His father and grandfather were both boilermakers and Gaudi used to help them, which some suggest is where he gained his space awareness from, starting him on the road to what would later become his passion.
In 1870 Gaudi moved to Barcelona in order that he could study architecture. During his studies his professors noticed his talent and because of this they allowed Gaudi to collaborate with them on certain projects, which started to gain him a reputation.
By the time he completed his studies at the School of Architecture in 1878, Elies Rogent, the Director of the school, apparently said he wasn’t sure if he had awarded the degree to a madman or a genius, and only time would tell. It certainly did and it was very much the latter.
Gaudi went on to develop his unique style which was a blend of Gothic art & art nouveau with functional structure. He had a passion for incredibly colourful textures, which became prominent in his work along with several of his favourite building techniques such as inclined columns, paraboloid arches and thin edged-butted tile vaults.
Gaudi was regularly commissioned by the wealthy and elite in Barcelona. One of which was Eusebio Guell Bacigalupi, who would grow to be one of Gaudi’s closest friends as well as a major client.
Gaudi built Palace Guell for him between 1885 & 1889, which now stands as a museum and features some of Gaudi’s favourite design features such as the parabolic arched entrances. Gaudi went on to develop Park Guell between 1900 and 1914 and even ended up living on site, in one of the two properties there.
Other properties in and around Barcelona that Gaudi was responsible for include Casa Vicens which he constructed between 1878 – 1880. Casa Batllo which he constructed between 1905 – 1907 and Casa Mila referred toas La Pedrera, which he built between 1905 & 1910.
You’ve probably noticed we haven’t yet mentioned probably his most famous project of all, the Sagrada Familia, which takes its pride of place in Barcelona and is one of the most recognised buildings in the whole city and possibly the whole of Spain. Gaudi took over the project in 1883 whilst still involved on other projects at the same time. He then spent the next 40 years obsessing over Sagrada Familia and helping to make it what it is today (albeit still unfinished!). In 1914 Gaudi decided to stop taking on other commissions and projects so he could work solely on what had become his passion, the Sagrada Familia. Gaudi got to work on the project for another12-years until 1June 1926, when sadly he was run over by a tram and he died from the injuries.
Antoni Gaudi is buried in the Sagrada Familia in the Our Lady of Carmel chapel located in the Temple crypt.
The completion of Sagrada Familia was delayed by the worldwide pandemic Corona Virus. Sagrada Familia was expected to be completed by late 2026, however that has recently been pushed back again due to financing issues and the new Director of the project has not given a new completion date and has confirmed it depends on the finances available. With part of the project being financed by ticket sales to Sagrada Familia, which have dropped significantly since Covid-19 hit the world and, on that basis, they are unable to estimate a completion date at the moment.
If you would like to visit, we offer tickets for the following Gaudi properties:
Sagrada Familia with Fast Track Access + Tower Access – Click HERE to see ticket details
Sagrada Familia with Fast Track but WITHOUT Tower Access – Click HERE to see ticket details
Park Guell Entrance – Click HERE to see ticket details
Casa Batllo – Click HERE to see ticket details
Casa Vicens – Click HERE to see ticket details
Casa Mila (La Pedrera) – Click HERE to see ticket details
Palau Guell (Guell Palace) – Click HERE to see ticket options
