Casa Batlló: transforming an existing building

Useful to know

The Casa Batlló of Paseo de Gracia in Barcelona is often perceived as an entirely new fantastic edifice of Antoni Gaudi. However, the official history begins with an existing building from 1877, designed by Emili Sala Cortés. Josep Batlló acquired it in 1903. [1] This is an important starting point for the architectural narrative. A strong later image does not automatically mean that everything started from empty terrain. In this case, redevelopment is a major part of the way the work originated.

Gaudi was granted wide creative freedom, and the initial idea of demolition was replaced by a complete reconstruction between 1904 and 1906. [1] Thus, the story includes a decision on how to work with the existing one. This is a different task than designing without inherited parts. It is useful for the observer to distinguish the author of the original building from the author of the conversion. The two roles are not excluded, but describe different stages that participate in the material history of the same address.

The official narrative also places the house in the urban context of Paseo de Gracia, where representatives of the wealthy Barcelona environment build their residences. Neighbouring redevelopments shape the neighborhood's famous group. [1] Therefore, the facade is not an isolated object without a street. Its impact can also be seen as participation in a common urban front, where different author's decisions are seen simultaneously. This adds a relationship between the individual house and the architectural competition of the environment.

UNESCO includes Casa Batlló in the serial site "Works of Antoni Gaudí ", which gathers seven locations in Barcelona and the surrounding area. The assessment highlights the combination of architecture, sculpture and decorative arts in his work. [2] It is a useful framework for observing detail. Surface, shape, and artwork should be seen as interacting parts, not as decorations that are accidentally placed on an otherwise completely independent architectural foundation.

When viewing, one can first compare the common silhouette with the neighboring buildings, then trace the openings and finally a separate surface or detail. It is an analytical approach that connects urban and near-scale. It is also useful to ask what exactly has been changed and what has been inherited. Even when there is no complete construction archive in front of our eyes, the question itself protects against the mistaken assumption that the bright author's intervention erases the entire earlier history of the place.

Casa Batlló is a good example of how architectural novelty can be achieved by transforming an existing environment. The history of the order, the period of work and the urban situation give a specific context to the famous image. Gaudi's wider work adds another connection without turning all of his buildings into the same work. When these layers are distinguished, the house is understood more accurately as the result of decisions in time, and not only as an unusual facade cut off from the real city.