Gaudí was an architect with an innate sense of geometry and volume, as well as a great imaginative capacity that allowed him to project mentally most of his works before moving them to plans. In fact, he rarely made detailed plans of his works, preferring to recreate them on three-dimensional models, moulding all the details as he thought of them; at other times, he would improvise on the fly, giving instructions to his collaborators about what they had to do. After a few beginnings influenced by neo-Gothic art, as well as certain orientalizing tendencies, Gaudí led to modernism in its heyday, between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. However, Gaudí went beyond orthodox modernism, creating a personal style based on the observation of nature, the fruit of which was his use of regulated geometric forms, such as the hyperbolic paraboloid, the hyperboloid, the helicoid and the conoid.

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Parc Güell: “The Project”:
Güell and Gaudí had in mind a project in the style of English garden cities (which is evident in the initial Park Güell spelling). Count Güell had experience with the English labour organization, as was reflected in his project of the working-class city of Colonia Güell, in Santa Coloma de Cervelló. Likewise, Güell was inspired by the garden areas in the Jardin de la Fontaine in the city of Nîmes, where he lived in his youth. Gaudí insisted on achieving a perfect integration of his works in nature. Proof of this are the columns made of stones of very variable sizes and shapes, suggesting trunks of trees, stalactites and natural caves. Right angles do not appear anywhere: the columns are slanted like palm trees.

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Parc Güell: “The Work”:

Designed by Antoni Gaudí I Cornet and built between 1900 and 1914. The commission for this project, which was to be aristocratic urbanization with single-family residences, was made to Gaudí by the Count of Güell. The project finally failed and consequently became the municipal property and since 1923 it has been transformed into a public park that is located in the upper part of Barcelona. The main entrance shows two administrative pavilions built in stone, Catalan vault roof and covered with “trencadis” (covering surfaces with irregular mosaic fragments, which was then widely used in Modernism).

Both roofs are crowned by original tiny domes that resemble the shape of a mushroom, the pavilion on the left also shows a stylized tower topped by a four-armed cross very typical of Gaudí. Entering the park we find a double staircase divided by a dragon before arriving at a hypostyle hall of considerable dimensions with 86 massive Doric columns that support the great plaza of the park. On the ceiling of this room, you can see coloured panels (drawing by Josep Maria Jujol). The aforementioned square is a beautiful balcony with views over Barcelona and the sea. The square is delimited by a wavy bench covered with trencadis. This wide square is used for cultural and popular holidays. The park is organized around this central square. The entire garden is connected with carriage roads or pedestrian paths, many of which are supported by inclined columns.