Casa Batlló – Highlights

Wealthy businessman Josep Battló i Casanovas commissioned Antonio Gaudi to demolish a residential property he owned in Passeig de Gracia and start a fresh project on the site. After studying the original construction, Gaudi convinced Battló to change his plans to remodelling the current structure. During the years of 1904 to 1906, Gaudi built an additional floor, recreated the roof and façade and completely transformed the interiors, leaving no vestiges of the original house behind.

At first sight, you may be forgiven for thinking you are beholding either a pirate’s lair or a child’s fantasy sketch. Casa Batlló’s exterior does have a look of skulls and bones around its balconies and columns, lending it a rather skeletal appearance. In fact, locals commonly refer to the building as Casa dels ossos or the House of Bones. Gaudi’s famous practice for drawing inspiration from natural elements in this instance has resulted in a façade adorned with shapes and hues found in marine life. Again, the pastel colors clubbed with scaled roof, flowing balconies and castle-like turrets bestow on the building a rather fantastic appearance and an unknowing visitor may casually dismiss it all as an unimportant edifice.

A Work of Genius

It never bears to dismiss Gaudi’s work and the uninitiated frequently need time and education to appreciate his genius. Take the time to visit the interiors of the house and study the incredible detail to which Gaudi has gone to plan some of the features. The helpful audio guides explain the rationale behind some of interior elements but many others will fire your own imagination.

The roof of Casa Batlló is composed of a scaly rounded hump and a turret, which experts believe to be an allegory of St. George and the Dragon. This may be rather difficult to visualize but the colorful ceramic mosaic is a delight to behold. His love of irregular lines is apparent in the living quarters and you will be left awe-struck at the impossibly spacious and graceful rooms and highly original hallways. Sizes of the windows differ across floors to ensure equal streams of light at each level. Windows of the Nobel Floor, with a view into Passieg de Gracia are composed solely of wooden windows with no jams, making it possible to get a single, long, uninterrupted view when all the panes are simultaneously raised. Gaudi also introduced a massive central skylight, created magic with shaded tiles and played with all features possible to maximize the light flow inside the house. All in all, the house is a symphony in light, color and contours and will delight your senses.

The entrance to Casa Batlló is rather pricey but well worth the price once you have spent the prescribed hour following the audioguide inside the exhibit. This is a must visit and will help you appreciate why Gaudi is one of the most celebrated sons of Barcelona.