A big part of why my parents decided to disentangle us from our routine, conventional lives and haul us across the globe for a year is so we could immerse ourselves in the pursuit of connection. Over the past weeks we’ve been connecting with people from some of the most unlikely spots. To connect with the land and area we may go for a hike, whether it’s up on a mountain ridge or down in a gorge. We might also study up on the history and the prominent people who had influenced the way the city or town evolved. I’m slowly but surely digesting all of these crazy yet exciting experiences and encounters, and with each place I can feel myself getting closer to solving that infamous word; connection.
I hadn’t realized it at first, but almost everywhere I went there he was… Antoni Gaudí. I couldn’t (and still can’t) get him out of my head. I first met him at Park Güell overlooking the wondrous city of Barcelona. This is one of many commissioned works Gaudí had been assigned to by the Güells who at the time were one of the wealthiest families. With them behind him, Gaudí was able to put all his imagination into his work and have all the freedom he wanted. And what that freedom and imagination would lead to was absolutely incredible.
The park was to be a utopian garden-city where the nature and buildings would harmonize and integrate with one another. Kids could play, adults rove and mingle about. Gaudí had planned to build sixty houses surrounded each by its own garden in triangular plots of land. Unfortunately, nobody was interested and only three houses were built. One—which is now a school—for the Güells, another for Gaudí—turned into a museum—that he lived in for about twenty years, and one exceptional family who saw the opportunity and till this day is still living in the park. Though it was never finished you can still indulge oneself in the portentous designs and architectural beauty.
when you enter and start climbing the stairs you are greeted by a vibrant, ceramic tiled dragon-y creature
at the top of the stairs you come to see a hall of eighty-six columns where the market place was to be
supoorted by the columns is the big communual square and coiling around the border is the undulating bench that gives you a full view of Barcelona, seats many people, and also has a drainage system
this is one of many pathways… Gaudi wanted to have the walls and ceiling join in a fluid way so he built it in the shape of a wave and that’s exactly what we thought when we walked in it!
Walking around you first might not notice, but if you let your imagination run you can blatantly see how big a part nature was to Antoni Gaudí. As a child he loved to go hiking. He observed and took note of everything he saw. He applied what he saw in everyday life to his work. Nature and animals influenced the way he saw architecture which helped him design and build. He truly had that sense of connection. Gaudí was able to make blocks of stone move and twist, iron and wood could come alive in his hands. With every job he took on he would create something so ethereal and rare. Gaudí is an inspiration to all generations and has showed us that connection is not only just a word.
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