Visiting Barcelona's La Pedrera
Why Gaudi’s Casa Mila is an Unmissable Barcelona Attraction.
Built on the Passeig de Gracia in the Eixample District of Barcelona, La Pedrera is an example of Gaudi’s architectural innovation. Originally commissioned by the industrialist Pere Mila and his wife Roser Segimon, it consisted of a rooftop terrace, loft space and 6 floors and a basement. It survives today as one of Barcelona’s most important cultural spaces and a must see for visitors to the city
The Design of La Pedrera
Gaudi’s brief was to produce a block of apartments with the main floor as the family’s main residence whilst the rest of the building was leased out. Essentially, it is a building in two separate halves, each with its own separate entrance but united internally by two patios which act as a light source for the apartments and externally by the continuous rocky façade, broken up by the organic looking wrought iron balcony railings. The apartments appear to have been carved out rock, hence the nickname by which the building is most commonly known. It is a building that exemplifies Gaudi’s desire to ‘naturalise’ architecture.
The construction of the building is also unique. Rather than rest the structure on load bearing walls, Gaudi designed the structure to rest upon a metal frame which allowed for a more flexible use of the interior space. He abandoned the common communal staircase that was the normal access route for the residents of Barcelona apartments, opting instead for a lift with subsidiary service stairways.
La Pedrera’s Roof Terrace
An undulating space with fine views of the city, the rooftop terrace is one of La Pedrera’s most obviously unique features. Here Gaudi made the functional into works of art. Ventilation towers, chimneys and accesses to the service stairways are made into things of beauty. The stair way entrances are hooded and covered in trecadis, broken pieces of ceramic. The ventilation towers rendered and painted and look like sculptures whereas the chimneys appear as a row of vaguely forbidding abstract figures.
Little Known Facts about La Pedrera
- La Pedrera covers 1620 square metres of land.
- The innovative design was not initially widely appreciated. ‘La Pedrera’ or the stone quarry was originally a derisive title that stuck. But Casa Mila was also known as ‘the wasp’s nest’ or ‘El Avispero’ and by some ‘la empanada’ the meat pie.
- Although Gaudi designed the iron door grills, the balcony railings were designed by Josep M Jujol. The design of each one is unique.
- Initially, Gaudi intended the building to be crowned with sculptures of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus. The owner disagreed and the sculptures were abandoned. The inscription intended to accompany the sculptures still remains on the façade, running along the boundary between the apartment floors and the lofts.
- Gaudi originally intended a spiral ramp to run up to the terrace to allow access for cars and carriages. Instead, he altered his design to allow ramps to run into the basement, essentially turning it into an underground car park.
La Pedrera Today
La Pedrera was declared a historic monument by the Spanish state in 1969 and a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1984. Today, it is an important cultural centre as well as a major tourist attraction. As well as the rooftop terrace, visitors have access to the loft area which has been turned into a permanent exhibition of Gaudi’s work and influence. On the 4th floor is a recreation of a typical bourgeois family apartment in the early twentieth century.
Sources
La Pedrera-Fundacio Caixa Catalunya
Gaudi-Barcelona tourist book.
Exterior of La Pedrera
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