I have to admit, it is impressively big. It was rather empty, so I can’t say much about the architectural acoustics, but I can imagine it impressive as well…
As I passed the museum and checked the pictures of the players I realized that funnily none was good looking. One is used to MTV dancers and singers and actors and God knows what else and forgets that normal people are far from the “TV usuals”. I wonder when the “TV usuals” will conquer sports!?!
Poble Espanyol is located in the Montjuic section of the city. The idea behind this “Spanish Village” was to give examples of local Spanish architectural styles and crafts. There are 116 houses that are arranged about a central square. These houses are currently used as shops and restaurants. The grand opening of this enclosed “city” was in 1929 for the International Exhibition, but has continued to survive.
Park Güell was commissioned by Eusebi Güell who wanted to create a stylish park for Barcelona’s aristocracy (who never moved there!!!) _ the German for this is: “voll hoooohhhl, hej!!!” 
Park Güell contains amazing stone structures, stunning tiling and fascinating buildings. Gaudi’s “El Drac” is greeting the visitors at the entrance. It is adorned with beautiful coloured tiling and there is something hypnotic and magical about it.. and yes, I have a miniature of it
…was a Catalan architect, who belonged to the Modernisme (Art Nouveau) movement and was famous for his unique style and highly individualistic designs.
For more details on Gaudí, please check:
Joan Miró i Ferrà (1893-1983) was a Catalan painter, sculptor and ceramicist born to the family of a goldsmith and watchmaker. His work has been interpreted as Surrealism, a sandbox for the subconscious mind, a re-creation of the childlike, and a manifestation of Catalan pride. In numerous interviews dating from the 1930s onwards, Miró expressed contempt for conventional painting methods.
I have to admit that I am no Miró fan, maybe I am too little into arts to fully understad his works, but what I admire(d) was his autonomy to move between “styles” and his amazing sense for balance. I did not see a painting which wouln’t have been balanced, strange word, but check them and try to find another one… it sort of fits.
Originally designed by Antoni Gaudí (1852 – 1926), who worked on the project for over 40 years, devoting the last 15 years of his life entirely to the endeavor, the project is scheduled to be completed in 2026. On the subject of the extremely long construction period, Gaudí is said to have remarked, “My client is not in a hurry.”
Interior
The church plan is that of a Latin cross with five aisles. The central nave vaults reach 45 meters while the side nave vaults reach 30 meters. The transept has 3 aisles. The columns are on a 7.5 meter grid however the columns of the apse, resting on del Villar’s foundation, do not adhere to the grid, requiring a section of columns of the ambulatory to transition to the grid thus creating a horseshoe pattern to the layout of those columns. The crossing rests on the four central columns of porphyry supporting a great hyperboloid surrounded by two rings of 12 hyperboloids (currently under construction). The central vault reaches 60 meters. The apse will be capped by a hyperboloid vault reaching 75 meters. Gaudi intended that a visitor standing at the main entrance be able to see the vaults of the nave, crossing, and apse, thus the graduated increase in vault loftiness.
The columns of the interior are a unique Gaudi design. Besides branching to support their load, their ever-changing surfaces are the result of the intersection of various geometric forms. The simplest example is that of a square base evolving into an octagon as the column rises, then a 16-sided form, and eventually to a circle. This effect is the result of a three-dimensional intersection of helicoidal columns (for example a square cross-section column twisting clockwise and a similar one twisting counter-clockwise).
The towers on the Nativity façade are crowned with geometrically shaped tops that are reminiscent of Cubism (they were finished around 1930), and the intricate decoration is contemporary to the style of Art Nouveau, but Gaudí’s unique style drew primarily from nature, not other artists or architects, and resists categorization.
Gaudí used hyperboloid structures in later designs of the Sagrada Família (more obviously after 1914), however there are a few places on the nativity façade—a design not equated with Gaudí’s ruled-surface design, where the hyperboloid crops up. For example, all around the scene with the pelican there are numerous examples (including the basket held by one of the figures). There is a hyperboloid adding structural stability to the cypress tree (by connecting it to the bridge). And finally, the “bishop’s mitre” spires are capped with hyperboloid structures. In his later designs ruled surfaces are prominent in the nave’s vaults and windows and the surfaces of the Passion facade.
Themes throughout the decoration include words from the liturgy. The towers are decorated with words such as “Hosanna”, “Excelsis”, and “Sanctus”; the great doors of the Passion façade reproduce words from the Bible in various languages including Catalan; and the Glory façade is to be decorated with the words from the Apostles’ Creed.
Areas of the sanctuary will be designated to represent various concepts, such as saints, virtues and sins, and secular concepts such as regions, presumably with decoration to match.”
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I took the liberty to use Wikipedia’s knowledge for the details on the most impressive (modern) building I have ever seen! I really thought Paris is the City of Architecture… but after seeing SF, I can’t say this anymore. Really amazing. I was absolutely fascinated by the details and mostly by Gaudí’s genius and vision! Please consider reading on the columns!!! I am still trying to understand how someone who lived almost one century ago could create something like this!? without using a PC for statics… columns which have the form of branches, made of basalt, pedidotit and sandstone, carying the load of a monument… no one did this before and I doubt that anyone would dare to do it after?! It is now, when I wonder about the human nature… about it’s gloriae and it’s shame…
To all those who go to Barcelona… SF is a place for obeissances. Not because it is a church, but because it is a monument to the human potential, genius and hope! (please let me know if you want extra pictures. We made some 200 there!)
