{"id":3222,"date":"2025-03-07T10:39:49","date_gmt":"2025-03-07T09:39:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.sagradafamilia.org\/?p=3222"},"modified":"2025-03-26T13:55:50","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T12:55:50","slug":"the-sagrada-familia-a-repository-of-other-gaudi-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.sagradafamilia.org\/en\/la-sagrada-familia-receptacle-daltres-projectes-de-gaudi\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sagrada Fam\u00edlia, a repository of other Gaud\u00ed projects\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Antoni Gaud\u00ed came into contact with the architecture profession well before earning his university degree: he worked as an assistant to Josep Fontser\u00e8 on the project for the Parc de la Ciutadella, with Francisco de Paula del Villar on the throne of Our Lady of Montserrat, and with Joan Martorell, who was the one who suggested he be the architect of the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia. He received his degree on 15 march 1878, andjust five years later<\/a>would become the architect of our Temple. If we take into account that he continued working until the day he died, on 10 June 1926, in total he spent 43 years working on the Temple out of his 48 years as an architect, which is 90% of his professional career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We only mention these figures to give you an idea of how muchGaud\u00ed combined his work on the Temple with his other projects, above all in the early years.<\/strong>It would make sense that his personal, spiritual and professional growth could be seen in his work and, as a result of their coinciding in time, the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia must have been influenced in some way by his gradually increasing maturity <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on this idea, we\u2019ve set out, like a geologist on foreign soil, to find indications or traces of Gaud\u00ed\u2019s other projects in the walls and finished constructions of the Temple that in some way illustrate this personal growth. Despite the logic of this hypothesis, in reality it isn\u2019t very easy to draw a direct line between them. However, the Temple does have elements that draw from or were taken, adapted or transformed from Gaud\u00ed\u2019s other work<\/strong>. I amb aquest plantejament mostrem aqu\u00ed algunes d\u2019aquestes influ\u00e8ncies principals.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COL\u00d2NIA G\u00dcELL: A FREE, INNOVATIVE WORK METHOD<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gaud\u00ed himself said more than once that Col\u00f2nia G\u00fcell had become of vital importance to continuing with the project for the Temple. It was his test bench, like a trial laboratory. The polyfunicular model with strings and weights that gave shape to the design for this small church, despite being upside down, is an important example of this empirical meaning Gaud\u00ed brought to the project. This came from the photographs of the gigantic model, which was covered in white cloth to allow the master to paint on the images and turn them into his visions for the project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This work method was truly innovative but also quite overwhelming. For the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia calculations, Gaud\u00ed explained he used the graphic method instead of the empirical polyfunicular model. But he always said they were one and the same; that one was born out of the other<\/strong>. Aix\u00ed doncs, l\u2019aprenentatge a la Col\u00f2nia G\u00fcell \u00e9s important per diferents raons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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D\u2019una banda, perqu\u00e8 aquesta \u202fnew vision of the structure was designed in a much freer manner<\/strong> , uninhibited by the rigid constraints of orthogonality between horizontal and vertical lines. In the Temple, we can easily see how the lines of the columns escape verticality and lean, seeking out the optimal structural position corresponding to the load lines. Or in other words, the line a string weighed down with a little bag of birdshot would draw. The characteristic arching shapes of the vaults in the Temple naves are the structural result of distributing loads by directing them towards the capitals of the columns and totally exposing the areas further away from them with hyperbolic openings.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D\u2019altra banda, a la Col\u00f2nia G\u00fcell hi trobem \u202fnew building method that led to a new outer shape and texture<\/strong>. Els paraboloides de rajola del porxo els replantejava a l\u2019obra amb una simple col\u00b7lecci\u00f3 de cordills tensats que dibuixaven les rectes que contenien aquestes superf\u00edcies reglades. El resultat va ser la configuraci\u00f3 d\u2019unes formes noves, unes panxes com a voltes realment sorprenents i una nova expressivitat gr\u00e0cies als materials triats i a la manera d\u2019anar-los disposant o arrenglerant sobre aquestes superf\u00edcies. Al temple tamb\u00e9 hi podem veure les voltes amb aquestes noves formes reglades, no nom\u00e9s paraboloides sin\u00f3 tamb\u00e9 hiperboloides, aix\u00ed com la textura i calidesa d\u2019aquests materials cer\u00e0mics que en altres llocs, contemporanis al temps de Gaud\u00ed, no s\u2019haguessin deixat vistos sin\u00f3 revestits amb una capa protectora de guix, d\u2019arrebossat de morter o d\u2019altres materials m\u00e9s \u00abnobles\u00bb.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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LA PEDRERA AND BELLESGUARD: THE UNIQUE EXPERIENCE OF THE ATTICS<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Above the Temple naves, Gaud\u00ed designed a double-layer stone roof<\/strong> , justifying this with the fact that over time the wood ones would have worn too quickly and have been destroyed. So, between the naves and these roofs, there are three levels of attics, one on top of the other. These secondary spaces are also necessary for the space to work properly from all standpoints: architecturally, functionally and, even, in terms of comfort. They have been carefully maintained, even though visitors can\u2019t see them.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The attic spaces at some of Gaud\u00ed\u2019s other projects are more well known, however, like those at Casa Mil\u00e0 (La Pedrera), which are now home to the Espai Gaud\u00ed museum. All these spaces in exposed ceramic materials, without whitewashing, stir up feelings of interior space in those who see them that are difficult to put into words.,\u202f<\/strong>creen en l\u2019interior de qui les esguarda una sensaci\u00f3 d\u2019espai interior dif\u00edcil d\u2019explicar amb paraules.\u202f At the Temple, this experience of space,<\/strong> despite being secondary, also guided the project for the attic spaces above the naves, especially in terms of selecting the shapes (ruled surfaces, paraboloids, convex curves, etc.) and materials (exposed ceramic)<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also at La Pedrera, we can see that the top floor, when seen from the outside, is covered in a different sort of stone, from Ulldecona, and, if you look closely, you can see this outer layer is broken down into square pieces laid diagonally, like a net. At the Temple, the outer layer of stone on the apse vaults, 30 metres up, as well as that on the side naves and transepts, uses the same stone laid in the same way. Plus, if we look at the windows that penetrate these surfaces to bring light into the building, we can also find similarities or some influence between the two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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PARK G\u00dcELL: TRENCAD\u00cdS MOSAIC AS AN AESTHETIC AND BUILDING RESOURCE<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The freedom in the colours that the ceramic trencad\u00eds mosaics bring to curving surfaces is possibly one of the aspects that most attracts visitors to Park G\u00fcell. It is everywhere: on the buildings at the main entrance, on the roofs, on the stairs with the dragon fountain, in the Hypostyle Room and on the bench along the edge of the main square above it. We have to believe that this prior experience, not only with shape and colour but also how to build with it, was a learning experience that saw its maximum expression at the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia in the pinnacles<\/strong>\u202f o terminals de les torres campanars.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, in Gaud\u00ed\u2019s architecture nothing is random or capricious. The trencad\u00eds mosaic, in fact, is not only an aesthetic resource but also has constructive purpose, as we can see, for example, in the spire on one of the buildings at the entrance to Park G\u00fcell: the checked mosaic covering in blue and white creates interlaced helices that follow the lines of the metal reinforcements inside the structure. Similarly, the inside of the pinnacles on the Nativity towers, which Gaud\u00ed built in his final years, also have a significant metal skeleton inside. So, the trencad\u00eds allowed him to cover the outside of this steel, hiding it inside the concrete mass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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RESTORATION OF THE CATHEDRAL IN PALMA DE MALLORCA: THE ORIGIN OF THE DIMENSIONS OF THE TEMPLE<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When looking at the Temple, we can see things that show a clear link to the fantastic work Gaud\u00ed did in restoring the cathedral in Palma de Mallorca. To give just a few examples, the heptagonal baldachin above the altar is a nearly identical replica of the one in Mallorca<\/strong>, as well as several wrought-iron elements and railings, and the lamp in the courtyard leading into the crypt. Nevertheless, possibly one of the most important influences, although it isn\u2019t as visible or literal, was on the general measurements of the Temple.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mallorca has one central nave that is 12 metres wide and 44 metres tall and side naves that are 33 metres tall. Gaud\u00ed, knew this was the outer limit of a Gothic structure and based the measurements for the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia on what he had learned in Mallorca, in multiples of 7.5 metres<\/strong>. So, the central nave is 15 metres wide and 45 metres tall, and the side naves 30 metres tall. These measurements came from the structural study Gaud\u00ed and his assistant Rubi\u00f3 did for the Mallorca project, comparing cathedrals from all over.\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Antoni Gaud\u00ed ja va tenir contacte amb la professi\u00f3 d\u2019arquitecte molt abans d\u2019obtenir-ne el t\u00edtol universitari: \u00e9s conegut que va treballar com a ajudant de Josep Fontser\u00e8 en el projecte del parc de la Ciutadella, amb Francisco de P. del Villar en el cambril de Montserrat, o tamb\u00e9 amb Joan Martorell, qui el va proposar […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":3223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gaudi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sagradafamilia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sagradafamilia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sagradafamilia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sagradafamilia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sagradafamilia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sagradafamilia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3222\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sagradafamilia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sagradafamilia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sagradafamilia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sagradafamilia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}