Casa Mila in 1914 by Wikimedia

Top 10 Facts about Casa Milà


 

This one unique building found in Barcelona in the Catalan region. One look at it and you would probably guess the famous Spanish architect that designed and built it.

The casa is popularly referred to as the stone quarry because of its appearance. Antoni Gaudi was the resident architect here and built it between 1906 and 1912.

Gaudi was commissioned by Pere Mila and his wife Roser Segimon.  Antoni Gaudi worked with Josep Maria Jujol who designed the twisted wrought iron balconies the rolling stone façade.

These two were quite innovative in their designs, they had self-supporting balconies, underground parking and the cherry on top is of course the rooftop.

All these were way before their time which people at the time found to be strange. The building was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.

It currently serves as the headquarters of the Fundación Catalunya La Pedrera.

Let’s look at the top facts about Casa Mila.

1. Antonio Gaudi was the architect

By Pau Audouard Deglaire – Wikimedia

This is one of the most popular landmarks in Barcelona. The locals refer to this building as the quarry or la Pedrera because of its irregular facade.

The architect that designed and built Casa Mila was the famous Antoni Gaudi. He is known for his unique architectural designs.

He famous in Barcelona and all over Spain. Gaudi has designed several buildings that are now national heritages.

Casa Mila was his last project before he embarked on working on Sagrada Familia. It took him six years to complete this building.

He employed the use of art nouveau and many considered his style to be modernist.

2. Casa Mila displays Gaudi’s unique creativity

When Gaudi started working on this building and his design took form, many people were not amused. They found his designs to be absurd.

Gaudi was ridiculed by people that came across his work mostly by local architecture critics and newspapers. They found his unusual design a little troubling.

Gaudi embraced the use of vivid decorative shapes and curves rather than use straight lines. There is not a single straight angle in this house.

The whole façade of this house is made from natural stone and has a lining of white ceramic tiles around the upper edge of the building.

3. The house has a natural ventilation system

By Sergey Aleshin – Wikimedia

Everything about this house is unique and fascinating. Gaudi went all out on the ventilation of this house.

He opted for the natural ventilation system. His choice of colours and the shapes are also inspired by nature.

The ventilation system is found in the roof that has fans, chimneys and skylights.

He used broken marble, bricks and glass while also fitting in sculptures.

4. Gaudi was heavily criticized for his unique design

The façade of this house resembles the uneven walls of a quarry. Most people that came across this house compared it to a quarry which they considered to be ugly.

His design was featured in several satirical magazines where locals criticized his work. One lady known as Joan Junceda baked a cake resembling the building for easter.

Another critic known as Joaquim Garcia made fun of the wrought-iron balconies in his magazine.

Other homeowners in Barcelona were no amused by this house that they stopped talking to the Milas who were the homeowners.

They argued that the house would lower the value of land and homes around it.

5. Gaudi built the castle with religious symbolism in mind

Antoni Gaudi was a staunch catholic and so he sought to incorporate religious symbolism in his designs.

Casa Mila has sculptures and statues inside. Some of the statues that stand out in the house are those of archangels’ Saint Michael and Saint Gabriel.

Gaudi also added a statue of the Virgin Mary with excerpts from the rosary.

He had intended to have several religious statues but was opposed by the locals who in turn influenced Mila, the owner.

Gaudi had hoped to build Casa Mila to be a religious symbol in Barcelona.

6. Gaudi Nearly abandoned the project

Casa Mila in 1914 by Wikimedia

While Gaudi faced oppositions and harsh criticism for his design, he also encountered another challenge. The local government had passed a law on the height of buildings.

All the buildings that surpassed the recommended height were set for demolition. Casa Mila was one of those buildings that were marked for demolition.

The owner of the building was made to pay a fine for breaching the building code. This led to the Milas ruling out the inclusion of religious symbols in their house.

Construction was paused for a while when one pillar of the house extended to the sidewalk, violating the alignment façade.

Gaudi was not happy about this new development and took time out to reconsider getting back on the project. It took a priest to persuade him to get back to building the house.

7. Gaudi designed the castle to have lifts

One unique feature in this house that Gaudi intentionally included were elevators. He had them installed on the second floor to allow interaction among the tenants of the house.

The staircase served as the service entries while the main access to the apartments was by using the lifts.

According to Gaudi, this would get the tenants talking and knowing each other, well because no man is an island. Right?!

8. The highlight of the castle is the roof

By Sergey Aleshin – Wikimedia

One exceptional feature of this house is the roof. Gaudi gave it to him all incorporating special shapes while using his vivid imagination.

He included the chimneys and ventilation on the roof in a clever way only he could pull. This roof design was influenced by his previous work at Park Guell.

There are six skylights on the roof of the building which also act as the staircase exit. The chimneys are 28 in total and about 12 ventilations.

He designed the staircase after the snail and it doubles up water tanks.

Gaudi’s design inspired a poet who wrote a piece about the chimneys, referring to them as the garden warriors.

The chimneys have however undergone several renovations and some were removed and replaced with television antennas.

9. Gaudi designed the furniture on the main floor of the castle

Interior of Casa Mila in 1910 By Wikimedia

Gaudí not only designed the building but he also designed the furniture that was used in the house. He incorporated modernist artwork in the décor.

Back then, the architect took up the responsibility of not only designing the building but also the furniture and other details for interior decoration.

He designed the lamps, planters, floors and ceilings too. Some of the furniture and furnishings that he designed can be found in the Museum of Catalan Modernism under private collections.

10. The Mila’s lived on the main floor

The main floor of Casa Mila was the official residence of the Milas.

It was opened to the public in 1992 where one can get to admire the main staircase that has strips of twisted wrought iron. There are mural paintings on the vestibule staircase walls.

The building now houses a not-for-profit organization. They give guided tours of the building, host art exhibitions, cultural events as well as educational fairs.

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