The Origin
In 1903, Josep Batlló bought the simple house in the prestigious district on the Passeig de Gràcia, although he believed that the house was not worthy of his reputation as a businessman. In order to stand out from the crowd, he wanted to commission an architect to design a new, unique building. A year later, he commissioned the renowned architect Antoni Gaudí, who had already built a park, a church, and private houses in Barcelona. He was the one who convinced Josep to keep the basement, ground floor, garden, and four more floors and apply his bold plans to the existing structure.Gaudi's Masterpiece
Neither Josep nor his wife set limits to Gaudi, allowing him to fully live out his existence as an artist and architect. Although the overall work seems improvised, Gaudi had clear ideas for his avant-garde-modernist masterpiece: It should fulfill functional aspects as well, and the artistic design should not suffer as a result. To be able to move independently in these areas, he created three entrances for the lower part (ground floor, business premises and basement), the main floor (private residence of the bourgeois family) and the rental apartments above. The air circulation was also considered during construction.
The passage to the supply areas | Photo: Unsplash, Burak AslanImpressive Light and Color Play
Throughout the entire house, the colourful, relief-like mosaics combined with Gaudi's light philosophy create a decorative effect. This is particularly noticeable inside. To bring light into the house, the middle of the building was hollowed out and the staircase of the house's residents was staged. Carefully, Gaudí set a special gradient of the mosaic stones here, which, as they move further away from the light source, become brighter, thereby enhancing the effect and making the entire room appear illuminated.
Gaudí didn't stop even at the ceilings | Photo: Unsplash, Laura SeidlitzNature as Inspiration
In the cultural-societal renewal movement of the Catalan Art Nouveau (Modernisme Català) between 1890 and 1910, nature stood at the center of artistic creations, the theory of evolution also causing a stir in the 19th century. It is suspected that Gaudí was inspired by the book 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, as well as by his childhood, which he spent much in nature. It seems as if Gaudí tried to create the underwater world, which knows no straight lines, in Casa Batlló. The house is permeated by eddies on the floors and ceilings and natural elements such as the backbone of a sea creature forming the large staircase. There are also no numbers on the doors of the apartments, but letters that were applied with a flourish in gold color.The Dragon's Ribcage
In the attic, aesthetics and functionality meet, giving the space a very special charm. Originally, the minimalistically designed loft served as a passage to the utility areas of the rental apartments, which included laundry and storage rooms. The room is illuminated solely by the gentle light penetrating into the sixty consecutive barrel vaults, thus creating the effect of a ribcage or spine of a dragon.The Main Floor
The main floor of the building extends over an area of 700 m² (7534,74 ft²) and formerly served as the private residence of the Batlló family. Among other things, it includes an entrance hall with skylights resembling turtle shells; the entire area recalls an underwater world with arched walls in winding shapes and a spectacular wooden staircase. One arrives at the workroom of Josep Batlló with a mushroom-shaped fireplace. The generous and street-protruding windows of the main room provide a fascinating view of the street Passeig de Gràcia; Gaudí purposefully designed these windows like a grandstand, to see and to be seen. From the dining room, you reach the terrace located at the back of the house, which was exclusively reserved for the family. Gaudí created a small oasis here, intending to protect from the hustle and bustle of the smoking steam locomotives.
On the roof of the house | Photo: Flickr, Antonio Picascia - CC-BY-SA 2.0The dragon on the roof
It is suspected that Gaudí was inspired by the myth of Saint George, the patron saint of Catalonia, for the roof of the house. It is said that he saves the princess with his sword from the fire-spitting dragon. In addition to the side profile of the legendary mythical creature that is created by a large number of diamond-shaped roof tiles in red, blue, and green, the stairwell with the four-rayed cross can also be interpreted as the knight's lance stuck in the animal's shell. Gaudí also adorned the tower with the monograms of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph to express his deep faith. The ceramic bud, which runs towards the cross, broke on the transport route from Mallorca. Although the manufacturer wanted to replace this, Gaudí decided to have the parts put back together, thereby highlighting his Trencadís style again (Trencadís stands for “breaking” in Catalan - a mosaic of different sized fragments of ceramic tiles, marble or glass).
The facade of the Casa Batlló | Photo: Unsplash, Anna MurzilonThe dazzling facade
Countless plaster fragments with colored glass shards and pieces of ceramic decorate the brightly shining, wavy façade, reminiscent of the glittering water surface of a lake with water lilies. Delicate-looking columns, which from a distance look like bones, but are chiseled from fine stone, form the large, irregular, oval window areas of the bel étage. The facade is therefore often referred to as organic; the building got its name "Casa dels Ossos" or “House of Bones” from this. On closer examination, floral patterns can be seen on the columns.