruct inclined columns. For the expiatory church of La Sagrada Famlia, he proposed to

improve the Gothic structure of the main European cathedrals and the project of the first

architect of the church, and planned a balanced structure of columns that branch out like

trees, as the culmination of the structural studies of his other buildings.


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THE FOUNDATION

Since it was built as an expiatory church, the financing of La Sagrada Famlia is totally

private.

The disinterested donations and the revenue from the donative admission charge paid by

two and a half million visitors every year are what make the building possible.

The expiatory church of La Sagrada Famlia is managed by an ecclesiastical foundation,

whose purpose is to administer the budgets and carry out the building project for a church

dedicated to the Holy Family, faithfully following the initial guidelines of Antoni Gaud.

The Construction Board of La Sagrada Famlia Foundation was created as an independent

private canonical foundation on 20 July 1895 by the bishop of Barcelona at the time, JaumeCatal.

From its beginnings as a foundation, and in accordance with the wishes of the descendants

of the founder Josep M. Bocabella, the ex officio chairman is the archbishop of Barcelona.

The direction and coordination of the church building plan, the management of the funds

and the actions of the Foundation are delegated to a person from outside the ecclesiastical

sphere who works with the members of the Construction Board.

The delegate chairman and the members of the board all work disinterestedly.

ORIGINS: 1866-1882

The origins of the Expiatory

Church of La Sagrada Famlia

go back to 1866, the year

when Josep Maria Bocabella i

Verdaguer founded the

Spiritual Association of the

Devotees of St Joseph,which

from 1874 promoted the

construction of an expiatory

church dedicated to the Holy


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Family. In 1881, thanks to generous donations, the Association bought a plot of land with a

surface area of 12,800m between Carrer de Marina, Carrer de Provena, Carrer de

Sardenya and Carrer de Mallorca for the site of the church.

The foundation stone was laid on 19 March 1882, the feast of St Joseph, at a solemn event

presided by the bishop of Barcelona, Josep Urquinaona. Building then began with the cryptbeneath the apse after a neo-Gothic design by the architectFrancisco de Paula del Villar y

Lozano.A short time later, owing to disagreements with the promoters, he resigned and

the commission was handed over to Antoni Gaud.

BEGINNINGS: 1883-1913

After undertaking the project in 1883, Gaud built the crypt, which was finished in 1889. As

he started work on the apse (and the cloister), everything went at a good pace thanks to

the donations. When he received a large anonymous one, he thought of doing a new,

bigger work: he discarded the old neo-Gothic project and proposed a more monumental

and innovatory one in terms of both forms and structures and the construction.Gaud's

project consisted of a large church with a Latin cross ground plan and high towers; it

carried a major symbolic load, in both architectural and sculptural form, with the ultimate

aim of being a catechistic explanation of the teachings of the Gospels and the Church.

In 1892 he began work on the foundations of theNativity faade because, as he said

himself, "If, instead of making this decorated, ornamented and swollen faade I had begun

with the Passion, hard, bare and

as if made of bone, peoplewould have stepped back." In

1894 the apse faade was

finished and in 1899 the Roser

door, one of the entrances to

the Nativity cloister.

Alongside these works, at the

south-west corner of the church,

in 1909 Gaud built the

Temporary Schools,designed


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for the children of the workers on La

Sagrada Famlia and the local children who

were members of its parish. The following

year, in 1910, a model of the Nativity faade

was exhibited at the Grand Palais in Paris on

the occasion of an exhibition of Gaud'swork, promoted by his friend and patron

Eusebi Gell.

GAUD: 1914-1926

After 1914, Gaud devoted himself

exclusively to building La Sagrada Famlia,

which is why there are no other major works

from the last years of his life. He became so

involved that he lived his last few months right next to hisworkshop,a room beside the

apse used for making scale models, doing sketches and drawings, as a sculpture studio and

a space for photographic work, amongst others.

In 1911 he planned thePassion faade and in 1923 the definitive solution to the naves and

roofs. The works advanced slowly, though, and Gaud said: "There is no reason to regret

that I cannot finish the church. I will grow old but others will come after me. What must

always be conserved is the spirit of the work, but its life has to depend on the generations

it is handed down to and with whom it lives and is incarnated".

On 30 November 1925 the construction of the first bell tower of theNativity faade,

dedicated to St Barnaby and 100 m high, was finished. This is the only one that Gaud lived

to see built, since on 10 June 1926 he died as a result of a tragic accident three days earlier,

when he was run over by a tram. On 12 June he was buried in the Carmen Chapel in the

crypt of La Sagrada Famlia, where his remains still lie today.

All those years, a large number of architects, draughtsmen, sculptors and model makers

had worked on the project with Gaud. Among the architects were Francesc Berenguer,

Joan Rubi, Domnec Sugraes, Josep Maria Jujol, Josep Canaleta, Francesc de Paula

Quintana i Vidal, Josep Francesc Rfols, Csar Martinell, Isidre Puig i Boada, Llus Bonet i


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Gar, Francesc Folguera and Joan Bergs. Among the draughtsmen was Ricard Opisso, and

among the sculptors Lloren Matamala, Joan Flotats, Joan Matamala, Carles Mani and Pau

Badia. The most notable constructor was Agust Massip i Brass; the locksmith was Joan

Os; the ceramic elements were made by the Pujol i Bausis company in Esplugues de

Llobregat; the woodwork by Jaume Munn; and the ironwork by the Badia brothers.

RESUMPTION: 1939-1985

After the Spanish Civil War the construction of La

Sagrada Famlia began again and the churchcontinued to rise slowly. From 1939 to 1940, the

architect Francesc de Paula Quintana i Vidal, an

associate of Gaud since 1919, restored the burnt

crypt and reconstructed many of the damaged

models, which were used to continue the

construction according to Gaud's original idea.

In 1952 the XXXV International Eucharistic

Congress was held in Barcelona, and a number

of events were organised in the church on that

occasion. The same year the Nativity staircase

was built and the faade illuminated for the first

time; from 1964 it became permanent at the

decision of Barcelona Council.

The works continued strongly in 1954, when the

foundations of the Passion faade were begun,

based on the many studies done by Gaud

between 1892 and 1917. After the foundations

came the crypt, where in 1961 a museum was

opened to explain to visitors the historical,

technical, artistic and symbolic aspects of the

church. On that faade the four terminations of

the bell towers were erected in 1976; they were

finished the following year.


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One important date is 1955, when the first "collection" was made, a whole day devoted to

collecting funds to pay for the works, an initiative that was maintained in the following

years as a way for society to take part in the construction of the church.

On 19 March 1958, the feast of St Joseph, the sculptural group representing the HolyFamily, done by Jaume Busquets, was placed on the Nativity faade.

From 1978 the foundations of the nave and the crossing were done and the columns,

vaults and faades of the main nave and the

transepts were erected.

PRESENT: 1986-2013

Since 1986 the sculptorJosep Maria Subirachs has

been in charge of producing the statues and

sculpture for the Passion faade, which have been

executed in accordance with his very personal style

over the last 25 years.

In 2000 the vaults of the central nave and the

transept were built and work began on the

foundations of theGlory faade.That year, on the

occasion of the new millennium, a mass was held

inside the church which provided an opportunity tograsp the grandiosity of the work.

In 2001 the central window of the Passion faade

was completed with the installation of a stained

glass window dedicated to the resurrection, the work

ofJoan Vila-Grau.The four columns of the centre of

the crossing were also finished.

The figure and work of Gaud were especially

remembered in 2002, when Barcelona Council


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promoted International Gaud Year on the

occasion of the 150th anniversary of his birth.

La Sagrada Famlia took part with different

events, such as the restoration, removal and

opening of theSagrada Famlia Temporary

Schools as a new exhibition space, or the"Night of Light and Fire", a show held on 1

June which, with its special illumination and a

spectacular castle of fireworks, was the

highlight of the commemoration.

In 2002, the sculptorJosep Maria Subirachs

did the project for the wall of the prophets

and patriarchs which Gaud located in the

porch of the Passion faade, and in 2005 the

sculpture of the Ascension was placed

between the towers of the faade. At the

same time, the eucharistic symbols of bread

and wine were placed on the windows of the

central nave, the work of the Japanese

sculptorEtsuro Sotoo.

In 2006 the Glory faade choir was built

according to Gaud's models. The vaults of the

ambulatory of the apse were finished in 2008.

Between 2008 and 2010 the vaults of the

crossing and the apse has been completed; on

them the tower of the central lantern crowned

by a cross 170 m high will be erected, and the

apse tower, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The

central tower will be surrounded by four

others, dedicated to the evangelists.

The principle on-going tasks and those of the

coming years are the construction of the first

sacristy (on the western side), and the central towers (those of Jesus Christ, the fourEvangelists, the Virgin Mary, and the five already started). The church will be

complemented with the construction of the main faade, the Glory faade.


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GLORY FAADE

This is the main faade which will be the entrance to the church when it is finished. As it is

so important, Gaud included in the project the construction of a great exterior flight of

steps that provided access to the church with a solemnity befitting the place.

The Glory faade was given that name because it represents the situation ofman within thegeneral order of creation:his origins, his problems, the roads he must take and his

The columns of the Cathedral reflect the stalactites and stalagmites

found in the caves of Nerja


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purpose. Like the other faades, it will have three entrances (a main door dedicated to

charity and two side doors dedicated to hope and faith), and a porch with seven columns

that will symbolise the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and present the virtues opposed to the

sins.

The faade will have various sculpted elements and on the upper part, above the roof ofthe narthex, stretching along the four bell towers there will be stone clouds bearing the

Credo written in large letters. The bell towers will be consecrated to the apostles St

Andrew, St Peter, St Paul and St James the Great, ordered from left to right.

The Glory faade faces south so that the sun beats down on it for most of the day, in

harmony with its

significance: the

exaltation of its

strong life and joyous

spirit. Gaud himself

said: "Glory is light,

light gives joy and joy

is the happiness of

the spirit". For

technical reasons it isthe last of the three

faades to be built

and its architectural

and decorative

design follow Gaud's

original idea.

SCULPTURES ON THEGLORY FAADE

The sculptures on the

Glory faade, which is still under construction, will present man in the general order of

creation, showing his origin, his purpose and the roads he must take to accomplish it.

In this space Gaud brings out the eternal dilemma: the final place of sin, hell, and the final

place of virtue, heaven. Generally speaking this faade will show how, through the practiceof virtue, man can reach glory through the fruit of redemption and with the constant

assistance of the grace given by the Holy Spirit.


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In the frontmost zone of the faade there is a porch supported by seven columns: on the

lower part there will be symbolisations of the world of sin, as opposed to the upper part,

which will be dedicated to thevirtues.On the upper part there will be three elements

representing the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Ghost. This will be in the exact centre of

a structure of conoidal forms and will be represented by a white dove with its wingsunfolded, on the Latin inscription "Spiritum Sanctum". On the upper part there will be the

figure of the Son and, above and presiding the faade, the Father on the inscription

"Deum" and, above that, "Credo". The letters of that word will be luminous so that they can

be seen in the daytime and at night. The structure will be wrapped in a stone cloud with

inscriptions telling the story of the creation of the world according to Genesis.


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PASSION FAADE

This was the second faade to be built

following Gaud's original project. The

architect, who only left the decorative

part annotated, foresaw that future

generations would makeinterventions on it according to the

aesthetic tastes of the moment. Such

is the case of the sculptural

decoration by Josep Maria Subirachs

and the stained glass by Joan Vila-Grau.

The Passion faade is so calledbecause it representsthe Passion of

Jesus,in other words, the pain, the

sacrifice and the death, as staged

along the twelve stations of the cross,

expressed in highly dramatic and

emotionally intense sculpture groups.

The faade faces west and therefore

receives the last rays of the sun

before night falls. That arrangement

heightens the symbolic effect of darkness and shadows that haunted the architect. Like the

other faades, it has three entrances, also dedicated to charity, hope and faith, and four

bell towers, dedicated to the apostles St James the Less, St Bartholomew, St Thomas and St

Philip, ordered from left to right.


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SCULPTURES ON THE PASSION FAADE

The sculptures on the Passion faade stand out for

their contrast with the background, free of

ornaments and apparently composed of simple

forms. In this way Gaud wanted to symbolise the

desolation, the pain and the death of Jesus Christ.From that idea, between 1986 and 2005 the sculptor

Josep Maria Subirachs did the twelve stages of the

Via Crucis.

As is befitting, unlike the Nativity faade there are

no references to the joy of life, such as the

ornamentation of flowers and animals, and therepresentation of the feeling of the irreversible loss

of death is heightened. This dramatic doorway

shows the sacrifice made by Jesus for human beings.

All the groups, laden with a strong symbology, are accompanied by different materials and

designs that give a better understanding of thethemes presented.

Above this door rise the bell towers, where we can see the fruits of winter and autumn (the

seasons of greatest darkness and cold in Catalonia), such as chestnuts, pomegranates or

oranges, which complete the Mediterranean symbology in this part of the church.


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THE NATIVITY FAADE

The Nativity faade celebrates the birth of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God made man. It

is also referred to as the faade of Life, of Joy, or of Christmas. It is inspired by the gospels

about the childhood of Jesus: Lk 1:5-2:51; Mt 1-2.


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BELL TOWERS

The bell towers are dedicated to

the twelve apostles.

Tall pisky towers of the Cathedral

inspired by the Sedum Acre plant


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THE PORTAL OF HOPE

This part of the portico is devoted to the theological virtue of hope and to Joseph.


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UPPER SECTION OF THE PORTAL OF CHARITY

APSE FAADE

The apse is consecrated to OurLady, for whom Gaud felt

particular devotion. It is built on

top of the crypt and follows its

half circumference shape.

Between the walls are seven

apsidal chapels with slender

windows and pointed arches that

recall the Gothic style which

Gaud perfected.

A number of sculptures are

arranged on the exterior,

dedicated to the founders of

religious orders, such as St

Antony, St Benedict, StScholastica, St Bruno, St

Francis, St Elias and St Clare;


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the last has already been set in place. Above the windows are a number ofgargoyles which

pour out the surplus rainwater that falls on the chapels.

The pediments of the apse, stylised and elongated, end in pinnacles with the initials of Our

Lady, St Joseph and Christ, the last accompanied by the alpha and the omega, which recall

the beginning and the end of life. On the upper part different natural elements aredepicted, such as the palm frond and even ears of wheat or wild grass that recall the ones

that grew on the land where the church was built. The towers of the chapels will be

pyramidal and topped by a symbolic figuration of the invocations to the Messiah, which

are the antiphons of the last week of Advent. On either side of the apse are the side steps,

with cores that have an identical structure to the ones in the chapels.

CENTRAL NAVE AND SIDE NAVES

The church has a basilical ground plan and five

naves, the central one rising to a height of 45 m

and the side ones to 29 m. The central nave

and side naves are supported by a system of

columns which is completely new in the history

of architecture. In the eyes of the observer, the

interior looks like a forest of trees with beautiful

alignments, of which we can

see the trunk, the branches

and a cluster of leaves. In this

forest of columns,the light

filtered through the windows

will give a bucolic appearance

and give a feeling ofundergrowth.


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The ceilings of the central nave, seen from the interior, will be crowned by aedicules that

will provide support for lights with the initials of the Holy Family. Five thick parabolic

shields, placed on either side, will have "Amen" and the words of praise "Al", "le", "lu", "ia",

broken up into syllables, written on them. The large columns that support the vaults and

the roofs also represent the apostles and the churches of the whole world. The columns

dedicated to the apostles St Peter and St Paul are outstanding; they are situated betweenthe crossing and the apse, joining the triumphal arch with the Calvary.

On the exterior, the water from the roofs runs down drainpipes which at half height are

fixed to the walls at half height with the following allegories and captions: a flask with the

inscription "myrra (myrrh)- sacrifice", an incense burner with the inscription "thur (incense)

prayer" and a box with the inscription "aurum (gold)- alms. Beside and on the windows

are images of the saints who founded religious orders, such as St John Bosco, St Joachim

Vedruna or St Joseph Oriol.

CHAPEL AND SACRISTIES

On the Apse faade, the chapel of the Assumption will be built, dedicated to theAssumption of the Virgin, popularly known as Our Lady of August, especially venerated in

Catalonia. Gaud's project, inspired by an existing one in Girona cathedral, includes the


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crown dedicated to the Virgin, the pillars that form the structure and the curtains hanging

from it, as well as the angels that are represented on the Girona model. Gaud's proposal

will present these elements in stone and according to their personal language, in other

words, with parabolic geometrical forms and decidedly modern figurations.

On either side of the chapel of the Assumption is the cloister which, when it reaches thechamfered corner, will join the sacristies. There will be two and they will have quite original

shapes according to ruled geometry, with the roofs embellished with coloured mosaic and

the interior structured on six levels, all perfectly lit by the numerous openings to the

outside.

CLOISTER

The layout of the cloister of the church is completely

original in the history of Christian architecture, since

it does not form the atrium as in Latin basilicas, nor

is it attached to one side of the church as in

Benedictine monasteries and Mediaeval cathedrals.

The cloister runs all around the church and is only

interrupted by the doors and the apse, so that it acts

as a protective wall that guards the interior of the

church and separates it from the outside noise. And

so we can say that Gaud uses the exact meaning of

the word 'cloister', which means 'close'.

The cloister is also an element that connects the

different parts and allows processions to pass

through in certain religious solemnities. For that reason Gaud said: "The cloister will be

made for praying the rosary in procession."

Each intersection of the cloister with a faade leads to aornamented door,dedicated to a

different aspect of Our Lady. At each point where the cloister reaches a corner there are

three obelisks, the central one larger and the other two smaller. Each group symbolises a


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cardinal point, a virtue and a tempora (the fasts observed by Christians at each season) in

gratitude for the fruits of the earth.

STAINED GLASS

The church has stained glass on various

windows and openings. The ones done by

the stained glass maker Joan Vila-Grau since

1999 are outstanding; they are made ofpanes of different colours fixed with lead

and concrete. In these pieces of stained

glass, Vila-Grau symbolises specific themes

through the masses of colour.

The first stained glass windows to be placed

were in the transepts, and they express the

symbology conceived by Gaud. The mainwindow of the transept of the Passion

faade represents the resurrection, the

stained glass of the sides and the main nave

will symbolise the saints and shrines linked

to the local church represented on each

column. The upper stained glass windows of

the side naves will illustrate Jesus" words "Iam the way, the truth and the life", "The

resurrection", etc. The stained glass


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windows in the central nave will have no colour and will be made with plain, translucent or

opaque glass to symbolise purity, and to allow the maximum amount of light to enter the

interior.

Vila-Grau"s designs have been made by Josep Maria Bonet"s artistic stained glass

company, which had already produced other stained glass windows for the church, such asthe ones in the crypt.

CONCLUSION

Basically we can identify three lines of analysis of Gauds work: the first and the most common is that which

places him in the arena of fable, as an artistwho arbitrarily and subjectively created new forms and appliedmaterials and colours that allowed him to enrich the appearance of his buildings. Following on from this, being muchmore interesting while also misleading, is the approach that places him in the magical, esoteric realm, relating hisbulbous forms to hallucinogenic plants and visions, the product of surreal or supernatural states which under nocircumstances should be confused with Gauds equine religiosity, which lay between traditional spirituality and social

renewal. Finally, the third way to interpret Gauds work is to highlight its scientific and technical aspects, which led himto create what Joan Rubi called a new geometry. Presently, thanks to new technology, this view is arousing more

interest among experts, especially now that the central nave of the Sagrada Familia has been covered, in ccordancewith his plans. This has helped people, especiallythe non-believers, to further appreciate themagnificence of Gaudsarchitecture, an architecture that today isappreciated and cherished around the world, asshown by the success enjoyed by the exhibitiondevoted to him which ended on the 15th January2012 at the Braccio di Carlo Magno, Vatican City,an exhibition ocusing on Gaud and his crowningachievement, the Sagrada Familia, highlighting thethree pillars of his life: art, science and spirituality.

The most valuable aspect of Gaudis

language is revealed when we delve into

his

work, and indeed only then can we

appreciate its ultimate meaning and

discover the intelligence with which the

architect handled the concepts of space

and form


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Tauri Manfredo. History of Architecture- Modern Architecture

Mckay David. Modern Architecture in Barcelona 1854-1939Antonio Gaudi. An Enigma. 2006

Daniel Giralt-Miracle The Universality of Antoni Gaudi.

http://www.sagradafamilia.cat/sf-eng/index.php

www.architecturalview.com

www.nationalgeographic.netwww.flickr.com

Documents

Art Nouveau and Antoni Gaudi