Batlló put

The Casa Batlló (“Batlló House” as a Catalan) is “one of the achievements of the architect Antoni Gaudí with Barcelona. Its realization (more precisely transformation of an existing building) was spread out of 1904 with 1906. It is located at the 43, Passeig de Gràcia (“which occurred of Gràcia” as a Catalan), in the middle of the principal urban extension of Barcelona, the district of the Eixample.

Description of the building

Known in Barcelona under the name of dels oses (House of the bones) Put, it indeed owes its name with its very original architecture: the balconies resemble cranium fragments with the openings for the eyes and the nose, the columns of the platform of the first stage has the shape of human bones and of many other details of the frontage can make think of a skeleton.

By another interpretation, the balconies resemble Venetian masks. The frontage, corrugated and made up of a mosaic of glass and ceramics, gives under the effect of the sun the impression to be moving, and to undulate like waves. The columns to the bottom of the building point out tree trunks. What gives to the house an aspect much more magic and fairy-like.

Generally, the house presents on its polychrome frontage and undulating an allegory of holy Georges killing the dragon. The roof makes think of the arched back of a dragon and the ceramics tiles which recover it with its scales (inside elsewhere there is a staircase of wood which curiously points out a spinal column, which could belong to supposed dragon). The building is surmounted by a tower with the typical cross of four arms of Gaudí. The interior is quite as imaginative: hearths, staircases, pieces of furniture and circumferences of windows out of wooden, glazings decorated.

The current house results from the restoration of a house built in 1877. At the beginning of the 20th century, the owner of the building of the time, a textile manufacturer named Josep Batlló I Casanovas, asks Antoni Gaudí to remake his house. In its idea first, Josep Batlló I Casanovas wishes to entirely make rebuild the building by the architect, to make of it a building new, original, surprising and remarkable with the manner of what Gaudi had already done for the Casa Vicens , for the Palau Güell or the Casa Calvet . For this reason, he asks the town hall in 1901 the authorization to destroy the existing building, asks which will be refused.

Àprès what it will be decided a rebuilding starting from the existing building. The new request with the town hall, signed Antoni Gaudi and Josep Batlló I Casanovas, is deposited on October 26th, 1904. For which saw the plans deposited, it is trying to speak about " supercherie" such an amount of the drawings is evasive as for the final project. The upper part of the document described, stage by stage, the plans of the dwelling and does not differ of anything a traditional plan from architect, but the lower part shows the drawing of a hardly outlined frontage, only certain parts like the roof or the windows being drawn with more precision. Perhaps Antoni Gaudi was wary of the reactions of the town hall with respect to its project and it was not undoubtedly completely wrong insofar as certain standards were not respected. Thus the columns of the frontage exceeded of 60 cm on the pavement. In spite of the reserves of the town hall in front of the non-observance of certain standards, the license was granted.

Antoni Gaudí thus will leave the original building to create a practically new building. On the exterior facade he adds the platform, the balconies, the roof decorated with ceramics tiles polychromées (Japanese), the additional attic and two stages. On the posterior frontage, the additions or modifications are less visible and especially aim to harmonize it with the frontages of the close buildings. Inside it reorganized spaces in order to obtain more ventilation and of natural light. The interior court finally was increased, a large central attic window was added, it even covered with ceramics.

Various information

part of the furniture of origin is exposed to the Gaudi museum in the Parc Güell.
Josep Batlló I Casanovas, the former owner lived on the 1st floor.
the Batlló family sold the building with the Bernat family which is the current owner and who carried out an important restoration, started in 1995 and directed by Joan Bassegoda I Nonell.
Since 1962 the building is classified in the Patrimonial Catalog of Barcelona.

Collaborators of Antoni Gaudí

Architects :

Josep Maria Jujol I Gibert
Joan Rubió I Bellver
Josep Canaleta I Cuadras
Domènec Sugrañes I Fat

Sculptors :

Joan Beltran
Josep Llimona I Bruguera
Carles Maní I Roig
Joan Matamala I Flotats
Llorenç Matamala I Pinyol

Manufacturer :

Josep Bayó I Makes

Joinery :

Put I Bardés

Ceramic :

Sebastià Ribó

Wrought iron :

Germans Badía

Stained glasses :

Tallers Pelegrí

External sites

Descriptive and photographs
Photographies of Put Batlló
Description of Put Batlló
put Batllo HTTP: /www.gaudidesigner.com/fr/casa-batllo.html

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