By Jared Teitel
Resting between the high-end shops, luxury hotels, crowded metro stations and busy crossroads of Passeig de Gràcia is a work of art unlike any other. Standing just above 40 feet with the support of stone pillars, Antoni Gaudí’s Casa Batlló is the closest thing to nature you will find in Barcelona’s premier business district.
Illuminated by patterns and accents of blue and green, Casa Batlló is sure to take you on a refreshing journey under the sea in a place where water could be quite the anomaly. The residential complex is only one reflection of a famed Catalan architect’s modernist touch on the city of Barcelona, but it is nonetheless not worth missing out on in your visit to the Spanish coast.
The façade of Casa Batlló with outer walls built of sandstone and cast-iron balconies in the shape of animal skulls.
Becoming Batlló
Before 1824, the urban ambiance of Passeig de Gràcia could only be thought of as a silly pipe dream. At the time, the now dense shopping avenue existed as a mere country lane leading to more modern Barcelona neighborhoods. But an urban-planning project deemed the Cerdà Plan soon flipped the street completely on its head as bigger buildings and renovated roads were constructed to cater to the aristocrats and businesspeople now flooding the area.
Textile industrialist Josep Batlló y Casanovas was among these opulent Barcelonians beginning to spend their time along Passeig de Gràcia, and he quickly made his way to buy out a four-story living space that enjoyed little amenities beyond a backyard garden. If Batlló wanted as comfortable of quarters as his neighbors, he knew he would need the help of Barcelona’s best: Antoni Gaudí.
Gaudí, whose interest in dimensions and passion for architecture grew from the time he spent in his parent’s boiler factory, was revered by Catalans everywhere for his Art Nouveau aesthetics and picturesque landscapes seen in the work of La Sagrada Familia, Casa Figueres, El Capricho, Parc Güell and myriad other churches, manors and parks decorating Barcelona. As ‘God’s architect’, Gaudí saw the beauty in everything that surrounded him, and he thus decided against Batlló’s request to completely tear down his Passeig de Gracia home and simply redecorate it instead.
A three-dimensional model of Casa Batlló is housed in the interior of the building.
Beginning in 1904, Casa Batlló was transformed into an eccentric, naturalesque fantasy with cool-colored mosaics, floral patterns and bone-like balconies adorning its façade. Gaudíexpanded the courtyard area, providing new sources of heat, light and ventilation that could penetrate through every floor of the house. Rooms dedicated to private study, dining and social gatherings were implemented with animal-inspired walls and furniture pieces.
By 1906, Gaudí had officially turned a bland building into a magical masterpiece. Every year since, more than one million men, women and children are enamored with the modernity and Mediterranean motifs of this imaginative mansion. Nearly a century after Gaudí left his imprint on the building, Cass Battlò was named an honorary UNESCO World Heritage site. And I can confidently tell you that after seeing the landmark for myself, I understand exactly why.
The grand tour
Upon purchase of your ticket, you are provided a tablet and headphones to enjoy an informative audio-guided tour of the 20th-century apartment-turned-museum. The next thing you know, you are led into a dark room where you stand above a revolving platform while observing a scene that imitates Gaudí’s innermost thoughts. Titled ‘the Gaudí Dôme’, this secret space presents a visual display of moving lights over a sculpture depicting Gaudí resting in deep thought over his work table. Right off the bat, you are made to understand the colors, shapes and patterns that overflew the mind of Gaudí and inspired the nature-like designs and configurations you encounter in the following rooms.
Gaudí Dôme created by Miguel Alonso, incorporating more than 1000 screens to present lights and visuals; also titled, "Gaudi's inspiration: the origin of genius."
The first of Casa Batlló’s chambers you step into on your visit is the entrance hall. A reinterpretation of an aquatic ecosystem, tiles of both baby and dark blue stamp the walls as marble ones line the ground floor. A study sitting behind a glass window, marked by tones of brown and filled with coatracks, books and table lamps serves as an old-school touch that perfects contrasts the modernity of the marine atmosphere. As you make your way up the spiral staircase that leads into the next room, you are greeted by curvy balusters resembling coral reefs or the waves of familiar seas. A second staircase continues to emulate the natural world as a jagged hardwood banister is designed to imitate the spine of a wild creature.
Sections of the entrance hall featuring a study enclosed by a glass window (top) and ceramic vases with floral designs (bottom).
As part of the Noble Floor, Batlló’s living room is made distinct for its spiral ceiling that mirrors the whirling nature of water. Stained glass windows are decorated with blue circles of varying shades to symbolize the bubbles of an under-the-sea environment. Making the room that much more captivating though is the jeweled chandelier from which the curvy ceiling protrudes. Its shimmer and sparkle remind the eye of the glistening surface of the sea.
Room on the Noble Floor, which is the main floor of the building. Pillars serve as the base of the curly designed ceiling.
Your swim into the pools of Casa Batlló continues on to the outside of the building as you make your way to the porch area, which is marked by a wall with waved edges and blue and brown mosaic tiles.
Outdoor courtyard with bright-colored ceramic tiles along the pavement and a wall designed with a mosaic arch.
Among the next sections of the home is the patio of lights, which contributes to the maritime mood of the house through not only the blue- and white-tiled walls it overlooks but also its parapets made of cathedral glass. As you glance through it, the glass obstructs the visual of everything beyond the balcony as if you were submerged below the surface of water – a subtle yet clever touch to the house on the part of Gaudí.
Patio of lights displaying a silhouette of visitors on the roof terrace, as well as cathedral-glass balconies meant to resemble the surface of water. The blue ceramic tiles lining the walls are arranged from lightest to darkest as you make your way up the building to allow light to distribute evenly throughout the building.
One of the last official quarters of Casa Batlló you should expect to encounter is none other than the roof itself. Taken onto a terrace overlooking the authentic city below, you are immediately drawn to the curvature of the chimneys, which are ornamented by more mosaic tiles of warm and cool colors. Topped with triangular crowns, the chimney stacks reflect the medieval character meant by Casa Battló’s nickname, “the House of Dragon.”
Visitors sit and socialize along the roof as an outdoor bar accompanies the terrace.
Overall, it is these visuals and structures that encourage visitors from all over the world to make Casa Batlló a priority excursion in their tour of Barcelona.
“I think all the shapes and textures in the way (Gaudí) designed it has been my favorite part,” Jack said, a tourist from Australia. “It is really interesting and different,” said Bridget, his partner.
Tourist admires the arched walls of the loft, an area where domestic servants often met to do laundry and other tasks.
A stunning simulation
Before you end your trip to this exquisite estate, checking out a recent addition to the museum is a must-do in truly understanding and appreciating the artistic genius that is Antoni Gaudí.
Like the Gaudí Dôme, the ‘Gaudí Cube’ is an immersive expedition into the intellect of the architect as a six-sided LED cube uses digital technology to convert years of Gaudí’s blueprints, sketches and manuscripts into a breathtaking light show. Spectators are left in awe as visuals of Gaudí’s most famous work flash before their eyes, as do the elements of nature that often inspired this work like trees and water.
Gaudí Cube, also known as "In the mind of Gaudí," created by Refik Anadol. Visual displays of Gaudí's design logic fill and move about the room through advanced technology.
“It’s been interesting to go inside his imagination in a way, see how he thinks and how he has expressed that,” said Bridget, reflecting on her visit to Casa Batlló.
And to understand exactly how Gaudí thinks requires a firsthand experience of the Casa Batlló yourself, a building that will rest in your memory from the moment you step back out into the streets of Barcelona.
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