...About Gaudi.

Antoni Gaudi was and early 20th century Spanish architect. Two of his main loves were nature and religion and his work reflected this. Having studied geometry he noticed the relationship between nature and math. Fractals, cones, and hyperbolic paraboloid are all examples. Gaudi often admired tree trunks and skeletons being both functional and eye pleasing. No matter what the intended purpose of the building, it was still designed with heavy religious tones. Revered today, he was seen as a controversial figure while alive. His designs often broke laws and building codes and when against the typical designs of the day. 7 of his works are UNESCO World Heritage sites (all in Barcelona). He was pretty much the first to use trencadis, making mosaics with broken pieces of ceramics (tiles and dinner plates). He hated sketching his designs, preferring to build scale models and following them during construction.

Saw one of these in the backyard today.

I came across him while reading about the Sagrada Familia which is a church located in Barcelona. Building started in 1882 and it is still incomplete. Construction relies mainly on private donations (causing work to stop when there is no money), has been interrupted many times due to war, and parts of it keep having to be rebuilt from vandalism or arson. In fact, the half way point of construction only happend in 2010 and the completion date isn't until 2028. The outside looks skeletal and the inside was designed to look like a forest. Pillars are meant to be tree trunks and the ceiling like leaves that allows light to shine through from the stained glass windows. Barcelona is on my list of the next 3 places to see partly because of this building.

I can see it taking awhile.

And that is what I learned today.