November 14th, 2007 - Barcelona

Alms to Two Masters

Today was another “marking off” of a life goal. Visiting the Sagrada Familia has been a point of architectural interest since first discovering the project over twenty years ago. Gaudi and his design philosophy were a bit of an enigma, and still are in many ways, but some definitive light was shone on the subject today.

I hitched a ride with Rainer, who was nice enough to drop me off near a modern monument, “the cucumber” building that houses the municipal water district offices. In the evening, when lit, the building towers in various colors. I think that it is safe to say that Spain is the most structurally interesting country visited thus far.



Passing the Placa de Toros Monument for the second time, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Dali did some renovations here. The circus is currently playing in town, which is an apt substitute. From what I understand, the City of Barcelona has officially "condemned" bullfighting within the city limits, but not "banned" the practice.



This kind of logic holds true for smoking laws as well, where the government touts a no-smoking law, but freely allows any establishment to have an exemption. All that has really happened is that those who desire a no smoking restaurant can now legally enforce their individual policy.  As a side tid-bit of knowledge, the Spanish government, under Franco, owned the tobacco industry and freely encouraged the practice to receive the tax revenues. That may be why it seems hard for the people to breathe, unless through a cotton filter. All of this, of course, has nothing to do with the living finial point (seagull) to the eggs mounted on the Placa de Toros, but there you have it, none-the-less.



Continuing to walk up the Calle de la Marina the Sagrada Familia and its many cranes become visible in the distance. Originally, Gaudi wanted to build a structure “inside” of the city of Barcelona, but in the last 75 years the city has come out to meet the edifice.



Eight of the, soon to be twelve, bell towers climb to over 100 meters in height. Pictures create a rather lame facsimile of the actual impression. The challenge, given that the structure is now in the city, is to be able to retreat far enough back to capture the image. Even this shot crops the lower levels.



This picture is for “Cousin Bill” and our Michigan summer bacci ball tournaments. These old timers carry an additional ball, hung by wire, in the opposing hand to the throwing arm. I guess this is supposed to balance the weight for the throw. They were awesome in accuracy!



Antoni Gaudi was actually not the first architect for the Sagrada Familia. Construction was already under way for about a year, starting in 1882, before the cathedral financier had a dream that the real architect of the edifice had blue eyes. According to the story, he then met Gaudi the next day and hired him immediately. At the time Gaudi was just a talented architect rising through the ranks of a Barcelona company. It appears that this corner of the cathedral was previously in place prior to the design conversion.



The current main entrance, on the Calle Sardenya, provides a full view of four constructed apostle towers…



… and the Façade of the Passion, carved by the sculptor Subirachs. He believed that his contribution to the cathedral should be in his own style, reflecting the evolution of contemporary design. (Below is Gaudi's drawing of the scene followed by Subirachs execution of the design.)



Although disparate in form, the Façade of the Passion adds variety to the almost overwhelming Gaudi creation. (The resurrection scene is still under construction above the entry.) Six pillars prop up the facade and are intended have the appearance of redwood trees.



There is definitely passion and Passion in the story told in stone at the entrance. Each larger than life cluster of figures tells more of the progressive story. I liked several of the scenes for their tangible emotion and human element. For instance, this scene of the last supper shows one of the disciples giving a scrap of food to the dog, evoking another biblical scene where a woman pleads with Jesus saying, "Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." This may be the only scene in the bible (Mathew 15:27) where someone successfully “talks back to Jesus” and he complies.



Next we have Judas betraying Jesus with a kiss. What struck me here was the strength of will displayed, with Judas grabbing Jesus by the neck to expose him. Next to the sculpture is an anagram that adds to 33 in any direction, the number of years Christ was on earth.



Then there is the emotion of Peter, who denies Christ three times before the “cock crows” (Mathew 26:34). His self-disappointment is evident.



Jesus' crucifixion and reference to the now debunked “Shroud of Turin” is the “center piece” of the cathedral entrance.



The brass cathedral doors, El Nacimiento, contain most of the four gospels in one massive metallic gateway.



Bypassing the hour plus lines to go up inside the Calle de Sardenya facing bell towers (more on this later), …



… you will find one of the only completed floor to ceiling stain glass displays in the entire structure.



The audio guide pointed to Gaudi’s desire to have natural lighting in the edifice and was unclear whether the many full-length windows, currently paned in clear glass, would be transformed into stained.



Surprisingly and seemingly counter to the title, Gaudi and other modernists were actually seeking to recreate nature in modern construction. The inspiration for the Cathedral Hall support structure was a tree outside his window.



So, looking at the vaulted ceiling, supported by the branching arches, it is clear that Gaudi has succeeded in reproducing a stone forest. As in nature, where there is more than one tree, Gaudi used different strength stone for differing positions, dependent upon load. This adds a natural variation to the man made structural forest.



Just as in nature, where sunlight peeks through the leaves of supporting branches, the ceiling design captures light portals to shower the transept with natural light. (Work space for the unfinished dome is currently covering the light wells.)



Each port hole is tiled with metallic and glazed bricks, designed to sparkle like glinting streams of light through forest boughs.



The Calle de Marina entrance to the Temple of the the Sacred Family looks more like a wilting sand castle and was completed under the original art direction plans of Gaudi. The contrast in entrance styles actually adds to the impact, just as the contrast of the original Gothic corner adds to the rest of the building, as if the structure is naturally evolving and growing.



The focus of this entrance pivots on the birth of Jesus Christ.



But, the design does not stray from Modernist ideas, as the entire façade rests on the supportive backs of two ancient sea tortoises. (One on each side.)



Now, back to the huge line in the front of the building, to quay up for the elevator ride inside the Sardenya street towers. If you simply walk to the other end of the building, on the Calle de Marina side you will find non-existent lines and you can simply walk into the elevator, pay your 2 Euro fee, and enjoy the ride. Once on top the continuing construction is at eye level.
Looking across to the other towers, taking this approach sacrifices about twenty meters in height, but avoids over an hour of useless “line wading”.



One of the great benefits of this vantage point is a first hand view of the finials.



Each one was hand crafted with thousands of affixed tiles. The idea was to provide permanent color.



When the tiles dull, because of the accumulation of dirt, then a sparkling return is no further than the next rain shower away.



Various materials were considered, but unlike glass which requires hand cleaning (a relative impossibility at these heights) the tiles showed the most natural resilience for self-cleaning, with a standard rain shower.



Inside these 100+ meter towers, each is hollowed and ready for the installation of future tubular bells.



The only way down is by staircase that is a challenge of depth perception. The typical center column is missing, giving the illusion that one will be sucked into the vortex. The walk of faith plays on the human instinct for security and everyone was clinging to the iron hand rails, staying as far as possible from the swirling black hole. In reality, these stairs were no more dangerous than any other and the vacuole in the center was not even wide enough to fall through.



Looking upward, the illusion had a spiraling nautilus appeal.



All the way down in the basement of the edifice, the museum and active workshop is worth your time. There you will see original drawings of the remaining dome and towers to be constructed. (If you click on the picture, notice the walk-way in the highest point of the cross, almost 170 meters above the ground.)



The basement is also home to the only active architectural plaster model shop of its kind in the world. The architectural team makes models of various sizes, just as Gaudi had before them, to insure proper translation in active 3-D from his drawings.



Gaudi was a rarity, not only in creativity, but he was an engineer, as well as creative designer. He used a technique of hanging weighted sand bags, that were proportionate to load, taking a picture of the scene and then inverting it for active structure modeling. His process was so accurate, detailed, and complex that only in the last ten years (with the advent of higher powered computer aided design modeling) have his calculations been verified using modern methodologies.



Finally, outside once again, another of Gaudi's colorful icons, the creation of the “Fruit of the Spirit” lines the outer fringe of the main vaults. Depending on the façade there are either Summer or Fall harvest fruits.



Viewed from a closer perspective, the detail handwork of each cluster is apparent.



It is easy to skip right on by the former children’s school beside the front gate. If you have the time or endurance, stop inside to view videos of actual construction techniques and tools.



Whew… after a long morning I sure needed a brain break and wandering through the tight streets of the Born was a welcome change of scenery.



Next on the list was the Picasso Museum, housed in his family’s former residence and two adjoining buildings. If you are not careful, it is easy to simply walk right on by.



Looking into one of the courtyards, the familiar “museum line” was a knowing tell.



For security reasons, no photography was allowed inside and this “long reflective shot” only points to the beauty of the buildings and art inside. My respect for Picasso has grown by bounds after spending a few hours tracing his developmental roots. He didn’t just start with the crayon wielding flare of cubism, but was one of Spain’s premiere young portraitists, before heading to Paris to wander through Impressionism, then gradually contort and land on cubism (a very impressive progression).



After all that walking and pondering it was definitely time for the best chocolate banana crepe ever! A slight touch of cinnamon in the batter and bitter-sweet dark chocolate brought out the natural sweetness of the banana. Grace lives right around the corner, but unfortunately was not at home to join in the decadence.



Close by is the Parc De La Ciutadella, home to:  fountains, boat pond, both Geological and Zoolocial museums, along with the city zoo.



Stopping by the boat pond, it was clear that sculling tomorrow was out of the question.



The park is also home to the understated Catalan Parliament building as well.



The day was clearly wearing down and so was the interest level, until walking past this pig leg ornamented restaurant. The Spanish cannot get enough of Jamon, which is cured pig leg. But would you really want to dine just below these cloven slabs while they continue to drip into inverted conical rendering cups? Time to keep on walking…



Retracing Grace’s path from the previous evening, the Barceloneta Beaches were a literal breath of fresh air.



A passing sailboat reminded of Barcelona’s rich nautical history.



Then there was last night’s darkened “gold fish” in full view. The art installation is massive in scale and a reflective, stories high, metallic display.



Turning to look down the beach the darkening clouds and sunset signaled that it was time to head to Rainer’s office, for we had yet another evening of fun to be had…



… and reassembled the crew for dinner and to head off to one of the highest vantage points in Barcelona (named after the hill in the bible where Satan showed Jesus the earth and tempted him) to enjoy the evening/early morning views.