Barcelona, Spain is a city known for its beautiful architecture. From monuments like La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Arc de Triomf, and more, Barcelona is scattered with intriguing and beautiful landmarks. Tourists from all over the world flood the city to see these historic places, and while they are extraordinary to see, people fail to take into account the influence of nature on these places. From design to shape to color, the landscape of Barcelona makes its architecture what it is.
Colors
As you walk down the streets in Barcelona you are met with plenty of colors. Shades of oranges, yellows, pinks, and greens are painted across the city to catch people's attention and to add a sense of personality to this big city. Color is a large part of any architectural design and can be used to complete or change a project.
Although Barcelona resides in a beautiful biome, the city does not contain much vegetation inside it. A limit of trees, a bare amount of grass, and gray streets everywhere can add a damper to any town- and Barcelona is no stranger to these traits.
In order to avoid these unappealing traits, Barcelona uses colors. The different paints of the city mirror the nature around it and overall add a more comforting and fresh feel.
Whether it may be more earth tones (browns, whites, tans) to match the hills of northern Barcelona or the bright colors and accents (pinks, oranges, greens) to match the explosion of the bright plants of Spain, the buildings are given a personality unique to the city.
The paints also go hand in hand with plants incorporated into designs. As you walk through both residential and commercial areas of Barcelona, you are met with many plants hanging from the buildings. The prominent balconies throughout the city also seem to always be scattered with nature.
"It's so amazing to walk around and see the plants hanging from the balconies and windows," Jenifer, a tourist from Ireland discusses the beauty of color in Barcelona, "it really adds to it. To be honest, I did not really catch Barcelona's lack of nature in the city until pretty recently. The buildings and flowers definitely add to it to create a more refreshing feeling and overall gives this perception that Barcelona is this green city."
Colors add a lot to a design. Barcelona already has an intriguing style of architecture on its own but with the incorporation of nature in it, it adds a whole new feeling.
It gives the viewer a breath of fresh air. It catches their eyes as they roam the streets of Barcelona and adds a new sense of serenity to the city.
Cities all around the world have such a rushed, modern feel. Barcelona avoids this as they use these plants and colors in their designs and overall add a new vibe to the city.
Spain in general has a very healthy and relaxed feel to it and the sprinkle of nature in its art overall contributes to this. It adds such amazing detail to architecture.
Influence of Landscape
While Barcelona has a very distinct architectural feel to it, this changes throughout the city. Located in northeastern Spain, Barcelona is confided in a very hilly area and also lies on the coast. Due to this, its architecture must conform to both landscapes. As you walk throughout the city, the influence of what landscape is more prominent can be viewed in the architecture.
Hills of Barcelona
Barcelona is surrounded by a rugged landscape. Although it may not seem too extreme through photos or from a distance, your legs definitely feel it as you explore the more northern parts of Barcelona.
"It's beautiful but it definitely caught me by surprise! I knew that places like the Bunkers of Caramel and Park Guell were great places to see the city, but I did not expect it to be such a workout!" Georgia, a tourist from Australia has been visiting Spain with her husband for the past month, "It's honestly so cool how I can hike up what feels like a mountain and then be down at the beach in less than an hour."
Georgia's husband, Jack, discussed his opinion on the landscape as well, "It's really interesting to see how the city fits into the landscape. A lot of places manipulate the land to fit with the aesthetic they want but here it seems as if the land has total control of the city."
The hills in Barcelona are very tough and as you move to the more steep areas the architecture shifts to fit it. As you go through the streets, the buildings become steeper and narrower. Barcelona's iconic square buildings are brought closer together and tower over cliffs.
It's fascinating to see how the buildings follow along the mountain. The photos in the gallery above follow along a street that leads you to the top of Plaça de la Mitja Lluna, a beautiful place to view the city from above.
The buildings line the way up the hill and allow for many (steep) ways to travel up and down it. The buildings are designed to follow along the hill and in a way, mimic it. As shown in the two photos to the left, they lie parallel to the cliffs and move with them. As the road stoops down, so does the top of the buildings.
It is also designed to not overfill. In other parts of Barcelona, you may see building after building, and here, while they still are close together, there is not an overload of buildings. They fit in the places available and are not forced there. This provides a safer living for the people residing in these buildings and also respects the environment as it does not burden the landscape with something it can not handle.
Beaches of Barcelona
As you move away from the hilly regions of Barcelona to the south, you encounter the Mediterranean. Barcelona and its beaches are very popular with both tourists and locals and contain Spain's most prominent port.
As you travel along the ocean it becomes very clear the change of the city. A more touristy and modern area, the architecture in this area represents the area it's in.
"There is totally a change between this area and other parts of Barcelona," Jenifer, who was mentioned before, talks about staying in the beach area of Barcelona, "It's fun to stay in this area and enjoy the beach, but the design here is more catered to tourist and has many differences from the rest of the city."
The design that Jenifer is discussing is the shift from Barcelona's older, more European feel, to a more modern one reflecting current times.
A shift from columns and balconies and small designs to glass and shininess. Barcelona's heart is still incorporated in this region as it still is Barcelona, it just takes a different approach.
As seen in the pictures above, the architecture closer to the ocean reflects it. The structures appear glossier with the use of metal and glass. A lot of structures around this area also seem to follow a wave design. Walkways and monuments put there all seem to have some movement to them which reflects the water.
It's also interesting to note how the color scheme switches around here. The use of color is still very prominent but instead of the brighter colors, it switches to more tans, blues, and whites. It represents the overall beach feel this part of town gives off.
An Architectural Heart
Barcelona is overall a beautiful and influential city. From its bright colors to its balconies to its spontaneous designs, it is recognizable all over the world. Walking through any part of the city you can feel it.
The architecture of Barcelona reflects nature and its landscape. It's a mirror and a nod to the beautiful region it lies in an overall allows for much creativity. Architects who have designed Barcelona throughout the years experiment a lot with what they have and it is very clear.
The city is a place full of heart and beauty. Spain in general has such a beautiful culture that showcases a vast mix of its background and the history that led to where it currently is. The architecture in Barcelona does not fall behind at all in displaying this affection for Spanish culture and whether you find yourself in the hills or the coast, the heart of Barcelona won't be hard to find.
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