Casa Vicens was the first job Gaudi signed after getting his degree in architecture. It was built between 1883 and 1888.

It was an old house in Villa de Gracia, that was once on the outskirts of Barcelona (today part of the city, the Gracia district, absorbed by the growth of Barcelona). It was built for Manuel Vicens,Trade and Exchange Broker. Some sources quote him wrongly as a manufacturer of bricks and tiles. Due to economic difficulties that arose at the owner, completion took longer than it should.

In this early work we find Muslim and Arab reminiscences, in a unique fusion with indigenous elements. The extensive use of tiles, both indoors and outdoors, provides colour and originality. This work could be defined as a beautiful collage of styles and seeds of new ideas. In this work Gaudi is still not using the curved shapes, so characteristic of Gaudí's architecture, as seen in the Sagrada Familia. He still holds the traditional application of the rule and straight lines.

Well, in 3d anyway. This video portrays a beautiful 3D representation of a finished Sagrada Familia, which is great for those of us who are unlikely to still be around by the time it is finally finished.

In Barcelona, the AVE high speed rail link is causing a lot of fuss as its planned route is directly under the Sagrada Familia, 1.4 m below its basement.

The locals are scared the construction of the tunnel will damage the building, works will be carried out over 28 months.  There are concerns that the weight of the cathedral makes the venture very risky, especially considering the Catalans less than perfect track record of digging tunnels (In 2005, half of the Barrio of El Carmel in Barcelona collapsed into the tunnel they were digging for line 5 of the metro, leaving 1000 people homeless).

Fans of Gaudí are naturally suspicious of anything to do with rails, as their hero was run over and killed by a tram in 1926.

Greenpeace activists scaled the Sagrada Familia on Monday to protest climate change ahead of the  five day UN climate change talks.

The activists attempted to unfurl a 600 square meter banner saying "World Leaders make the climate call" from the top of the iconic church in Barcelona, but were prevented from doing so by the wind. Instead, they hung two smaller banners from the giant cranes hovering over the unfinished work of Gaudí, saying "Save the climate".