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Works of Antoni Gaudí
Seven properties built by the architect Antoni Gaudí
(1852–1926) in or near Barcelona testify to Gaudí’s exceptional creative
contribution to the development of architecture and building technology in the
late 19th and early 20th centuries. These monuments represent an eclectic, as
well as a very personal, style which was given free reign in the design of
gardens, sculpture and all decorative arts, as well as architecture. The seven
buildings are: Parque Güell; Palacio Güell; Casa Mila; Casa Vicens; Gaudí’s
work on the Nativity façade and Crypt of La Sagrada Familia; Casa Batlló; Crypt
in Colonia Güell.
Justification for Inscription
Criterion (i): The work of Antoni Gaudí represents an
exceptional and outstanding creative contribution to the development of
architecture and building technology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Criterion (ii): Gaudí’s work exhibits an important
interchange of values closely associated with the cultural and artistic
currents of his time, as represented in el Modernisme of Catalonia. It
anticipated and influenced many of the forms and techniques that were relevant
to the development of modern construction in the 20th century.
Criterion (iv): Gaudí’s work represents a series of outstanding
examples of the building typology in the architecture of the early 20th
century, residential as well as public, to the development of which he made a
significant and creative contribution.
Long Description
The works of Antoni Gaudí represent a series of outstanding
examples of the building typology in the architecture of the early 20th
century, residential as well as public, to the development of which he made a
significant and creative contribution. It is, furthermore, an outstanding and
well-preserved example of the ideal garden cities dreamed of by the urbanists
of the end of the 19th century. It exhibits an important interchange of values
closely associated with the cultural and artistic currents of his time, as
represented in El Modernisme of Catalonia. It anticipated and influenced many
of the forms and techniques that were relevant to the development of modern
construction in the 20th century.
Gaudí was born in 1852 in Reus, a small town south of Barcelona,
and he died in a street accident in 1926. The intellectual context towards the
end of the 19th century in Catalonia was marked by Modernisme, a movement that
extended from around 1880 to the First World War, parallel to currents such as
Naturalism, Arts and Crafts, and Art Nouveau. It was motivated by return to
traditions as an expression of national identity, as well as by the
introduction of modern techniques and materials. Modernisme differed from the
other movements by becoming important for popular cultural identity. Gaudí's
work represents the genius of the architect, expressing particular spatial
qualities and plasticity in the undulating lines and harmonies of colours and
materials in architectural surfaces and sculpted features.
His main undertaking is the church of Sagrada Familia, based
on the Latin cross. The work had been started by architect Francesc de P. del
Villar in 1882 in Gothic revival style. In 1883 Gaudì made fundamental changes
to the first project and continued the work until his death. The crypt was
built in 1884-89 and the Nativity facade finished in 1905. The four fantastic
bell towers were finished in 1925-30. The transept elevation of the Passion was
started in 1960, and construction of the church still continues.
Casa Vicens, a suburban residence, was the first independent
design by Gaudí, built in 1883-88 and enlarged in 1925 by Serra Martinez in
consultation with Gaudí. The design combines mastery in brick and a variety of
Valencia tile. Its wrought ironwork is remarkable. In the interior, there is a
fine series of painted wall decorations. The luxury villa of El Capricho
(1883), near Comillas, Santander Province, was commissioned by a rich
industrialist. The architecture has similarities with the Casa Vicens,
reflecting Catalan influences.
In 1884, Gaudí designed the pavilions of the Güell estate,
with porter's lodge and stables, in the suburban areas of Barcelona. Most
spectacular is the imaginative dragon gate. The Parc Güell (1900-14), a
garden-city of 60 lots, is an incontestable masterpiece, the final blossoming
of 19th-century eclecticism. He was invited in 1887 to plan a new episcopal
palace at Astorga. This granite building with its vaulted interiors reflects
the medieval character of the nearby Gothic cathedral. Work on the college of
the Teresianas had already started when Gaudí was invited to take on the
project. The building is severe and consisting of a single elongated
rectangular block.
Gaudí was commissioned in 1902-4 to study the renovation and
restoration of the Gothic cathedral of Palma de Mallorca, La Seu (1300-1600).
Gaudí's project resulted in spatial and structural changes and the new design
of various details especially around the main altar. He removed the large
traditional choir structures, placing the elements on the sides, and opening up
the central nave. In 1898 came a commission to design a church for the Colónia
Güell, a community working in textile industry outside Barcelona. The work
started in 1908, but was interrupted in 1914 with only the Crypt built. This
unique structure was used by Gaudí to experiment building in brick and stone,
stretching the possibilities of traditional Catalan structures to their utter
limits.
The other buildings making up the World Heritage site are:
Casa de Botines (1892), Casa Calvet (1898), the residential villa of Figueras,
or Casa Bellesguard (1900) and Casa Batlló (1904-7), an urban residence in
Barcelona.
Source: UNESCO/CLT/WHC
Historical Description
Antoni Gaudí was born in 1852 in Reus, a small town south of
Barcelona, and he died in a street accident in 1926. The intellectual context
towards the end of the 19th century in Catalonia was marked by the so-called
‘Modernisme', a movement that extended from ca 1880 to the First World War,
parallel to currents such as Naturalism, Arts and Crafts, and Art Nouveau. It
was motivated by return to traditions as an expression of national identity, as
well as by the introduction of modern techniques and materials as part of
progress. Modernisme in Catalonia differed from the other movements becoming
particularly important for popular cultural identity. It found expression in
literature and music, as well as in painting, sculpture, decorative arts and
architecture. Catalonians were well aware of the ideas of Viollet-le- Duc, John
Ruskin, Macintosh, and others. The best known architects include, apart from
Gaudí, who is difficult to classify, Lluís Domènech i Montaner, whose principal
designs in Barcelona are on the World Heritage List.
Source: Advisory Body Evaluation
Notes
The property “Parque Güell, Palacio Güell
and Casa Mila in Barcelona”, previously inscribed on the World Heritage List,
is part of the “Works of Antoni Gaudí”.
World Heritage
sites participate in Earth Hour 2013 Mar 22, 2013
World Heritage
sites participate in Earth Hour Mar 28, 2012
Bikeabout To
Launch Circum-Mediterranean Tour Of World Heritage Sites Sep 24, 1997
- Jun 30, 1998
Fourth
International Conferences of Gaudinist Studies Jul 13, 1997 - Jul 15,
1997
