From 1904 until 1907, Gaudí worked for the industrialist, Joseph Battló Casanovas, reforming a house built in 1877 and located in Passeig de Gracía in Barcelona. The decoration of the house expresses a fully-fledged modernist language. However, the Barcelona population was somewhat astonished by the work, given the time period, and coined it as the “house of bones.” From a cursory look at its outer facade, it’s easy to understand why. There is an almost skeletal and surreal feel just from looking at the building’s facade; it is certainly reminiscent of something that Gargamel from the Smurfs might live in (many of Gaudí’s structures remind me of something out of the Smurfs for some reason).

Casa Battló represents a new form of architectural expression in which references to historical styles have been surpassed, often by introducing new extremes. The facade of Battló is covered in ceramic discs and colored glass windows.

(image by Andri)

On the lower part of the main facade, sandstone was sculpted into into sinuous forms.

The interior of the building represents the perfect fusion of design and functionality. This is evidenced by the textures of the walls, comprised of various colors of tiles, the wooden fireplace, the light fixtures, and other details. The details are fluid and all seem to complement each other in structural harmony, and create an aesthetic effect of referencing both nature and man. On the ground floor, the design of the cabinet work demonstrates Gaudí’s obsession with detail. There are glass discs on the inside doors, which resemble the coloring of the outside facade. The doors on the main stairway are decorated with shapes in relief that resemble bones. (I couldn’t get a good photo due to the number of people around.)

Lighting in the ceiling resembles a sun, in another room, it almost looks like gashes in torn flesh or torn tree bark. The floor in an upstairs room contains a floral pattern that can be found throughout the city, possibly an homage to the architect. Doors, hallways and various spaces throughout the building are fluid and organic feeling, purposeful and symbolic.

The building’s ceramic detail, both inside and outside, is mind-blowing. On the inside stairway, the tiles flow in ascending order from a pale, light blue to darker hues of blue which, contrasted by treated glass and wood railings, almost looks like a waterfall.

On the building’s roof, the sculptural treatment of the chimneys and their covering with ceramic and painted glass shows Gaudí at his most colorist. The bulbous ceramic that supports the four-armed cross came from Majorca. The “scales” of the roof are actually the work of Pujol & Baucis, and represent something reptilian. The way the ceramic and glass changes color at various times of the day and in different light is mesmerizing.

Overall, despite resembling something somewhat terrifying from the outside, the structure is warm and inviting on the inside (though I can’t imagine living in it) and incredibly inspiring to look at up close.