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| Mayte visited Gràcia in Barcelona |
Last August, Mayte & The Grandma were enjoying the popular festivities of Gràcia, one of the most famous neighbourhoods of Barcelona. Both friends were visiting its main streets decorated by the own neighbours and they were enjoying beautiful performances and lots of popular activities.
The Grandma was very interested in investing. She uses to buy buildings to give them other uses, especially social ones. Mayte and The Grandma were visiting one of the last acquisitions, the Casa Vicens, a wonderful building designed and built by Antoni Gaudí, the genius of Modernist architecture.
After visiting Casa Vicens, Mayte and The Grandma visited Park Güell, another Gaudí's work. It is a public park located on Carmel Hill that belongs to La Salut neighbourhood, in Gràcia district. Park Güell was assigned to Antoni Gaudí by Eusebi Güell, his main patron and mentor.
After some weeks of studies and big decisions, today, The Grandma has bought another building. It is located near Park Güell and she wants to transform it in a great centre to take care of the old people of Gràcia, these people who have kept popular traditions year after year despite difficulties, who explain the importance of traditions to new generations, who participate in a constant social activism and who keep the dignity of all neighbours alive against vulture funds and speculators.
The Park Güell is a public park system composed of gardens and architectonic elements located on Carmel Hill, in Barcelona, Catalonia. Carmel Hill belongs to the mountain range of Collserola -the Parc del Carmel is located on the northern face.
Park Güell is located in La Salut, a neighborhood in the Gràcia district of Barcelona. With urbanization in mind, Eusebi Güell assigned the design of the park to Antoni Gaudí, a renowned architect and the face of Catalan modernism.
The park was built from 1900 to 1914 and was officially opened as a public park in 1926. In 1984, UNESCO declared the park a World Heritage Site under Works of Antoni Gaudí.
Park Güell is the
reflection of Gaudí's artistic plenitude, which belongs to his
naturalist phase, first decade of the 20th century.
During this period, the
architect perfected his personal style through inspiration from organic
shapes. He put into practice a series of new structural solutions rooted
in the analysis of geometry. To that, the Catalan artist adds creative
liberty and an imaginative, ornamental creation. Starting from a sort of
baroquism, his works acquire a structural richness of forms and
volumes, free of the rational rigidity or any sort of classic premises.
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| Mayte visited Gràcia in Barcelona |
In the design of Park Güell, Gaudí unleashed all his architectonic genius and put to practice much of his innovative structural solutions that would become the symbol of his organic style and that would culminate in the creation of the Basilica and Expiatory Church of Sagrada Família.
Güell and Gaudí conceived this park, situated within a natural park. They imagined an organized grouping of high-quality homes, decked out with all the latest technological advancements to ensure maximum comfort, finished off with an artistic touch. They also envisioned a community strongly influenced by symbolism, since, in the common elements of the park, they were trying to synthesize many of the political and religious ideals shared by patron and architect: therefore there are noticeable concepts originating from political Catalanism -especially in the entrance stairway where the Catalan countries are represented -and from Catholicism- the Monument al Calvari, originally designed to be a chapel. The mythological elements are so important: apparently Güell and Gaudí's conception of the park was also inspired by the Temple of Apollo of Delphi.
On the other hand, many
experts have tried to link the park to various symbols because of the
complex iconography that Gaudí applied to the urban project. Such
references go from political vindication to religious exaltation,
passing through mythology, history and philosophy. Specifically, many
studies claim to see references to Freemasonry, despite the deep
religious beliefs of both Gaudí and Count Güell. These references have
not been proven in the historiography of the modern architect.
The multiplicity of
symbols found in the Park Güell is, as previously mentioned, associated
to political and religious signs, with a touch of mystery according to
the preferences of that time for enigmas and puzzles.
More information: Park Güell Official Website
The park was originally
part of a commercially unsuccessful housing site, the idea of Count
Eusebi Güell, after whom the park was named. It was inspired by the
English garden city movement; hence the original English name Park, in
Catalan the name is Parc Güell.
The site was a rocky
hill with little vegetation and few trees, called Muntanya Pelada. It
already included a large country house called Larrard House or Muntaner
de Dalt House and was next to a neighbourhood of upper-class houses
called La Salut.
The
intention was to exploit the fresh air, well away from smoky factories,
and beautiful views from the site, with sixty triangular lots being
provided for luxury houses.
Count
Eusebi Güell added to the prestige of the development by moving in 1906
to live in Larrard House. Ultimately, only two houses were built,
neither designed by Gaudí.
One was intended to be a show house, but on
being completed in 1904 was put up for sale, and as no buyers came
forward, Gaudí, at Güell's suggestion, bought it with his savings and
moved in with his family and his father in 1906.
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| Mayte visited Gràcia in Barcelona |
This house, where Gaudí lived from 1906 to 1926, was built by Francesc Berenguer in 1904. It contains original works by Gaudí and several of his collaborators. It is now the Casa Museu Gaudí, a museum, since 1963. In 1969 it was declared a historical artistic monument of national interest.
Park Güell is designed and composed to bring the peace and calm that one would expect from a park. The buildings flanking the entrance, though very original and remarkable with fantastically shaped roofs with unusual pinnacles, fit in well with the use of the park as pleasure gardens and seem relatively inconspicuous in the landscape when one considers the flamboyance of other buildings designed by Gaudí. One of these buildings houses a permanent exhibition of the Barcelona City History Museum MUHBA focused on the building itself, the park and the city.
The focal point of the park is the main terrace, surrounded by a long bench in the form of a sea serpent. The curves of the serpent bench form a number of enclaves, creating a more social atmosphere. Gaudí incorporated many motifs of Catalan nationalism, and elements from religious mysticism and ancient poetry, into the Park. Much of the design of the benches was the work not of Gaudí but of his often overlooked collaborator Josep Maria Jujol.
More information: Park Güell
Roadways around the park to service the intended houses were designed by Gaudí as structures jutting out from the steep hillside or running on viaducts, with separate footpaths in arcades formed under these structures. This minimized the intrusion of the roads, and Gaudí designed them using local stone in a way that integrates them closely into the landscape. His structures echo natural forms, with columns like tree trunks supporting branching vaulting under the roadway, and the curves of vaulting and alignment of sloping columns designed in a similar way to his Church of Colònia Güell so that the inverted catenary arch shapes form perfect compression structures.
The large cross at the
park's high-point offers the most complete view of Barcelona and the
bay. It is possible to view the main city in panorama, with the Sagrada
Família and the Montjuïc area visible at a distance.
The
park supports a wide variety of wildlife, notably several of the
non-native species of parrot found in the Barcelona area. Other birds
can be seen from the park, with records including short-toed eagle. The
park also supports a population of hummingbird hawk moths.
More information: The Culture Trip
Eusebi Güell i Bacigalupi, 1st Count of Güell (15 December 1846-8 July 1918) was a Catalan entrepreneur who profited greatly from the industrial revolution in Catalonia in the late 19th century. He married Luisa Isabel Lopez y Bru, a daughter of Antonio López y López first Marquis of Comillas, in 1871 and the couple had ten children. One of Güell's daughters, Isabel Güell i López, became a noted composer.
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| Eusebi Güell & The Grandma visiting Park Güell |
Güell was born in Barcelona and was the son of Joan Güell i Ferrer, a wealthy industrialist from Torredembarra who had amassed considerable riches during his stay in Cuba and thanks to the numerous activities established at his return in Barcelona. His mother, Francesca Bacigalupi i Dolcer, was a member of an ancient merchant family from Genoa who had moved to Catalonia in the late 18th century.
Güell
took over his father's business, which was predominantly in textiles,
and added to the family's wealth. Güell met the young architect, Antoni
Gaudí, following a visit to the World Fair held in Paris in 1878. The pair become
lifelong friends and associates and found that they had mutual
interests, including religion, both were devout Catholics.
Güell became a Mediciesque patron to architect Antoni Gaudí. Their many
collaborations began at the start of Gaudí's career, when Güell saw
Gaudí as the man who could provide him with uniquely designed buildings.
Among Güell's early commissions for the aspiring architect were the Bodega Güell (winery) at Garraf, the Pavellons Güell de Pedralbes and Park Güell which was originally the Güell family home and only later bequeathed to the state.
More information: Top Travel Tips
In 1890, Güell moved his textile factory from Sants to Santa Coloma de Cervello, north of Barcelona. There he established a worker's colony along the lines of the British worker's colonies which had been built in the late nineteenth century. The colony or village at Santa Coloma, now known as Colonia Güell, was built with high socialist ideals; homes with larger than average rooms, wide windows and good ventilation so that the textile workers and their families could enjoy comfortable living conditions. The village was to be relatively self-contained and included shops, cafes, a theatre, library and a school (only for boys).
In 1890, Gaudí was commissioned to build a church and crypt on the hill overlooking the village. However, Güell ran into financial difficulties and the project was eventually abandoned. In spite of its unfinished status, the work is a masterpiece and demonstrates many of Gaudí's signature architectural devices including catenary arches and tessellated finishes. The village, which is still fully operational boasts many fine examples of modernist architecture.
Reportedly on one occasion Gaudí said to Güell, Sometimes I think we are the only people who like this architecture. Güell replied, I don't like your architecture, I respect it.
In 1900, Güell bought land in Gràcia, Barcelona and employed Gaudí to build an estate for the rich. At that time, the area was considered to be remote and the project failed to realize commercial success. Only two houses were built. In 1923, the Güell family gave the land to the city, as Park Güell.
Eusebi Güell died in his house in Park Güell in 1918.
More information: The Culture Trip
There are no straight lines or sharp corners in nature.
Therefore, buildings must have no straight lines or sharp corners.
Antoni Gaudí
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