Mature Period of Antoni Gaudi

The mature period of Gaudi's life was transformed by a chance encounter, at the Paris World Fair, with Eusebi Guell. Guell was from a wealthy Catalan family and had found success for himself in the world of business.

The pair met at the Spanish Pavilion where Gaudi was exhibiting some of his work. Gaudi and Guell shared a strong interest in both religion and architecture which led to them becaming firm friends. Guell became a friend and patron to Gaudi. The pair would be responsible for creating and building many of Barcelona's most famous landmarks.

Colaboration with Guell

In 1890, Guell commissioned Gaudi to design a church to be at the center point of a new village and factory development in Santa Coloma de Cervello, on the outskirts of Barcelona. The construction was not completed, though remains of the unfinished project are still available to visitors today. A later project was to build a 'Garden City' on land owned by Guell close to the town of Gracia. Gaudi designed a townhouse as a model for the project which it was hoped would bring in investors. However, the investment was not forthcoming, leading to the one completed property being given to Gaudi as his home. Gaudi stayed there until his death. Despite these setbacks, the two remained firm friends and went on to produce successful projects such as 'The Guell Pavilions',Casa Batlló and the still under construction, La Sagrada Família which is the Barcelona Cathedral.

Solitary Lifestyle

Despite finding great success as an architect, both in collaboration with Guell and independently, as he grew older Gaudi became less and less of a social animal, preferring to spend his time working, considering his faith and researching 'mysticism'. While successfully completing projects such as the Bellesguard Tower,Casa Batlló, La Pedrera and a renovation of the Cathedral in Mallorca, Gaudi began to let his appearance slide, he removed himself from a social life and even reduced the quality and quantity of the food he ate. This is a far cry from the younger Gaudi who had a strong appetite and a taste for fine, gourmet food.

Sagrada Famillia

This will undoubtedly be the project for which Gaudi will be best remembered. The Cathedral remains unfinished and has an anticipated completion date of 2026. The project is being completed by architect Jordi Fauli.