Back in Barcelona for 2 nights before flying home. =)
Back to my 1st Gaudi encounter - Casa Batlló & its "bony" exterior. It is the apartment Gaudi had designed for the Battló family.
It looks spectacular at night too.
In b&w. Now let's enter the building...
Not a great photo, but a view from the inside (living room). You're looking out onto the Passeig de Gracia (shoppers note: one of the most expensive streets in Barcelona). As I'd mentioned earlier, Gaudi drew inspiration from nature. In a similar vein, his buildings were environmentally friendly, using natural lighting and ventilation as much as possible. His organic style was often in harmony with nature. I don't recall sharp angles in his designs, which tended to be "fluid" and irregularly-shaped. Love the colored glass (though the colors don't show very strongly in this photo).
Casa Batlló was marine-themed. Surely this light reminds you of something you might pick from the seashore? The walls in the apartment were patterned like scales of a fish. Blue was the dominant color. There were "slits of light" on the ceiling which looked like waves in the sea (see album).
Why did Gaudi put 2 columns right in the middle of the entryway to the balcony? It's a real question. I don't know.
Besides drawing inspiration from nature, Gaudi also studied the human form and created designs that were ergonomic and practical. He wasn't just an architect but also an "interior designer" of sorts. This handle on a window is an example. It is shaped in a way that allows the fingers to most naturally grasp & pull/push it. There're many other examples such as door handles and chairs whose forms mimicked how a person would sit in them.
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