God’s Architect

Gaud?’s ravishing symbiosis between built environment and natural world

From the towering Sagrada Fam?lia to the shimmering, textured fa?ade of Casa Batll? and the enchanting landscape of Park G?ell, it’s easy to see why Antoni Gaud? (1852–1926) gained the epithet “God’s architect.” With fluid forms and mathematical precision, his work extols the wonder of natural creation: columns soar like tree trunks, window frames curve like flowering branches, and ceramic tiling shimmers like scaly, reptilian skin. With this outstanding attention to natural detail, his inspirations from both neo-Gothic and Orientalist aesthetics, and a lifelong commitment to Catalan identity, Gaud? created a unique brand of the Modernista movement which transformed, and defines, Barcelona’s cityscape. With seven of Gaud?’s projects listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, this book introduces the architect’s extraordinary vision and unique legacy, exploring the influences and the details which allow his buildings to impress, inspire, and amaze, one century after their construction.