The Casa Batlló in Barcelona

The arched roof and complex chimney detailing

Casa Batlló is a building designed by Antoni Gaudi and built in years 1905–1907; located at 43, Passeig de Gràcia (passeig is Catalan for promenade or avenue), part of the Illa de la Discòrdia in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Download high resolution version (600x802, 165 KB) Another view, showing more of the Illa de la Discordia Facade of Casa Batlló in Barcelona File links The following pages link to this file: Casa Batlló Categories: GFDL images ... Download high resolution version (600x802, 165 KB) Another view, showing more of the Illa de la Discordia Facade of Casa Batlló in Barcelona File links The following pages link to this file: Casa Batlló Categories: GFDL images ... Roof of Casa Batlló in Barcelona File links The following pages link to this file: Casa Batlló Categories: GFDL images ... Roof of Casa Batlló in Barcelona File links The following pages link to this file: Casa Batlló Categories: GFDL images ... Antoni Gaud i Cornet (more widely known in the English speaking world under the Spanish version of his first name, as Antonio Gaud , or, just simply, Gaudi), (25 June 1852–10 June 1926) was a Catalan architect famous for his unique designs expressing sculptural and individualistic qualities. ... 1905 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1907 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Catalan (Català, Valencià) is a Romance language understood by as many as 12 million people in portions of Spain, France, Andorra and Italy, although the majority of active Catalan speakers are in Spain. ... An avenue can mean any of the following: Most commonly, it refers to two parallel lines of trees specially planted as a landscape feature. ... The Eixample (Catalan for extension; Castilian, Ensanche) is a district of Barcelona between the old city (Ciutat Vella) and what were once surrounding small towns (Sants, Gràcia, Sant Andreu etc. ... Barcelona within Barcelonès Population (2003) 1,582,738 Area 1004 Km2 Population density (2001) 15,764/Km2 Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, an autonomous region in northeastern Spain (41°23′ N 2°11′ E). ... Capital Barcelona Official languages Spanish and Catalan In Val dAran, also Aranese. ...

The local name for the building is Casa dels ossos (house of bones), and indeed it does have a visceral, skeletal organic quality. It was originally designed for a middle-class family and situated in a prosperous district of Barcelona. In anatomy, the viscera are the internal organs of an animal, in particular the internal organs of the head, thorax and abdomen. ... In biology, the skeleton or skeletal system is the biological system providing support in living organisms. ... Organic has several meanings and related topics. ... The middle class (or middle classes) comprises a social group once defined by exception as an intermediate social class between the nobility and the peasantry. ...

The building looks very remarkable — like everything Gaudi designed, only identifiable as Art Nouveau in the broadest sense. The ground floor, in particular, is rather astonishing with tracery, irregular oval windows and flowing sculpted stone work. Alfons Mucha, lithographed poster Dancel (1898). ...

It seems that the goal of the designer was to avoid straight lines completely. Much of the façade is decorated with a mosaic made of broken ceramic tiles that starts in shades of golden orange moving into greenish blues. The roof is arched and was likened to the back of a dragon or dinosaur. A common theory about the building is that the rounded feature to the left of centre, terminating at the top in a turret and cross, represents the sword of Saint George, which has been plunged into the back of the dragon. West façade of the Notre-Dame de Strasbourg Cathedral A facade (or façade) is the exterior of a building – especially the front, but also sometimes the sides and rear. ... Mosaic is a medium of art that may embody the most meaningful iconography in a cultures most important settings, as in the cathedral of Monreale (below), or it may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration. ... Simple arch bridge Close-up of a semi-circular arch in Barcelona, Spain. ... Look up Dragon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Typically depicted as a large and powerful reptile or serpent with magical or spiritual qualities, the dragon is one of few, if not the only mythological creature to be known around the globe. ... Orders Saurischia    Sauropodomorpha    Theropoda Ornithischia Dinosaurs are animals that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for over 100-million years. ... For alternate uses, see Saint George (disambiguation) Saint George (c. ...

External links

• Entry in greatbuildings.com (http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Casa_Batllo.html)
• Photos of Casa Batllo (http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/albums-en/gaudi-casa-batllo/index.html)
• Description on a Gaudi site (http://www.op.net/~jmeltzer/Gaudi/batllo.html)