Re: I don't know what this guy was on.....

[gruhn]

What's always impressed me about that one is that it is _masonry_ not 'crete.

[Cato]

Gaudi didn't always appeal to my own personal aesthetic sensibilities, but I always had a lot of respect for what he was able to build. I got to climb around on the Sagrada Familia once, and was just stunned on the level of detail and the complexity of the design. I would hate to try and build that in 3d. The file would probably start crashing about halfway thru. ;-)

[RicodJour]

Concrete would have been far more difficult than masonry. The formwork is always the killer with concrete.

You know he designed it upside down, right?

He was an intensely religious man and would stop work to have prayers.

R

[gruhn]

You mean the whole "ugly crap" aspect? ;-)

I saw a model of one column of his at MOMA. I liked that.

While I generally dislike the thing... COOOL!

[gruhn]

Point.

[gruhn]

offa .m-w. from the noun form.

Etymology: probably from Latin gaudium joy

[Cato]

Hmmm, your definitely in the ball park. Sagrada Familia always reminded me of something one would see on The Munsters while on acid. This is what a 'friend' told me once ;-)

When taken individually some of the details are just fantastic, but as a whole: BUSY might be just a bit of an understatement.

[RicodJour]

Not too many understated cathedrals around. They pay for pomp and circumstance.

R

[Michael (LS)]

Is THAT a good example of "French Colonial"?

;- >

[Tim]

Came to a very sad end as well :-(

I've always liked the Casa Batllo but love his stuff in general - although I agree it can be rather "busy"

The design method was amazing - I love that "an arch stands as a chain hangs" aproach to resolving forces

[tbasc]

Our attention is immediately drawn to the plastic side of Gaud=ED's work - the force of the forms, the expressiveness of the materials and frequently the wide range of colours that he used. While it may be these aspects that we find appealing at first sight, Gaud=ED himself understood buildings as a unified entity: his originality is not confined solely to the exterior, but is also directed towards finding three-dimensional solutions for the structures that were to support his buildings and that would improve the architecture of his time.

Gaud=ED showed the way for later research into ruled surfaces and the spatial world of funicular and catenary arches, which are difficult to calculate using numerical methods. His maquettes, models and graphic calculations enabled him to arrive at the application of practical and cheap solutions in his architecture.

This from a seminar introduction. He designed structure by hanging wires from the ceiling and suspending weights to represent loads. The path of the wires became the column centerlines.

TB

[DBM]

I had the pleasureof visiting La Sagrada Familia back in 1979 when the "construction site" was more like a demolition site. Climbing up those circular stairs (without handrails) was something else. I saw the working model (plaster) that the stone masons were using for construction. Amazing detail.

I revisited the site in 2003 and what a difference. Tourist queues! Had to explain to the other half that the wait was worthwhile. Work in progress! The stone works seems to have been abondoned in favour of off-form concrete. The complex forms for the ceiling where on the floor. They must have used furniture makers/boatbuilders to generate the forms.

The wire frames 3d were impressive. I dont think they used a 3D Home planner/turbocad/autocad package on a P4 though to draw it .

A truly awe inspiring architectural experience. Makes the famous St P's look like McMansions.

This is one building that I would like to revisit again in my lifetime.

Cheers Bill

[gruhn]

My brain saw the letters "3D H" coming up and panicked.