From Modernist to Modern: Casa Batllo, Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

At the turn of the 20th century, the Passeig de Gràcia is the place to settle in for the powerful and wealthy of Barcelona. In 1903, Josep Batlló a rich textile industrialist buys a 25-year old house on this most prestigious street of the new and modern El Eixample district. However, Batlló’s house looks a bit dull next to the neighbouring Casa Amatller designed by the Catalan architect Puig i Cadafalch. He commissions the famous Gaudí to rebuild it completely, but the highly creative genius convinces him to keep the structure - just adding two levels - and redesign the façade and floors.

Walking the Passeig de Gràcia, the Casa Batlló cannot be missed and its unique joyful façade resembles the impressionist waterlilies by Claude Monet. Some balconies looking like carnival masks scatter the colourful wall, when the roof mimics fish scales of a parrot fish summited by the spine of a multicolour dragon, maybe the dragon slayed by Saint George the patron of Catalonia dear to Gaudí, a proud nationalist.

Stopping at the façade only would be a mistake. Entering the house feels like penetrating a marine world with its shapes, colours and luminosity. Some internal windows remind the shell of a sea turtle. The beautiful ramp of the stairs leading to the noble floor looks like the spine of an enormous vertebrate. The mushroom fireplace brings to mind a jellyfish. The walls and ceiling of the reception room seems to eliminate every possible straight line ending in a giant whirlpool. The staircase serving the floors of the renters paved with blue ceramics makes us feel like we are evolving in an aquarium. Climbing up the stairs and against expectations, the light seems of a constant blue: Gaudí chose lighter blue tiles for the lower floors and darker blue tiles for the higher floors. He also sized the windows along this skylight so that the light is diffused evenly in all flats, with larger windows for the lower floors and smaller ones for the higher floors. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).