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Barcelona photos - Parc Guell |
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Parc Guell, Barcelona - Antoni GaudiFrom garden city to public park.
 Click here for location and directions to Park Guell
The original plan for Parc Guell was to build a private and isolated residential garden city with 60 houses on the grounds, that were to be sold. What Gaudi was originally commissioned by Josep Guell to design, was the infrastructure for this property development. Only years later, when it was apparent that the plan to sell houses on this development had failed due to lack of interest, was the development converted into a public park.
This vast plaza below was originally intended to be a theatre for all the
residents of the garden city to enjoy. It was called the Greek theatre and Gaudi designed seated that could be erected for performances, so that spectators could enjoy a show with a backdrop of breathtaking views of the city and the sea.
The magical never ending curvaceous bench, which snakes its way around the perimeter of the main plaza like a multi-coloured serpent is a true Gaudi masterpiece.
The plaza itself measures 79 metres by 36 metres.
Half of the plaza is built on the solid ground of the mountain. The outer part is built over the Greek forest style columns of the Sala Hipóstila below. The Sala Hipóstila was intended to be the marketplace for the garden city.
The Sala Hipóstila was originally intended to be the development's marketplace in a Greek forest style design. There are 86 classical columns, which are 6 meters high and 1.3 meters in diameter. .
Today instead of many busy traders it is home to a rotating stream of classical guitar players much to the delight of visitors.
The surface decoration of the benches was assigned to the Guadi's assistant artist Josep Jujol. He selected abstract waves and circles of ceramic mosaics interspersed with traditional nature objects like flowers, shells, stars for the magnificent decoration.
It is said, that when they were making the bench decoration, the workers fell into the habit of picking up bits of broken tile and glass, which they found on their way to work.
Jupol even smashed up some of this own dinner service to find the right pieces he needed. And he raided the kitchen for crockery from the other resident of Parc Guell at the time, the lawyer Martín Trías Domènech..
Even the bubbles seem to be influenced by Antoni Gaudi in this magical park!
Gaudi designed the gate house and administration building in a fairytale gingerbread house style.
The dragon guardian of the subterranean waters in the fountain at the main entrance to Park Guelle is a popular photo spot for tourists.
A tourist gets carried away! Respect for art is intermingled by the eternal quest for a silly holiday snap.
Gaudi would probably have been amused.
The original plan to sell houses on garden city development of Parc Guell failed due to lack of interest. Only 2 more houses, apart from the original estate house, which was already on the grounds and in now a public school, to make three houses in total. None of these houses were designed by Gaudi although he did make changes to the original house that Josep Guell lived in.
This modernist house below was built on two of the original plots by an architect called J. Batllevell. It was commissioned by the lawyer Martín Trías Domènech, who was a friend of both Josep Guell and Gaudi and who became the third resident of Parc Guell.
The house below was built as a model home for the original property development.
When no-one was interested in buying it, Guell suggested that Anton Gaudi buy it and move in with his father.
His father died almost immediately, but Gaudi lived here from 1906 until 1925. At the very end of his life he moved into his studio at the Sagrada Famila.
Today it houses the Gaudi museum in Barcelona and a collection of furniture designed by Gaudi.
His bedroom can be seen largely intact.
Click here to visit the photo gallery of the Gaudi museum
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