Barcelona Weekend Break


Modernist architecture, architects and their Barcelona buildings


A brief summary of Modernist design in Barcelona

Modernist architecture in the region of Cataluna was born of political discomfort and unrest and was, in part, a reaction to the suppression of many aspects of Catalan life including the "near outlawing" of the regional language.

Several prominent architects in the modernist field could be loosely described as political activists and their modernist designs are clearly an expression of these nationalist and regionalist views.

How modernist architecture is defined is open to many interpretations. It is clear that both Spanish and Moorish architecture was highly influential, but so too were the ideas and designs coming from other European states like Britain, France and Austria. Without doubt the modernists also added their own ideas to these concepts and the results are now a part of Barcelona's architectural legacy.

Exactly when the "modernist" movement started in Barcelona is equally hard to establish, but many consider that the first buildings fitting this description started to appear from about 1880 and structures like "Montaner i Simon" and "Casa Vicens" are usually cited as the instigative examples.

How you recognize a modernist building can be equally hard to ascertain. Many turn of the twentieth century buildings in Barcelona have "vaguely" modernist characteristics, but which do and do not fall centrally into the category is hard to say. Typical features include, ornate masonry, sculptures and mosaics, but projecting corbelling and a lack of geometric conformity are often common themes. Of course all the well known modernist buildings are highlighted in tour guides and maps, but these guides do not catalogue every modernist structure.


Modernist Architects and their buildings in Barcelona


1. Antoni Gaudi

For comprehensive information about Gaudi's Barcelona, click on this Gaudi index page link.


2. Josep Puig i Cadafalch

Architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch (1867 to 1956) was one of a number of designers exploring the "modernist" approach to architecture at the turn of the twentieth century. Although born in Catalan, he was the man behind a number of Barcelona's most inventive and insightful buildings and, but for his place of birth, he would probably be as synonymous with Barcelona as Gaudi himself. Many people find the work of Josep Puig i Cadafalch easier to accept than that of Gaudi and his buildings should not be missed.

His building credits for Barcelona are listed below and he also worked with Gaudi on the "Café Torino" building. Like Gaudi he was fiercely patriotic.


3. Lluis Domenech i Montaner (1850 to 1923)

Lluis Domenech i Montaner is regarded as one of the founders of the modernist movement. He lived between the years of 1850 and 1923 and was yet another staunch nationalist (the expression actually referring to his region rather than the country of Spain). His designs combined Gothic and Romanesque aesthetics and he designed in a manner that was possibly backward rather than forward looking.

As in individual he had many other interests including politics. Most of his buildings were designed from 1888 to shortly before his death.


These are Domenech's main works in Barcelona.




4. Enric Sagnier i Villavecchia



Although not really a modernist architect in the purest sense, Enric Sagnier i Villavecchia did design a number of very beautiful buildings in Barcelona and was actually more prolific than those designers previously mentioned. He also explored modernism along with numerous other ideas.





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