viernes, 23 de diciembre de 2011

BARCELONA - MODERNISM OF GAUDI: CASA BATLLO

Recently I visited La Casa Batlló and I liked a lot what I saw. Moving through the house, I was constantly surprised by the details I discovered with every step: curved line, parabolic arches, colourful stained-glass windows, raised ceramic tiles, decorative pieces of masonry or the shapes of the door handles and banisters ergonomically designed.

Antoni Gaudí gave Casa Batlló a facade that is original, fantastical and full of imagination. He replaced the original facade with a new composition of stone and glass. He ordered the external walls to be redesigned to give them a wavy shape.

La Casa Batlló is one of the most beautiful buildings in Barcelona, a jewel of modernism designed by the brilliant architect Antoni Gaudí. It is the definitive work of art, with the artist encouraging everything to work together: design, space, colour, shape and light.

La Casa Batlló consists of a ground floor, a main floor with a courtyard, four further self-contained floors, a loft and a roof terrace. Next you can see some pictures of these parts I took during this visit.



Main Facade

Balconies of Casa Batlló in Barcelona
I wonder if the Balconies of Casa Batlló are masks or maybe bats

Noble Floor of Casa Batlló
On the Noble Floor of Casa Batlló, Antoni Gaudí included a huge gallery - to see and be seen - which projects several metres out over Passeig de Gràcia. He also inserted stone columns in the shape of bones


Noble Floor

Mushroom-shaped fireplace in Casa Batlló
Romantic mushroom-shaped fireplace, which is flanked by a bench on either side, one for the chaperone and the other for the couple being chaperoned

Noble floor of Casa Batlló
I really liked the warm colors of the floor and doors and windows in the noble floor of Casa Batlló

Noble floor of Casa Batlló
The ceiling is wavy, in allusion to the sea. It features an ingenious whirlpool effect which evokes the power of the sea

Inner courtyard of Casa Batlló
The inner courtyard of Casa Batlló is decorated with more than 15,000 glazed tiles

Blue tiles in Casa Batlló
There are five different tones of blue tiles used in the well of Casa Batlló, inspired by the different shades of the sea

Landing in Casa Batlló
Spacious landing with direct views towards the blue tiling of the building well. The windows in Casa Batlló, like the one of this picture, play a double role: the upper part being for illumination and the lower part for ventilation

Loft

Parabolic arches in Casa Batlló
There are more than 60 parabolic arches in the loft area of Casa Batlló

Roof Terrace

Roof terrace of Casa Batlló
The building is crowned with a spectacular roof which, being composed of large scales, looks like a dragon's back

Roof terrace of Casa Batlló
The roof terrace of La Casa Batlló is dominated by what is affectionately known as the dragon’s back. Gaudí represents an animal’s spine using tiles of different colours on one side, and coloured using the trencadís mosaic technique on the side facing inwards towards the roof terrace

Chimneys of Casa Batlló
The roof of La Casa Batlló is decorated with four chimney stacks like the one of this picture – sinuous, stylised and polychromatic, in an endless flirtation with the heavens. Behind the aesthetic aspect, functionality is ever-present: the wind cannot obstruct smoke from escaping thanks to the chimney caps on the tops of the chimneys, which are tiled with the same trencadís glazed mosaics as the facade

Tower and cross which crowns Casa Batlló
As you can see, La Casa Batlló also has a tower, and rising from this is a cross with four arms pointing north, south, east and west

Cross which crowns Casa Batlló
A closer view of the cross which crowns Casa Batlló. This cross shows the religiosity of Antoni Gaudí

Casa Batlló lit at night
A last picture of the facade of Casa Batlló, which is tiled with a mosaic composed of pieces of glass and ceramic discs, giving an undulating surface


Of course you can visit more wonderful modernist masterpieces in Barcelona designed by Antoni Gaudí like:


Besides, other modernist buildings you can visit in Barcelona are:



Finally, clicking on the next link you will find links to other beautiful places in Barcelona, among them, more fantastic modernist buildings along the Modernism Route.

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