Park Guell

Park Guell is a park designed by Gaudi, that consists of complex architectual elements. It was built in the years 1900 to 1914. Interestingly the park was originally a part of a commercially unsuccessful housing site. It was a project that Gaudi and his patron Guell were working on for the rich / upper class. Later on it was turned into a public park. Gaudi's Style is evident through the designs of the park. One of my favorite parts were the mosaic-like benches which he made of broken ceramics. Gaudi actually intentionally broke different kind of ceramics such as plates and cups, and used the broken pieces to create different elements of the park.

The architect finds most of his insperation through nature, and you can see that in many parts of the park. He created paths that were made in such a way that if you were standing under a huge ocean wave. There was also a part of the park that was covered by a ceiling, and when you stood beneath it and looked up, it seemed as if you were standing in the ocean looking up at the surface. Gaudi didnt use a lot of straight lines in the park, you could see curves and waves, I assume relating to the ocean. Even his benches were made in a wave-like shape. Funnily, to design the curvature of the bench surface Gaudí used the shape of butts left by a naked workman sitting in wet clay.

Sagrada Familia - Gaudi church

The Sagrada Familia is a roman Catholic church in Barcelona, that has been under-construction since 1882, and is expected to be continue until at least 2026. It is one of the most famous works by Antonio Gaudi, who spent the last 15 years of his life dedicated to its construction and design. On subject of the extremely long construction period, the church consists of a very complicated design, and the project keeps running out of money, as it is privately funded. Also, Gaudi intended it to be built over a long period of time, saying, "My client is not in a hurry". He also wanted it to be the "last great sanctuary of Christendom". To me, and I'm sure many others, the fact that its been taking so long to build is the most interesting and fascinating part of the church. Although it was common for churches in old times to be built over such a long period, its not anything you're likely to come across today.

Every part of the church is filled with christian symbolism. There are 18 tall towers, representing the 12 Apostles, 4 Evangelists, the Virgin Mary, and the tallest represents Jesus. There are two main facades of the church. The entrance is on the Nativity facade, which was the first to be built and the only one completed in Gaudi's lifetime. This facade mainly shows Jesus' birth, childhood, and young manhood. All done in gothic style It faces the east, where the sun rises, symbolizing the birth of life.

The Passion facade was my favorite part of the design. From the many churches I have visited, I've never seen one that was done in this style. Most churches I've seen are either in renaissance or gothic style. The style here however most resembled Cubism, where all the sculptures were very modern looking, but represented ancient ideas. Gaudi only left the decorative part of this side annotated, and expected that future generations would make interventions on it according to the aesthetic tastes of the time. It is called the Passion Facade because it represents the Passion of Jesus. It Showed his pain, sacrifice, and death. These were expressed in a highly dramatic and emotionally intense sculpture groups. This side faces the west and receives the last rays of the sun. This heightens the symbolic effect of darkness and shadows that much added to the feeling of sadness while observing the last and hardest years of Jesus' life.

I have visited this this church twice, 5 years ago, and then again this summer. It was really interesting to see the developments made over the years. I would love to come back to it in about 20 years time and see it completed.

The Hundertwasser-krawina house

Hundertwasser was an Austrian painter and architect. He became one of the most popular contemporary Austrian artists by the end of the 20th century. He had and original artistic vision which occured in pictorial art, environmentalism, philosophy, and design of facades, postage stamps, flags, and clothing. Some of the common themes of his work were colours, humans and nature, and organic forms.

The Hundertwasser-krawina house is an apartment house in Vienna designed by Hundertwasser. It was his first architectural project and probably the most famous and successful. Altogether he made 50 designs for shaping and remodeling buildings. Each apartment is a different colour as seen from the outside. Vegetation covered the roofs and terraces, and trees would grow from inside the building out the window. They would clean the air, soften the noise, and give shade. Some terraces were inaccessible, where nature may run its own undisturbed course. The columns in the building were very playful and colourful.
One of the most interesting things I found about Hundertwasser’s work was his rejection of straight lines. There were almost no straight lines in his work. He believed that they are uncreative and unnatural, as they don’t occur in nature. For this reason the floors in the apartment house were uneven and the walls were painted in a wave-like direction. I love the way he incorporates nature into his work in such a contemporary and modern way.
My favorite part of the apartment house was the children’s playing room. In the middle of the building was a big arch connecting the two main parts of the building. This was utilized on the inside. It was used as the children’s playing room, and they used it as a slide.
Another cool thing about the place is that people who lived in the building were welcome to scribble on the walls. The artist thought it was necessary for them to add their personal touch to the place.

Bahrain Fort

The Bahrain fort is one of the most important monuments in Bahrain. It is composed of an artificial mound created by many successive layers of human occupation from 2300 BC up to the 1700's. In 2005 it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The remains show continuous human presence for many centuries. About 25% of the site has been excavated revealing different types of structures: public, commercial, residential, military, and religious.

The reason this fort is particularly interesting to me is the painted villages nearby. A few years ago many local artists came together to work on this project. They painted the whole village around the fort, which consists of houses, a mosque, and a wall that surrounds the area. Through the paintings the artists expressed their impressions of the culture and history of Bahrain from old civilizations to modern times. Since Bahrain is not so big on tourism, it’s great that these artists came together to improve an important site in the country. It’s a great example of how art contributes to a society. After the completion of this project the site became much more popular.

You would think though that it would be nice to live here, but you could say that the impression of the village does not at all reflect the lifestyle of it. The people here live in very poor conditions. Large families are crammed in spaces that hardly fit them, their incomes are low, and their lifestyle is tough.