Architecture

While the Casa Batlló shows the excessive imagination of Gaudí and the Casa Amatller is a brilliant reinterpretation of the Gothic style by Puig i Cadafalch, the third element of Barcelona’s Mansana de la Discordia (Block of Discord), Casa Lleó i Morera, represents the elegance of details. Working on the building were the forty best craftsmen of the period, following the orders of Lluís Domènech i Montaner.

In 1902, Francesca Morera commissioned the modernist architect to remodel the property she had inherited on the Eixample. When the owner died, the work was continued by her son Albert Lleó i Morera, who gave his name to the building. In fact, allusions to the family surname are repeated in the images that decorate the building throughout.

Domènech i Montaner added a floor and a tempietto on the roof. This tower, in line with the main floor balcony, simulates a non-existent symmetry in the building. Especially notable in the richly decorated façade, are the female figures by Eusebi Arnau. The most significant example are those on the first floor balconies where there are four women who carry allegorical instruments of modernity in their hands - photography, electricity, the phonograph and telephone.
Once inside the building, both the lobby and the entrance hall of the main floor are designed to impress the visitor. In the latter, the arches and doorways have spectacular carved reliefs. One of them is the story of the lullaby, La dida de l’infant rei (the Nurse of the Infant King), a tribute to the son of the owners who died as a newborn.

Much of the work of Domènech i Montaner’s team of artisans is concentrated in the two large living rooms. Notable are the stained glass windows: eight panels of mosaic and porcelain reliefs depict rural scenes with characters from the family. The furniture and dado panels that were in these rooms are preserved in the MNAC (National Art Museum of Catalonia).

The Casa Lleó i Morera, like other bourgeois properties, was a "house for rent" (the family of the owners lived on the main floor and the remaining floors were rented out). Even so, the desire was that the same exacting building standards and aesthetic quality should be maintained over all the floors.

Catalonia, overcoming the phylloxera crisis, was seeking new ways of organising the economic and social interests in the field of agriculture. Thus, the beginning of the 20th century saw the birth of agricultural co-operativism and associationism and, alongside this, the construction of modern and functional wineries that responded to the fashionable aesthetic (the late-Modernisme and Noucentisme).

In 1919, the Sindicat de Cooperació Agrària de Gandesa (Gandesa Union of Agricultural Cooperation), commissioned the architect Cèsar Martinell, who had already designed other "wine cathedrals" such as that at Pinell de Brai, to design its cooperative winery and oil mill. Although the building incorporated all the latest techniques and the division of space usually found in the work of Martinell, this construction is one of the most original of his agricultural works.

Its principal uniqueness is in not adopting the basilical floor plan. It is formed by a main body divided into three parallel naves of different heights, and two further naves placed transversally.

Nor were wooden crossbeams chosen for the support, since this material had become expensive following the First World War. As an alternative, Martinell designed a roof using a four-pointed Catalan vault which allowed small triangular openings to be created, strongly resembling the undulating structure of the Aymerich factory in Terrassa.

On the exterior, there is no main façade, but rather each side is treated in the same way. It is presided over by two water tanks, which rise as small and stylised towers. As a decorative element, we find glazed, green tiles which contrast with the Mediterranean white of the walls.

It was in 1951, and the industrial engineer Eustaquio Ugalde Urosa had just bought a plot of woodland right next to the sea at Caldes d'Estrac. Sitting under a carob tree and enjoying the views, he decided to build a house in this idyllic spot that would allow him to keep the landscape as it was. He commissioned his friend Josep Antoni Coderch for the project, who designed a two-storey house and garden made up of a set of volumes that perfectly met the original brief: they are perfectly integrated with the natural environment.

The views over the sea and the landscape of the site determined the building’s construction. It sought a space for itself in the middle of the forest, where it rises discreetly, respecting the environment. Local materials were also chosen, those typical of Mediterranean popular architecture such as the stone walls, the concrete slabs, floors with red terracotta tiles, wooden roofs or with tiled vaults.

The use of Catalan construction traditions is combined with more modern architectural forms. Thus, Casa Ugalde is an irregular building, open-plan and free-flowing, both on the plan and the elevation which fosters the fluid communication between the interior and the exterior. While inside all the walls are straight, the outside is dominated by a curved wall that separates the house from the wood. Within the whole complex, the terraces play a major part. The spaces are open and well-lit, thanks to the light that enters the building from all sides and the white colour of the whole building.

Work on the house finished in 1952. Its external appearance has been maintained up to the present day, despite the reforms of successive owners.

"Architecture is not like sculpture. It is a living thing. It is experienced in sections and is reconstructed in the head of each of us. It should be experienced on different days, hours, and moods." With this premise Albert Viaplana, together with Helio Piñón, revolutionised contemporary Barcelona and opened the doors to a new way of understanding public space. One of the major projects to demonstrate this is the Plaça dels Països Catalans of Barcelona (1981-1983), opposite the Estació de Sants.

Viaplana and Piñón designed a space from cement, without vegetation and with two large copper sheet roofs. They sought out a timeless and minimalist proposal, expressed in abstract, simple and anonymous lines, so that anyone could use it. This project, at the forefront of architectural deconstructivism, earned them the FAD Prize for architecture.

The Plaça dels Països Catalans became the model for the new public squares promoted in the 1980s by the City Council, known as "hard squares", which at the time caused public controversy for their coldness. But beyond the abstraction, the square is full of human and poetic details like the silhouette of a cat on the roof, of natural size, made with metal plate; an opening in the manner of a window; and some fountains.

The Mediterranean climate - long dry summers, mild winters and rain in spring and autumn - is found on only 5% of the Earth’s surface, in five regions. These are present in the Jardí Botànic de Barcelona (Botanical Garden of Barcelona), opened in 1999 and located on the hill of Montjuïc. Arranged over 14 hectares of gently sloping ground are botanical collections from Australia, Chile, California, South Africa and the Mediterranean basin, including the Canary Islands.

The area has been designed by the architects Carles Ferrater and Josep Lluís Canosa, the landscape architect Bet Figueras, the biologist Joan Pedrola and the horticulturist Artur Bossy. Within what seems to be a large, natural amphitheatre, the planting is organised geographically, as well as being grouped for ecological affinities. The designers took advantage of the terrain in order to create the areas and roads while avoiding excessive earth movement.

Notable among its objectives is the conservation, documentation and dissemination of the natural heritage of Catalonia. For this reason, the grounds also houses the building of the Institut Botànic de Barcelona (Botanic Institute of Barcelona), which has an important library and one of the largest herbariums in Catalonia.
Montjuïc botanical garden exists side-by-side with the Jardí Botànic Històric (Historic Botanical Garden), opened in 1941 in the Foixarda area. Its location promotes the growth of the Euro-Siberian species of plants. In 1986, it had to close because it was affected by the construction of the Olympic facilities, although it reopened in 2003.

On 7th November, 1809, Napoleon's troops entered Hostalric with the aim of taking the town since it was on the only natural pass between Girona and Barcelona. Once the village had been razed, the Castle became the main target. On 13th May 1810, after five months of siege and with the walls demolished and the water supply cut off, the French managed to occupy the fortress.

This episode from the Peninsular War has left its mark on the current appearance of Hostalric Castle. This fortress was built in 1716 by the Engineer General of Philip V, George Prosper Verboom, who was also responsible for the Citadel in Barcelona and the fortification of La Seu Vella in Lleida. It was designed to take account of the new fortification models by the military engineer, Vauban. It had three bastions, defence towers, a moat and two ravelins.

The structure that has lasted up to the present day is formed by the underground entrance, cart gateway, the guards’ section, the bastion of Santa Tecla, the second gateway, the main arsenal, the crenellated bastion, the main gate, the parade ground, the clock tower and the road to the town.
Almost nothing remains of the original construction from the medieval period, which was demolished by the Duke of Noailles in 1695. Only the fortified road which ran from the town to the castle is of late medieval origin. The two walls parallel to the road were protected by two circular towers, of which only a small stretch is preserved.

Between the municipalities of Xerta and Tivenys, at one of the most spectacular places on the lower section of the River Ebro, is a major work of hydraulic engineering that transformed the economic activity of the area and has left a monumental testimony to an industrial heritage. This is a dam with a lock (a retaining wall that diverted the water) of about 310 metres long, built diagonally across the river.

It seems that the origin of a lock at this point can be traced to the Islamic period and that it must have been restored in the 12th century, after the conquest of Tortosa. Even so, it was not completed until 1411, under the direction of Mussà Alamí. It was in the 19th century when it was refurbished and the lock that diverted the water into the left and right channels of the Ebro which, as it still does today, served to irrigate the Delta and the gardens within the valley. Despite these works, the lock allows the boats that sail on the River Ebro to pass.

In addition to the dam with the lock, the heritage complex consists of several annexed buildings: the breakwaters, the old flour factory – of which only the walls remain standing - and the mill. This preserves a stone carved with the date of its construction, 1575, and items (the mill race and run-off channels and the toothed wheels) have been kept that belong to this time period. It has been refurbished many times until the end of the 19th century when it was used as an electrical generation plant. Even so, it is considered one of the few industrial buildings from the Renaissance period in Catalonia.

In the late Middle Ages, one of the most important baronial families of the Girona region settled on one of the hills of the Serra de Finestres, within what is now the La Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park. Little by little, the population started to grow around it and it became the village of Santa Pau. Today, the village still retains the essence of what was a centre of economic and commercial power.

The appearance of the old city, built mostly in the first half of the 14th century, is typically medieval, surrounded by walls and with narrow and irregular streets. The focal point of the town is the Plaça Major or Firal dels Bous, a triangular arcaded square where the markets and fairs took place. And, since 1297, the town has had the privilege of a protected area for holding markets. In front there is the Castle, which was built on the highest point of the village. Construction started in the 13th century, although it was later given the current appearance of a large stately home.

The square is dominated by the Gothic Church of Santa Maria. This is the current parish church, after the Romanesque Church of Santa Maria dels Arcs, on the outskirts, was badly damaged by the earthquakes in 1427 and 1428.

The rest of the medieval town is structured around Carrer del Pont and Carrer Major. It is from Portal del Mar (Gateway of the Sea) that the best views of the surrounding valleys are to be had and, on a clear day, one can even see the Gulf of Roses.

Little has changed in the urban morphology of Peratallada since medieval times. And not only has it not expanded beyond the city walls, but it has managed to preserve its architectural and urban origins as can be appreciated when walking through its narrow and winding streets. Not for nothing is it one of the most important town centres of Catalonia in terms of medieval architecture.

The fortified town is concentrated on top of a huge natural sandstone rock, artificially carved to give height (hence the name “pedra tallada” or "carved stone"). At the top, we find the Castle (11th century, but with signs that there might have been an earlier structure), with its Keep Tower and Palace.

A wall that formed the first enclosed area extends around the Castle, which was surrounded by two further walls. Of this defensive system, some of the walls, the valleys dug into the rock, towers such as the Torre de les Hores (Clocktower) and the Portal de la Verge (Gateway of the Virgin) still survive. The town was therefore divided into three sections between the walls, which accentuate the network of passageways and alleys.

About 200 metres to the north, outside the walls, is the parish church of Sant Esteve, dating from the late Romanesque period.

The name Pals (derived from the Latin palus, "marshy terrain") perfectly describes the geographic framework of marshes and swamps that existed on this stretch of coast. Therefore, it is not without reason that the town originated at the top of a hill, above the plain. Today, the historic centre of Pals, known as the Pedró Quarter, allows one to make a tour of the medieval past of the village.

Projecting above the roofs of the old town is the Torre de les Hores (Clock Tower), the only remaining evidence of the old castle of Pals. It was the Keep Tower, circular and in the Romanesque style, built on a podium of natural rock. Its name comes from the small Gothic bell tower of three pilasters that was added in the 15th century.

The Church of Sant Pere is a building with a single nave, built in the Gothic style, with some later additions such as the Baroque portal. This replaces an earlier Romanesque building (12th century) of which the remains of the western façade have been preserved, incorporated into the current front façade. In building the nave, they probably made use of the stone from the Castle, which was in ruins.

The walls of Pals are one of the best preserved in the Empordà region. The course of the wall remains virtually intact, and only a few sections have been transformed or destroyed, particularly on the eastern and southern sides, which is where the town has been extended. The interior of the old town is a complex of narrow and steep streets, which are centred around the Carrer Major, which has covered sections. What gives unity to the whole complex is the yellowish colour of the walls which derives from the sandstone with which they are built.