Modernist architecture in Barcelona

Casa Milà (also known as La Pedrera) -Milà's house - is a building in Barcelona, created in the years 1906-1910. Located on the corner of Passeig de Grácia and Provença, in the middle of the city.
It was designed by Antoni Gaudí and performed for the entrepreneur Pere Milà and his wife . It is the most mature and last  "secular" project of the architect. Casa Milà, as Gaudí wanted, was supposed to be a response on the lack of interesting buildings in the city. Due to the appearance (the building looks like a huge rock block) habitats of Barcelona called it La Pedrera, which means Quarry.

In this project Gaudí did not use, or used minimally, straight lines. This causes the facade looks like the rough sea. It looks hard and monumental even if was build of stone blocks. Balconies are decorated with wrought iron railings in the shape of wild bushes. The other decoration of the main are specially situated birds that are giving the impression of preparing themselves for departure. In the middle of building very visible is Gaudí´s attention to details, for example each ceiling has its own plaster form. Remarkable are the numerous mosaics, and wood-works. On the roof the architect has created chimneys in a shape similar the smoke. The building has an innovative pole-beam construction, which is constructed to reduce the amount of cross-sections (because it was impossible to pay the more expensive materials)

Casa Milà was not finished because of the conflict with the investor. Despite this, it is widely accepted that it as the most comprehensive work of Gaudí, in which he applied his full experience.

Nowadays it is used as a normal building, inside which ,amongst others, is located a bank. Casa Milà was classified as World Heritage in the1984 UNESCO Catalogue

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92 Paseo de Gracia, 08008 Barcelona

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Metro: Diagonal L3, L5,
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