Casa Batlló Simply Stunning

Mar 06

Iye:

Casa Batlló (1904-1906)

This afternoon Roanna and I got to visit Casa Batlló. The house restored by Antoni Gaudí is one of three adjacent houses on the fashionable boulevard ‘Passeig de Gracia’ between the years 1898 and 1906. The buildings were constructed by some of the most notable modernist architects of the period including Puig i Cadafalch who designed Casa Amatller and Domènech i Montaner who designed Casa Lléo Morera. Each of the three houses feature a unique interpretation of the modernist style. Casa Batlló has the most impressive and intricate detail of the three houses. The house, originally built between 1875 and 1877 was dramatically upscaled by Gaudí the most extensively the façade, redistribution of the internal wall, and amplification of its light. The locals call it Casa dels ossos meaning House of the Bones and there's no mystery as to why. The exterior is strikingly similar to a skeleton. Like many other works by Gaudí the Modernisme or Art Nouveau style is profoundly present. The design of the ground floor especially is amazing with the oblique oval windows, fluid sculpted stone work, and tracery. Throughout the entire structure straight lines are completely avoided. My favorite aspect was the broken ceramic tiles thoughtfully distributed throughout the façade to form a mosaic in shades of vibrant orange and evolving into bluish green hues. This is known as trencadís in in Catalan. The dragon like curves and arches were quite fascinating to behold this is a must see sight for tourists of Barcelona.