Casa Batlló is a building designed by the architect Antoni Gaudí, the leading exponent of Catalan modernism. It is a complete renovation of a previously existing building on the site, designed by Emilio Sala Cortés, located on the famous Passeig de Gracia in Barcelona, the wide avenue that runs through the Eixample district, in the so-called Block of Discord, because it houses, in addition to this building, other works by modernist architects: Casa Amatller, designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch; Casa Lleó Morera, designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner; Casa Mulleras, designed by Enric Sagnier; and Casa Josefina Bonet, designed by Marceliano Coquillat.
Casa Batlló is a reflection of the artistic plenitude of Antonio Gaudí: it belongs to his naturalist period (first decade of the 20th century), inspired by the organic forms of nature, for which he put into practice a whole series of new structural solutions originating from the in-depth analyses carried out by Gaudí on ruled geometry.
The building was built in 1875 by Emilio Sala Cortés (1841-1920), the architect who designed several buildings in Barcelona, such as the Casa Elizalde (1885), the Tolrà Palace in Castellar del Vallès (1890), the Hotel Duques de Bergara (1898), the Casa Emilià Carles (1898), the Ribas Schools in Rubí (1912-1915) and the Fargas Family Pantheon in La Garriga. Sala was also a professor at the Barcelona School of Architecture and was one of Gaudí's teachers, whom he occasionally employed as a draughtsman.
In 1903 it was acquired by the textile industrialist Josep Batlló and Amàlia Godó i Belaunzarán, from the family of the Counts of Godó. The couple lived on the main floor of the house until they both died. The house was sold in 1954 by their heirs to Seguros Iberia, which set up its commercial offices there.
The building is located in the heart of Barcelona, in the famous Eixample, designed by Ildefonso Cerdá with a reticular system of blocks of flats with cut corners, where Paseo de Gracia became one of the main arteries of the city, which is why it was chosen by the Catalan bourgeoisie to establish their residences
Gaudí focused on the façade, the main floor, the light well and the roof terrace, and built a fifth floor for the services of the house (laundry and storage rooms), together with the collaboration of his assistants Francisco Berenguer, Josep Maria Jujol, Domingo Sugrañes, José Canaleta, Juan Rubió and Jaume Bayó.
The project underwent several modifications from its conception to its final completion, due to the architect's continuous search for the best structural solutions. The project was presented to the Barcelona City Council's annual competition for artistic buildings, but it was the Colegio Condal de Bonaventura Bassegoda i Amigó that won the award for the best building that year.
Gaudí designed the remodelling project for Casa Batlló at the age of 52, where his architectural style had transcended mere academicism to reflect a personal vision of architecture, of great originality and innovative character.
Casa Batlló occupies a total of 4,300 m², with 450 m² of surface area per floor, 32 metres high and 14.5 metres wide. The building has eight floors: with a basement, used for coal and storage rooms, the ground floor was initially used as a garage and then as a warehouse, and next to the entrances to the apartments there was a shop, occupied first by the Lumière photography establishment, then by the Pathé Frères film production company and later by the Syra Gallery; the main floor was entirely occupied by the Batlló family, and also contains a large courtyard at the back of the building; the other four floors were used for rent, with two apartments each; finally there is an attic, used as a service area, and covered by the roof.
The façade was made from Montjuïc sandstone, reminiscent of the waves of the Mediterranean Sea or the sinuous shapes of the Montserrat mountain, where the gallery on the main floor —that of the Batlló family— stands out, reaching 10 metres in height, with five openings covered with polychrome stained glass and supported by eight bone-shaped columns. Its balconies are made from cast iron and painted with lead carbonate to prevent rust, which gives them an ivory colour. They are placed on stone pedestals in the shape of a seashell. Almost all are the same size, except for the one in the attic and the one on the top left, which is a double railing with three openings. Finally, the façade has a vault formed by catenary arches covered with two layers of brick, covered with glazed ceramic in the shape of scales —made in the Sebastià Ribó Workshops—, in shades of red, green and blue, reminiscent of the back of a dragon.
For the interior of the building, Gaudí designed well-differentiated entrances on the ground floor, with three portals: one leading to the homes, another for the shop and another for the garages, the first being made of iron and glass and the other two of wood. The ground floor has 735 m², of which 60% is used for the shop and the garage, and the rest is divided between two vestibules —one for the tenants and another private one for the owners of the house—, the porter's lodge, a storage area and the central courtyard, where the lift and the service stairs are located. The entrance hall is rectangular in shape and has curved ceilings, a marble floor and blue ceramic decoration on the lower part of the wall and stucco on the upper part.
Gaudí, an already renowned architect, who at that time was working on several projects at the same time: the Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia (1883-1926), the Bellesguard Tower (1900-1909), the Güell Park (1900-1914) and the restoration of the Cathedral of Mallorca (1903-1914), the Casa Milà (popularly known as La Pedrera) between 1906 and 1912.
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