Casa Batllo, - Barcelona's Modernist Museum

 A building centered in Barcelona is an eye-catching masterpiece by Antoni Gaudi, - one of the best Spanish architect in Spain, is the Casa Battlo.

It was formerly called "House of Bones" due to its visceral, skeletal organic quality. It is exactly located along Passeig de Gracia, in the Eixample district.

Gaudi redesigned it in 1904, then underwent a lot of refurbishments after that, with the help of other assistants of Gaudi.

Most of the facade is decorated with colorful mosaics made of broken ceramic tiles. It has irregular oval windows and flowing sculpted stone works on the ground floor.

This house was built in 1877 and was brought by Josep Battlo' in 1900. He hired Gauid later to renovate and design the building with "Modernisme/Art Nouveau" architecture.

Its roof is made and designed like a dragon or dinosaur's back in an arched formation.

Inside the house is even more captivating designs of architecture, making it more unique than the other houses beside it.

Photo credits to: casabatllo.es

In 2005, it finally became a UNESCO World Heritage site, making it a popular attraction for visitors from all around the world.

The Basilica de la Sagrada Familia

 

One of the major tourist attractions when in Barcelona is the large minor Basilica situated in the Eixample, district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

The original design was done by Francisco de Paula del Villar in 1882, but a year after, he resigned and was replaced by Antoni Gaudi in 1883, and was then appointed as the architect director in 1884.

The design started by del Villar was Gothic revival in a standard form, and ultimately as Gaudi continued to work on it, - he made some additions on the designs; - Art Nouveau and Modernisme (the new bulding).

Gaudi began working exclusively on the temple since 1914 until his death in 1926 and was buried in the crypt. At the time of his death, only 15-20% was completely done.

In the 1950's construction resumed to intermittent progress, and modern technologies resulted to faster progress and construction has passed the midpoint in 2010.

In October 2015, current chief architect Jordi Fauli announced that 70% of the construction has been done and is now currently in its final phase of building 6 immense steeples. Most of the church's structure is estimated to be done by year 2026, - the centennial year of Gaudi's death.

The Monumental Zone - Park Guell

 One interesting place to visit while in Barcelona, Spain is Park Guell. This place has a lot of captivating work of arts, - mostly inspired by a collaborative work of the architect Antonio Gaudi, and Eusebi Guell, the lot owner.

Eusebi Guell originally bought this large property for the purpose of building an estate for well-off families. He acquired the property in a zone known as "Muntanya Pelada" (bare mountain), - which has an unbeatable view both of the sea and the plain of Barcelona. He planned and wanted to create British residential estates, the reason why he used the English form "Park" in the name, Park Guell.

Guell and Gaudi didn't only had a good business relationship but also genuine friendship. Guell entrusted Gaudi the plan of putting his artistic architectural creation as well as he undertook a profound urban=planning reflection for the park.

Park Guell construction began in 1900 and had a good progress in the first few years of the century. In 1914, Guell stopped the work due to some difficulties in plot acquisitions and lack of good transport.

After Guell's death, his heirs offered it to Barcelona City Council and was acquired in 1922, then opened it as a public park 4 years later.

Since then, it became a pole of attraction for visitors from all over the world, and the UNESCO declared it a Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 1984.

One of the attractive interiors and (exteriors) of the park is the Hypostyle Room. Its layout are dense colonnades lined in 3 columns of open spaces, - one larger at the center and 2 smaller ones, like the naves of the church.

Its ceilings are made of small domes using the Catalan vault technique, clad with tile shards and with soffits laid out like a keystone.

Just above the exterior of Hypostyle Room is the ceramic bench of the upper square. 

Just looking the entire Hypostyle room from the outside reflects a lot of classic architectural styles with impressive contrasts of shapes and colors on the upper square.