Casa Batlló, Barcelona

My grandmother told me about this house by Gaudi where the roofline represents the dragons back, and the cross was St. George's sword slaying the dragon. I took these pictures from the Bus Turistic, and my pictures are better than hers (!)

Barb (mom - daughter of grandmother) visited the inside and added some photos of the interior in 2015. The fireplace with seating nooks on each side, the ocean wave form in the ceiling - these are some of the sights to see inside.

General ticket Adult (+18) 21.5 €

Visits include the Noble Floor (the former residence of the Batlló family), the Loft (the former store rooms and laundry rooms), the Roof Terrace with the famous backbone of the dragon slain by Sant Jordi, and the area which was once the communal stairwell. It finishes with the entrance hall and the main staircase.

This Gaudi design is a restyle of the Casa Batllo in which he added 2 storeys and changed its outer skin.

The first floor covers a surface area of 1,300sq metres and reserved for the Mila Family.It has 35 rooms.

The upper storeys are divided into 3 or 4 apartments.

The photos display the genius of Gaudi.

Open every day of the year, Adult Entrance fee in excess of 20 Euro per person.

This is an architecture gem in Barcelona in continuation of the great Gaudi. It was built between 1904 and 1906. Located in the Illa de la Discòrdia, at 43 Passeig de Gràcia, Exeimple neighborhood. It was done on request of the owner Josep Batlló Casanovas, an entrepreneur of the textile industry.

This house was done in the island of mansions in this area from 1875. The family Bernat is the owner since 2002.It is at this time that is was open to the public. Renovation on the house in 2013 allow to visit the vast majority of the house such as the first floor, back terrace, 2nd floor, the attic, and roofstop,only the upper part that are occupy by the management of the house is not open to the public. also, the street level and basement are not open because use for events.

The main facade overlooks the Passeig de Gràcia and is divided into three different parts smoothly integrated. The upper part, slightly down from the street, is a kind of Crest made of colorful ceramics which aroused multiple interprétations. The upper part of the building is dominated by a bulge that begins at the side roofs, allowing to conceal the room where water was stored. Today, it is an empty room. The profile of arched forms of a dragon, whose ceramic tiles would be in scales. The mythical monster has the head at right a small triangular window to look. Legend has it that the orientation of this window allowed Gaudí to observe the Sagrada Familia that he was building at the same time, something impossible today because of recent constructions of the city.

At the top of the building, suggesting the spine of the dragon, are two types of unique ceramics. Each are tiles to sinusoidal forms, completing the structure. The central part of the façade is adorned poetically on aquatic themes that evoke the surface of a Lake, like the water lilies of Monet, with slight undulations and reflections produced by the glasses and ceramics in cascades.
Front of the large windows, six fine bone-shaped columns are arranged and seem to support the building. They have the form of a femur or humerus, with floral decoration at the centre which appears to be a joint of the bone.

It will need a book to fully describe it and a must to see while in town.

The part of the story of Gaudi in English here
http://www.gaudidesigner.com/uk/casa-batllo.html

Casa Batlló is one of the best-known houses designed by architect Antoni Gaudi, built 1877 in a modernist/art-nouveau-style (with a few later additions). Remarkable features of Casa Battlò (named after a previous owner) is the "rippled" facade decorated with coloured ceramic tiles, the lack of "straight" lines in the house, implying the use of "natural" forms, the "Noble Floor", beautiful skylights and an arched roof (open to the public, with panoramic views of Barcelona) that resembles the back of a dragon. Casa Battlò is a UNESCO World Heritage Monument.

Casa Batlló is a renowned and is one of Antoni Gaudí’s masterpieces.
In 1904-1906 Gaudi has constructed the house of textile industrialist Batlio Casanovas. The narrow spotty facade from multi-coloured tiles has Gaudi typical for constructions the rounded forms. Convex lattices of balconies with apertures in the form of eyes are similar to masks.

You can watch my 3 min 16 sec Video Barcelona Passeig de Gracia Modernismo Catalana out of my Youtube channel or here on VT.

Casa Batllo is one of Gaudi's masterpieces located on Passeig de Gracia. The amazing facade and roof design get your attention immediately. For some reason, the roof reminds me of magic mushrooms in fairy tales (not Amsterdam!!!). We decided to visit La Pedrera with my wife and we just took some pictures of Casa Batllo during day and night. The entrance fee is 19.90 Euro per person. To avoid the queues, you can buy your ticket online from the website link provided below.

The original house at this site was constructed in 1877 and then purchased in 1900 by the textile owner Josep Battlo. Since the house had a good central location he wanted to redevelop or rebuild the house into something special. So in 1904 he hired Antonio Gaudi who convinced Battlo that only a refurbishment of the house was necessary. The refurbishment took only two years. The resulting house was imaginative, allowed for additional light, added many interesting balconies, and the outside took on the form of a spine of an animal. The house after it was refurbished was quite controversial in Barcelona. After several additional refurbishments the house was open to the public for viewing beginning in 2002.

Entering the place is like being transported to Disney's Little Mermaid film set. The pillars of the building resemble corals and doorways, waves. Put your imagination to full use to truly appreciate the fantastical architecture.

When Gaudí graduated in 1878 from Barcelona’s School of Architecture, the director announced: “Gentlemen, we are here today in the presence of either a genius or a madman.”

Well I think Gaudi was a genius! His architecture is simply stunning!

This was my favourite work of art by Gaudi. It is located not far from the Placa de Catalunya or you can get off at the first bus stop on either the red or blue tourist bus from Placa de Catalunya.

The building was first built in 1877, and Antonio Gaudi restored it in 1904-06. It has a Modern/Art Nouveau look for the contemporary and unique design. The roof line is said to look like a dragon or dinosaur (?). The facade has a lot of mosaics with strange designs and line, as well as balconies of odd shape. The top chimney is presented to be Saiont George slaying the dragon with his sword-hint that the the cross and turret on top-but I cannot see it in my imagination.
The outrageous price to enter is 18,15 Euro, and I personally would not pay for that, especially since the wait exceeded one hour, and closer to 2 hours outside when we were there at 2PM. It is open 9-9PM daily every day of the year.

If Barcelona is known for anything aside from the beautiful city itself, the friendly people, the nightlife in the Barri Gotic/El-Born area and of course the wonderful weather, it is for one particular person, GAUDI. Even a person who does not follow the "arts", like me, knows this name and Gaudi's art was in the living spaces he built.
In the next few sections I will be sharing some of the things that we saw in Barcelona, the Casa Batllo is just one of them.
The entrance price is listed at 18.15 Euro per person, we paid 14.55 per person, a savings of 7.20 Euro because we had our Barcelona Card.
Don't forget to take an audio guide which will help you learn more on your visit.

For more specific information, take a look at the Casa Batllo website, and also these sites:
http://www.casabatllo.es/
http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/gaudi/casa-batllo.html
http://www.aviewoncities.com/barcelona/casabatllo.htm

As I was photographing this window in the main living area at Casa Batllo, I wondered to myself if you would notice that there IS an outside or only the window. Some windows were only to let light in, others to let you see into another room. Even the partition between rooms were a de"light". Not a straight line in any of them, even the frame waves and contorts to pull your eyes to LOOK out or at the window.

What are the "elements" that make up a home. Doors, windows, staircases, sitting areas, bathrooms, partitions, you know them as well as I do. NOT in a house designed by Gaudi you don't !! A sitting area near a fireplace becomes a secret hideaway. A ceiling becomes a tempest at sea. A staircase becomes the exposed backbone of a sleeping dinosaur. The arches in the attic become a personal cathedral. Even a door, becomes a curving shape that lets you into another dimension...
Take your time and enjoy experiencing Gaudi here.

What could be more simple than a CHIMNEY, a device for letting the smoke out of a house....... Yet Gaudi turned this purely functional item into a form of art all its own, each with a personality that draws you to look closer.

Two distinct and totally different elements make the roof area striking, the chimneys and the "dragon back" as it is said to mimic. The imagination can take off in different directions if you sit back and just let it run, take a few moments to sit in the shade and just watch, see if a dragon rises out of the roof.