Barcelona, Spain
The building decorative features, construction, materials, floor plan
La Sagrada Familia has been built using the architectural style "warped Gothic". The rippling shape of the stone façade makes it look like the building is melting in the sun. The towers are topped with brightly colored mosaics which look like beautiful bowls of fruit. Antoni Gaudí had a concept of colour showing life. As Antoni would not live to see the completion of his masterpiece, he left coloured drawings of his dream design for architects to follow in the future.
A notable method that Gaudí used in the construction of the building was the use of "leaning columns" (columns which are not at right angles to the floor and ceiling).
On the outside of the building Montjuïc stone is the dominate material. Large pieces of stone are joined with microcrystalline silicic cement.
The floor plan of the Sagrada Familia consists of many different parts including the 'Nativity Facade' which is to the right, the "Passion Facade" to the left, and the altar near the centre.
Historical Study
La Sagrada Familia was originally introduced as a work of restoration for Barcelona's growing revolutionary ideas by the Catalan publisher Josep Bocabella.
Work began in 1882 by architect Francesc de Paula Villar, who proposed a simple church in a traditional neo-Gothic style.
Antoni Gaudí took over as lead architect in 1884, after arguments between Bocabella and Villar.
When Antoni finished Parc Guell in 1911, he vowed to completely give up secular art and dedicate himself entirely to the Sagrada Familia. He worked on it continuously for over 40 years.
Gaudí would be asked way the building was being built at such a slow pace and he is said to have replied, "My client is not in a hurry."
The building remains unfinished due to Antoni Gaudí untimely death in 1926, when he was run over by a tram.
He is buried in the crypt of the Sagrada Familia.
Cultural Frame
La Sagrada Familia