It is well known that Gaudí predicted the international interest the Sagrada Família would attract, saying “People will come from all over to see what we’ve done.” Over a century later, the figures confirm it: recently, the Temple has welcomed more than four million visitors each year -twenty million come by just to look at …
Continue reading » “Five reasons the Sagrada Família is a must-see”
In his time, Gaudí predicted that “people would come from all over to see the Sagrada Família,” and that the Temple would “influence art”. And this has been the case for the over one hundred years the Basilica has been under construction. Throughout this time, the Sagrada Família has welcomed visitors who have been key …
One of the things that sets Gaudí apart from other architects of his time is the fact that structural issues and formal issues, those regarding the appearance of his architecture, are always interrelated and, in some way, inseparable. And the Schools at the Sagrada Família are a good example of this. Gaudí built the Schools …
Since we launched this blog in November 2017, we’ve often referred to the Àlbums del Temple. These documents are extremely important for the architects in the Sagrada Família technical office, researchers and anyone interested in Gaudí’s work. But what are they exactly and why are they so significant? The Asociación Espiritual de Devotos de San …
Continue reading » “‘Àlbums del Temple’, essential for following Gaudí’s project”
Towards the end of his life, Gaudí lost many friends and family members. The last blow he had to come to terms with was when head model maker Llorenç Matamala, who Gaudí was very fond of, was diagnosed with untreatable brain cancer. In fact, over the final twelve years of his life, Matamala offered to …
Continue reading » “How much of the Sagrada Família did Gaudí leave behind when he died?”
The Basilica of the Sagrada Família has been under construction for 137 years, awaiting the city’s response to the application for a permit submitted in 1885 to the City Council of Sant Martí de Provençals, currently one of Barcelona’s neighbourhoods, as explained in a previous article. This request was accompanied by a blueprint of the …
Continue reading » “The City Council grants the construction licence to build the Sagrada Família”
[Author: Adolf Mas] Gaudí said that work must be based on love and is the fruit of teamwork. So, the person in charge has to take advantage of each member’s best qualities to pool their efforts. In this vein, in a previous article we looked at how Gaudí surrounded himself with incredible artisan collaborators, including …
Continue reading » “Gaudí and teamwork: his architect collaborators”
Antoni Gaudí made the outside façades of the Sagrada Família appear like huge altarpieces, with a clearly catechistic and evangelising purpose. In contrast, he wanted the inside to be a space of reflection and prayer, and this is why we find no large altarpieces but instead just a few sculptures with pronounced symbolic importance. In …
Continue reading » “The sculptures inside the Temple: The Holy Family… and Saint George!”
Just like patients are monitored at a hospital, tracking their vital signs to detect any anomalies and raise the alarm, it is also becoming commonplace in the world of architecture and heritage to monitor important buildings or heritage sites. In these cases, it is important to get enough data to ensure that any issues are …
Continue reading » “The Sagrada Família: a Temple monitored 24 hours a day”
The feast of the Immaculate Conception, on 8 December, reminds us that we are in Advent from the Sunday of Christ the King, celebrating the end of one liturgical year and the beginning of another. With Advent, preparations begin again for the arrival of the Messiah on Christmas, lighting a candle each of the four …
Continue reading » “The Virgin Mary, the other protagonist of the Sagrada Família”
