Gaudi's Big Project

In the post on Barcelona, we mentioned the Art Nouveau/ Modernisme school of architecture that originated in Barcelona and mentioned that Antonio Gaudi was perhaps the best-known practitioner of the form. While he completed a number of high-profile buildings in Barcelona, his major project was not completed before his death in 1926 -- in fact, it remains incomplete to this day, though construction has been continuous since its beginning in 1882 (with the exception of a period of about 4 years during the Spanish Civil War, when some damage was also done.)
This project is the large church of Sagrada Familia -- cathedral-like in size, but not the home of a bishop. It is generally referred to as the Temple of Sagrada Familia and it owes its existence to Gaudi's great personal drive and his lifelong committment to his Catholic faith.

The design is incredibly different and (while some don't like it) we found it very inspiring. The vistas are amazing and to really understand them one would have to spend 10 or 15 minutes taking in each of the many viewpoints the building presents. It takes a while to trace the route of the various structural members which trace unexpected curves through space and meet at unusual angles. The structure is largely devoid of right angles -- but sweeping curves and soaring angles are everywhere.

More pictures of this amazing builiding are at: http://chuck.smugmug.com/gallery/1673524