VAULTED STRUCTURES

GAUDI

Gaudi

Gaudi, the Spanish architect from Barcelona, can be seen as a visionary of architecture but also of structures. His greatness as an architect is to be found in a prolific invention of forms and ways to study structures, especially vaulted ones. When he received his architect diploma, the director of his School of architecture said from him: “I don’t know if I gave a diploma to a genius or a mad man”. Mad man, surely not. Gaudi was a genius of a special kind. He found and developed a way to evaluate the stability of vaulted structures. The optimisation method developed by the Earth Institute has been inspired by his findings. He was born in 1852 and his life time has been very prolific. His quest for perfection made him redo many times a design, until he was entirely satisfied. It is amazing to see how fast he could work and how many works he could handle at the same time. He passed away in 1926, run over by a tramway, leaving to followers the completion of his greatest project, the Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia.

Sagrada Familia 1883-1926 – Original sketch by Gaudi

Sagrada Familia around 1920

Sagrada Familia in 2005

Sagrada Familia – Detail on a pinnacle

Sagrada Familia – Passion entrance

Sagrada Familia – Crypte

Sagrada Familia – Model study with the hyperboloid of revolution

Hyperboloid of revolution

Sagrada Familia – Nave with hyperboloids of revolution

Stability study for the Iglesia de la Colonia Guell (Displayed in the crypt of the Sagrada Familia)

Stability study for the Iglesia de la Colonia Guell

Stability study for an unknown work (displayed in the attic of Casa Mila)

Iglesia de la Colonia Guell – 1898 to 1914

Entrance of the Iglesia de la Colonia Guell

Iglesia de la Colonia Guell (crypt of the church which was planned)

Iglesia de la Colonia Guell – Detail on the rib arches

Iglesia de la Colonia Guell – Rib arches to generate a dome

Iglesia de la Colonia Guell – Detail on the staircase

Iglesia de la Colonia Guell

Iglesia de la Colonia Guell

Iglesia de la Colonia Guell

College de les Teresianes 1888 to1890

College de les Teresianes

College de les Teresianes

Parc Guell 1900 to 1914

Parc Guell

Parc Guell

Parc Guell

Parc Guell

Parc Guell

Casa Batllo – 1904 to 1907

Casa Batllo

Casa Batllo

Attics of Casa Batllo

Attics of Casa Batllo

Attics of Casa Batllo

Attics of Casa Batllo

Attics of Casa Batllo

Attics of Casa Batllo

Casa Mila, La Pedrera – 1906 to 1912

Attics of Casa Mila

Attics of Casa Mila

Attics of Casa Mila

Attics of Casa Mila

Attics of Casa Mila

Attics of Casa Mila

Attics of Casa Mila

Attics of Casa Mila

Attics of Casa Mila

Attics of Casa Mila

Attics of Casa Mila