Location: Quadrat d’Or
Subway: Diagonal, Passeig de Gracia
Casa Milà, popularly called La Pedrera ("quarry" in
Catalan), is a modernist buildingnote 1 by the architect
Antoni Gaudí, built between 1906 and 1910 in the Ensanche
district of Barcelona, at number 92 Paseo de Gracia. The
house was built on behalf of the couple Pedro Milá y Camps
and Roser Segimon, and Gaudí had the collaboration of his
assistants Josep Maria Jujol, Domingo Sugrañes, Francesc
Quintana, Jaume Bayó, Juan Rubió, Enrique Nieto and José
Canaleta, as well as the builder Josep Bayó i Font, who had
worked with Gaudí on Casa Batlló. Since its opening to the
public in 1987, it has received more than 20 million visits
(approximately one million each year), making it one of the
ten places most visited in Barcelona. In 2016 it received
1.2 million visitors, making it the eighth most visited
monument in Spain.
Casa Milà is a reflection of
Gaudí's artistic plenitude: it belongs to his naturalistic
period (first decade of the 20th century), a period in which
the architect perfected his personal style, drawing
inspiration from the organic forms of nature, for what he
put into practiced a whole series of new structural
solutions originating from the profound analyzes carried out
by Gaudí on regulated geometry. To this the Catalan artist
adds great creative freedom and imaginative ornamental
creation: starting from a certain baroque style, his works
acquire great structural richness, with shapes and volumes
devoid of rationalist rigidity or any classical premise.
Since 2013, Casa Milà has been property of the Fundació
Catalunya-La Pedrera, which is in charge of organizing
exhibitions, activities and visits.
Casa Milà is located on a corner of Paseo de Gracia and Provenza
Street, previously occupied by a chalet that was the border between the
municipalities of Barcelona and Gracia, before the annexation of this
town to the city of Barcelona in 1897. The chalet It belonged to José
Ferrer-Vidal y Soler, brother of Luis Ferrer-Vidal y Soler, founder of
the Old Age Pension and Savings Fund of Catalonia and the Balearic
Islands, and the purchase was formalized before a notary on June 9,
1905. The area was located in the heart of Barcelona's Ensanche,
designed by Ildefonso Cerdá and approved in 1859, with a reticular
system of housing blocks with cut corners, with the provision of
building on two sides and dedicating the rest to gardens, the latter
point. which ultimately was not carried out. With the Ensanche, Paseo de
Gracia became one of the main arteries of the city, which is why it was
chosen by the Catalan bourgeoisie to establish their residences, thanks
to which this road grew rapidly and became a constructive hive where The
best architects in Barcelona carried out their work. It should be noted
that on the same Paseo de Gracia Gaudí had built Casa Batlló (1904-1906)
shortly before, and had previously carried out two other interventions
that have now disappeared: the Gibert Pharmacy (1879) and the decoration
of the Torino bar (1902).
In this context, Gaudí was commissioned
to build a stately home by Pedro Milá y Camps, a wealthy businessman
whose father, Pedro Milá y Pi, had made his fortune in the textile
industry. Milà expanded the family business and diversified the sectors
where he tried his luck, being, for example, the promoter of the La
Monumental bullring. He also dedicated himself to politics, and was a
deputy for Catalan Solidarity. Mr. Milà was married to Roser Segimon,
widow of José Guardiola Grau, an Indian man who became rich in America
with coffee plantations, whose fortune his wife inherited. Thus, the
couple enjoyed a privileged position, a fact that they wanted to capture
in a house with innovative design and great luxury of details. To do
this, they bought the land on Paseo de Gracia in 1905, and commissioned
the project to Gaudí, then a highly renowned architect, who at that time
was working on several projects at the same time: the Expiatory Temple
of the Sagrada Familia (1883-1926) , the Bellesguard Tower (1900-1909),
Park Güell (1900-1914), Casa Batlló (1904-1906) and the restoration of
the Cathedral of Mallorca (1903-1914).
Milà's project was to
build a large building, using the main floor for his own residence and
renting the rest, something common at the time. Likewise, the ground
floor, in its outer part, was used for shops, the first being a tailor
shop opened in 1928. On February 2, 1906, the plans were presented to
the City Hall and a building permit was requested. The construction
suffered various delays, since the building exceeded in height and width
what was established in the municipal ordinances, for which several
fines were imposed on Mr. Milà. Furthermore, Gaudí abandoned the
direction of the work in 1909 due to disagreements with the Milà
regarding the interior decoration. The relationship between Gaudí and
Milà cooled, and the architect had to take the developer to court to
collect his fees (105,000 pesetas), which he donated to the Jesuits. To
make the payment, Mr. Milà had to mortgage the house .
From an
administrative point of view, it also caused some controversy when in
December 1907 the City Council stopped the works because a pillar
occupied a part of the sidewalk without respecting the alignment of the
facades. When the news was communicated to Gaudí, he responded with his
usual ironic style:
Tell them that if they want, we will cut the
pillar as if it were a cheese and on the remaining polished surface we
will sculpt a legend that says: Cut by order of the City Council
according to the agreement of the plenary session of that date.
However, the suspension of the works was not respected and Gaudí
continued with his work. On September 28, 1909, a new file was opened
because it exceeded the planned height and exceeded the built volume by
about 4,000 m³. The City Council demanded a fine of 100,000 pesetas
(approximately 25% of the cost of the work) or demolition. the attic and
the roof. The controversy was resolved a year and a half later, on
December 28, 1909, when the Ensanche Commission certified that it was a
monumental building and was not required to strictly comply with
municipal ordinances.
It is obvious that the building in question,
whatever its purpose, has an artistic character that separates it from
other private buildings, giving it a special appearance, to which the
work carried out separating itself from the approved plans contributes
in a major part.
This solution greatly satisfied Gaudí, who asked
for a copy of the resolution to keep. Finally, in 1910 the Milàs asked
the City Council for permission to rent the apartments in the building,
but it was not granted until October 1912, when Gaudí certified the
completion of the works.
The construction process was recounted
years later to the historian Joan Bassegoda by the builder, Josep Bayó:
first the previous chalet was partially demolished, leaving a part of
the structure as a construction barrack, where Gaudí's assistants made
clean sketches that they had given them. the architect was giving; Then
the land was lowered by 4 meters, to the depth necessary for the
basement; When this was covered, the construction workshop was moved
there, and the rest of the chalet was demolished. The foundations were
made with Montjuïc stone gravel concrete mixed with lime mortar, on
which the pillars were built, some of cast iron and others of brick -
for which the bricks from the previous chalet were used. Once the
basement was finished, the construction of the rest of the floors
proceeded, while the façade - which is self-sustaining and independent
from the rest of the building - was projected using plaster models
modeled by the plasterer Joan Bertran under the supervision direct from
Gaudí; This model was later cut into pieces and taken as a model to the
work site, where the stonecutters faithfully followed its structure. A
system of girders and iron beams arranged in the shape of a Catalan
vault was used on all floors, joined by means of trusses and screws,
without the need for welding. The façade was covered with stones forming
wavy arches, which were then retouched by the stonecutters until they
achieved the shape desired by Gaudí. Finally, the attic was built,
designed independently of the rest of the building, with a system of
brick catenary arches, and above it the roof was placed, in a staggered
manner given the different heights of the attic arches.
Its owner
presented it to the Barcelona City Council's annual artistic buildings
competition, where that year two works by Enric Sagnier (264 Mallorca
Street and Córcega con Diagonal) were in the running, the Gustà House,
which was a private home by the architect Jaume Gustà, and the Pérez
Samanillo House, work of Joan Josep Hervàs. Although the most
spectacular and clearly favorite was Casa Milà, the jury ruled it out
stating that "despite the facades being finished, there is still a long
way to go before it is completely completed, finalized and in a perfect
state of appreciation." The winner of 1910 was Pérez Samanillo, current
headquarters of the Círculo Ecuestre.
During the Spanish Civil
War, La Pedrera was occupied by the PSUC, whose general secretary, Joan
Comorera, settled on the main floor. The Milàs, who were spending the
summer in Blanes at the outbreak of the war, joined the rebel side, and
returned home once the war was over. In 1940 Pedro Milá died, and a few
years later, in 1946, his wife sold the property to the CIPSA Real
Estate Company (Compañía Inmobiliaria Provenza, S.A.), although she
continued living in his apartment until her death in 1964.
La
Pedrera has suffered various vicissitudes: in 1927 Roser Segimon ordered
the builder Josep Bayó to remodel the interior of the main floor, and
the decoration carried out by Gaudí was lost; In 1932, the coal sheds
were transformed into shops, eliminating the iron bars that separated
the basement and the street; note 3 In 1954, the CIPSA Real Estate
Company built thirteen apartments in the attic, by architect Francisco
Juan Barba Corsini; In 1966 the main floor was transformed into offices,
with the signature of Leopoldo Gil Nebot; Between 1971 and 1975, a first
restoration was carried out by José Antonio Comas de Mendoza. In 1986 it
was acquired by Caixa de Catalunya, which has carried out continuous
conservation and restoration works (1987-1996, by José Emilio Hernández
Cros and Rafael Villa) and keeps it open to the public for visits, for
which you can enter in the homes on the fourth floor, the attic and the
terrace. The other floors are occupied by offices or by some resident
families.
Casa Milà was declared a National Historical-Artistic
Monument in 1969, and in 1984 UNESCO included it in the World Heritage
Site "Works of Antoni Gaudí", along with the Güell Palace, Güell Park
and the crypt of the Colonia Güell.
The building was built on a plot of 34 by 56 meters, with a surface
area of 1,835 m². It consists of six floors articulated around two
interior patios, one circular and the other oval, plus a basement, an
attic and the roof. This structure houses two attached and independent
buildings, each with its own access door and its own light well, which
are connected only on the ground floor. However, the façade presents a
unitary structure common to both buildings. The load-bearing structure
is made up of solid brick and stone columns. The dividing walls have no
structural function, so their design varies from one floor to another.
The interior structure of pillars and girders connects with the exterior
stone structure through curved metal beams along the perimeter of each
floor.
The basement, where a garage is located, contains a large
iron pillar from which various iron beams emerge that support the
circular patio, located immediately above. The façade also does not
fulfill a structural function, but rather a cladding function, so its
design and ornamentation present a marked creative freedom, with
undulating shapes that evoke the ocean waves and generate various
lighting sensations depending on the time of day. The balconies are made
of wrought iron, decorated with abstract and phytomorphic motifs. Gaudí
used a type of hexagonal ceramic tiles (known as Gaudí tiles) with again
marine motifs (seaweed, starfish, conch shells), made by the company
Escofet, to pave the service rooms of Casa Milà (the architect had them
initially designed to pave the floors of the Casa Batlló
rehabilitation). This tile was later chosen to pave Barcelona's Paseo de
Gracia.
The set, due to its innovation, is a typical Gaudinian
work in which the geometric lines are only straight, forming curved
planes. Its entire façade is made of limestone, except for the upper
part, which is covered with white tiles, the combination of which evokes
a snowy mountain. On the roof there are large staircase exits topped
with the four-armed Gaudinian cross, and chimneys covered with ceramic
fragments, with the appearance of warriors' heads protected by helmets.
It is worth highlighting the beauty of the wrought iron of its
balconies, which simulate climbing plants, the work of the brothers
Lluís and Josep Badia i Miarnau.
With organic shapes, Casa Milà
undoubtedly evokes nature: various scholars have perceived in La Pedrera
forms that recall the cliffs of Fra Guerau in the Prades mountain range
near Reus, the Pareis torrent in the north of Mallorca or Sant Miquel
del Fai in Bigues i Riells, all of them places visited by Gaudí.
Gaudí had assigned high religious symbolism to the Pedrera: on the upper
cornice, in an undulating shape, it has sculpted rosebuds with
inscriptions of the Ave Maria in Latin (Ave Gratia M plena, Dominus
tecum). In addition, according to the original project the The façade
would have been topped by a sculptural group of stone, metal and glass
with the Virgin of the Rosary with the Child Jesus in her arms,
surrounded by the archangels Michael - with a sword defeating Satan,
coiled in a world ball located at the feet. of the Virgin—and
Gabriel—with a lily symbol of purity—, 4 meters high. A sketch was made
by the sculptor Carles Mani, first in clay at a 1:10 scale and then in
plaster in its final size, which was ready to be cast in bronze in March
1909; but due to the events of the Tragic Week of 1909 the project was
abandoned.
The interior decoration was carried out by Josep Maria
Jujol and the painters Aleix Clapés, Iu Pascual, Xavier Nogués and
Teresa Lostau. Carles Mani and Joan Matamala worked in the sculptural
field, authors of the relief inscriptions on the façade, as well as the
columns on the main floor and other decorative elements. Marine
ornamental details are often found, such as the false plaster ceilings
that They simulate sea waves, as well as octopuses, conch shells and
marine flora. Pedro Milá entrusted the direction of the pictorial
decoration to Aleix Clapés, the reason for the definitive break between
Gaudí and the Milà couple, since the architect had commissioned the
decoration to the Manresa painter Lluís Morell i Cornet—who even made
some paintings in the walls of the service stairs—which, however, was
not to the Milà's liking. For this reason, Gaudí abandoned the direction
of the project, which was completed by his assistants.
Casa Milà has three facades, one on Paseo de Gracia, another on
Provenza Street, and another that is chamfered, following the usual
scheme of the Eixample designed by Cerdà. However, all three present a
formal and stylistic continuity that, due to its sinuous and undulating
shape, looks like a rock modeled by the waves of the sea. The set of
incomings and outgoings gives a dynamism to the whole that gives it the
sensation of being in motion, while creating a play of lights and
shadows that are constantly changing depending on the time of day or the
position of the viewer. In addition to the undulating shape of the
façade walls, the presence of 33 wrought iron balconies, with an
original shape similar to seaweed, turn the complex into a large, almost
sculptural work. Most of the railings have a rather abstract shape,
although there are some specific details such as a dove, a theater mask,
a six-pointed star, various flowers and the Catalan coat of arms.
The three facades, 30 meters high, contain 150 windows, with
different structural solutions, shapes and sizes, the lower ones being
larger and the upper ones smaller, which receive more light. The stone
used for its construction has two origins, one harder, from Garraf, in
the lower part; and another less harsh one, from Villafranca del
Panadés, at the top. Both have a creamy white finish, which generates
various shades depending on the incident light, and are finished with a
rough texture, which provides an organic appearance.
Passeig de
Gracia façade: facing southwest, it is 21.15 meters long and 630 m² in
area, with nine balconies facing the street. It is crowned with the word
Ave del Ave María, with a relief decoration of lilies, a symbol of the
purity of the Virgin. It is the only one that does not have an access
door. The part belonging to this façade on the ground floor was intended
for coal storage, and originally had bars, which were removed when it
was transformed into commercial stores.
Chamfer façade: it is 20.10
meters long, and as it is the central one, it is the best known of the
building. It houses one of the two access doors, flanked by two large
columns (usually nicknamed "elephant legs") that support the gallery on
the main floor, that of the Milà couple. Apparently, for the door and
gallery complex, Gaudí was inspired by the work of a Madrid baroque
architect, Pedro de Ribera. The roof of the stand has a skylight to
provide light, under which is a sculpted shell. At the top of the façade
there is a rose in relief, and the initial M for Mary, which would have
been the base of the sculpture of Mary and the archangels that was
ultimately not placed. On the two sides of the chamfer, the words Gratia
and Plena from Ave María are found at the top.
Facade of Provenza
Street: it is 43.35 meters long, making it the longest, and it has an
access door to the building. Facing southeast, it receives light
practically all day, so Gaudí designed it with more undulations than the
other two facades, as well as more prominent balconies, to create more
shade. At the top are the words Dominus and Tecum from the Ave Maria.
Along with these facades we must mention the rear facade, which
faces the internal patio of the block formed by Paseo de Gracia and
Provenza, Rosellón and Pau Claris streets, not visible to the general
public, since only neighbors have access. . It is 25 meters long, with
an area of 800 m². More sober than the main façade, however, it presents
the same undulating shape, with a gap between the different floors that
form inlets and outlets, emulating the sea waves, with large terraces
with iron railings of a light diamond-shaped design, which allow the
passage of light. This facade is made with a reddish-brown stucco cement
and lime coating.
The interior of Casa Milà is designed in a functional way for fluid
communication between the various parts of the building. To this end,
the ground floor has two entrances with vestibules that connect the
exterior and interior, and that connect with the two light patios, also
favoring interior transit between the two areas of the building. The two
large portals allow the passage of vehicles, which after the entrance
halls can access the lower garage through ramps that lead to the
basement. To access the homes, Gaudí prioritized the use of elevators,
reserving the stairs as auxiliary access and for common services.
However, for access to the main floor he placed two large stairs,
decorated with mural paintings.
The two entrance doors are made
of wrought iron and glass, so that they act both as a door and as a
security gate. Its design is organic, with a series of structures of
different shapes that can recall various designs created by nature, such
as turtle shells, butterfly wings or cellular tissues. Its large and
diaphanous structure allows light to pass through easily, and abundantly
illuminates the interior lobbies. The portals give access to the two
lobbies, one on Paseo de Gracia and the other on Provenza Street. These
lobbies give access to both the garage and the upper floors, and as they
are designed for the passage of road traffic, they are surrounded by a
sidewalk for pedestrians. The largest is that of Paseo de Gracia (60
m²), which has an undulating roof, similar to that of a cave. The one on
Provenza Street is similar in design, although smaller in size (44 m²),
and presents as a unique feature a sentry box for the doorman, made with
a fine iron structure and glass carved with floral motifs. One of the
most notable elements of the lobbies is the decoration with mural
paintings, made by Aleix Clapés with ornamental motifs and themes of
mythological inspiration, such as some scenes from Ovid's Metamorphoses,
for which he was inspired by some tapestries from the Royal Palace of
Madrid. Other themes also appear, such as the seven deadly sins and
various episodes of Life is a Dream, by Pedro Calderón de la Barca.
These paintings were restored between 1991 and 1992 by Gianluigi
Colalucci, head of restoration at the Vatican Museums and previously in
charge of the restoration of the Sistine Chapel.
Access to the
homes is articulated through two large light wells, which allow ample
lighting and ventilation for all floors. Thus, the internal face of the
floors presents a new façade with large windows and iron railings, with
a system of cylindrical columns on the first two floors, replaced by
plastered masonry on the upper ones. The Paseo de Gracia patio has a
cylindrical shape, with an area of 90 m², while the Provenza patio has
an elliptical shape, with 150 m². It is worth highlighting the
decoration of the walls, which are painted with shades of ocher and
yellow, and present some murals of intense chromaticism, with various
designs inspired by floral motifs and flamenco tapestries, mostly made
by Xavier Nogués.
The floor structure of Casa Milà starts from a
basement used as a garage and storage room, which is accessed from the
entrance halls via helical-shaped ramps, which cover a difference in
level of 4.70 meters. It presents a structure of 90 columns of stone,
iron and brick, which support the building. This floor also contained
the machine room for heating, as well as various common service areas.
The neighbors accessed it via auxiliary stairs, each one having a
parking space and a storage room. After a rehabilitation carried out in
1994, the basement was converted into an auditorium and multipurpose
room. Between the basement and the ground floor there is a semi-basement
originally intended for coal storage, but which was later occupied by
shops, for which the bars were removed. iron installed according to
Gaudí's project. In this semi-basement there was also a small tunnel
that surrounded the entire building and where the service pipes, gas
pipes and electrical cables were located.
The residential floors
were designed by Gaudí in such a way that they could be easily adapted
to the needs of the tenants, since by not having load-bearing walls the
spaces are interchangeable and adaptable. Thus, all the floors and
almost all the floors have different structures, which have evolved over
time: for example, the main floor, the Milà couple's home, was later an
office, then a bingo hall and is currently a living room. of
exhibitions. This home, the main one in the building, had 1,323 m², with
access from both Paseo de Gracia and Provenza Street, via an elevator or
two wide stairs that start from the entrance hall. It had more than 35
spaces for diverse uses, among which the hall, an oratory, a reception
room, Mr. Milà's office, the dining room and the master bedroom stand
out; Some rooms received special names, such as the "purple room" or the
"Chinese room." It is worth highlighting the different floors designed
by Gaudí according to their function: stone slabs from La Cenia for
corridors and foyers, parquet for living rooms and bedrooms, and
hydraulic tiles for kitchens and bathrooms.
The decoration of
the main house was one of the most luxurious and detailed in the
building, by Josep Maria Jujol, who designed the furniture and various
decorative elements, as well as some relief details on columns and
ceilings, always under the supervision of Gaudí. . A pillar stands out
with the Latin inscription charitas (charity), along with the Catalan
words excusa (forgive) and oblida (forget), surrounded by various
elements, such as a rose, a cross, a fish fry, a jellyfish, a flower of
lotus, an egg and a crowned M (for Mary); Likewise, the i in oblida is
shaped like a sperm. In the same column, further down, it reads tot lo
bé creu ("all good believes"), and in the o of lo a shell appears. In
another column a lute appears, in another a harp, and in another a
carrier pigeon and a table set for a banquet. On the ceilings and
moldings, made of plaster, Jujol made several abstract or
naturalistic-inspired designs - such as marine undulations - as well as
various figures, symbols and inscriptions, such as the M of María, the
phrase faces som lliures ("we are still free") or several verses from
popular Catalan poems and songs. The owner, Roser Segimon, did not like
this decoration, so she had it covered with plaster after death by
Gaudí, in 1926.
The rest of the homes, intended for rent, were
designed by Gaudí with the same care, so he took care of every last
detail and intervened in numerous cases in decorative elements and
furniture. Generally, the living rooms and bedrooms of each home face
the street, while the service areas face the interior patios. On the
first floor there are three homes of about 440 m² each; In the second
and third there are four homes, one facing Paseo de Gracia, another on
the chamfer and two on Provenza Street; and in the fourth there are
three homes, one that occupies the area of Paseo de Gracia and the
chamfer, and two corresponding to Provenza Street. Gaudí included for
all of them all the advances and comforts for the time, such as electric
light, heating and hot water; In addition, each home had a garage and a
storage room in the basement and a laundry room in the attic. The
architect took great care of all the details, especially doors and
windows, designed in a fully modernist ornamental style, as dictated by
the stylistic canons of the time. These designs typically had organic
inspiration, such as water drops, swirls, jellyfish, starfish, algae,
and flowers. Another notable element is the plaster moldings on the door
frames and interior arches of the homes, with various original designs
with organic or abstract shapes. Gaudí even designed the door handles,
made of bronze with innovative and original designs, with almost
sculptural shapes. He also produced numerous furniture designs, some of
which can be seen in the building's show floor.
The top floor is
the attic, which Gaudí conceived independently from the rest of the
building, with an original structure that is both plastic and
functional. This 800 m² floor housed the laundry rooms and other service
areas, and acted at the same time as a thermal regulator, isolating the
building from extreme temperatures, both winter and summer. To do this,
the architect was inspired by the typical attic of the Catalan
farmhouse, but with a new design based on parabolic arches, which in a
succession of 270 brick arches create a self-sustaining structure that
does not need columns or load-bearing walls, and that achieve an open
space that creates a corridor along the entire length of the building.
These arches join at the ceiling in a kind of spine that recalls the
skeleton of some animal or the structure of a ship arranged upside down.
On the outside, this attic is located a few meters further in than the
line of the façade, and is crossed by two lines of small windows, the
lower ones a little larger than the upper ones. In the space between the
attic and the façade there is a narrow walkway that circles the
building, along whose route there are four small domes with a parabolic
profile. The attic was remodeled in 1953 by the architect Francisco
Barba Corsini, who created thirteen rental apartments, with a modern
aesthetic and far from the Gaudinian project. However, after the
acquisition of the building by Caixa Catalunya, in 1996 it was restored,
returning it to the original design drawn up by Gaudí, and currently
houses the Espai Gaudí (Gaudí Space), an exhibition on the life and work
of the architect, with models and material audiovisual of the main
innovations made by the Catalan architect.
The building is crowned by a roof terrace located above the attic,
where Gaudí placed the staircase exits, the chimneys and the ventilation
towers, which, due to their original shapes and innovative design,
create an authentic outdoor sculpture garden. The terrace is made up of
several sections of different volumes and levels, whose gaps are
connected by small flights of stairs, and which create a space of
singular originality, which is both functional and aesthetic, two of the
architect's key premises. These unevenness of the roof are due to the
different height of the arches of the attic, which generates a terrace
with sinuous shapes that, together with the fantastic cut design of the
vertical elements that arise there, generates a singular and original
space, which has It provoked a multitude of diverse interpretations by
writers, historians and art critics: George Collins, for example, called
it Wonderland.
On the roof there are a total of 30 chimneys, two
ventilation towers and six staircase exits, designed with different
stylistic solutions. The stair exits start from the attic through
cylindrical bodies that house spiral staircases, and that on the roof
become small conical towers, up to 7.80 meters high, built in brick
plastered with lime mortar. , with a trencadís covering – the original
design composed of ceramic pieces that Gaudí had already used in several
of his works, such as the continuous bench in Park Güell – the four that
face the street, and with an ocher stucco finish on the two that face
the inside of the block. In turn, the two most visible from the
street—those on the chamfer—present a helical undulation in their trunk,
while the rest have a bell-shaped body. Finally, all staircase exits are
topped with the typical four-armed Gaudinian cross, although with a
different design for each tower.
The ventilation towers are
located on the rear façade that faces the interior of the block, and are
the exits of the ventilation ducts that start from the basement. They
are made of plastered brick with yellow mortar, and have a different
design: one is 5.40 meters high, with a hexagonal shape similar to a
covered cup, perforated with two oval-shaped holes; The other, 5.60
meters, has an original form of organic undulations, similar to several
superimposed masks, like several Moebius strips with holes in their
central part. The abstract forms of these towers have been considered by
many scholars as a precursor to abstract sculpture of the 20th century.
Salvador Dalí was a great admirer of these towers, with which he had his
photograph taken in 1951.
Finally, the chimneys are one of the
most famous and unique elements of the roof, and the one that has
generated all kinds of speculations and hypotheses about its origin and
symbolism. There are a total of 30 fireplaces, arranged in groups or
individually, and spread throughout the terrace. Built in brick
plastered with ocher-colored mortar, they have a body that rotates on
itself in a helical shape, and topped with a small dome that, in most
cases, has a shape similar to a warrior's helmet, although there are a
few with different design, like ones that look like the top of a tree,
made with pieces of green cava bottles. Likewise, on one of the chimneys
Gaudí placed a heart pointing towards Reus, his birthplace, while on the
other side a heart and a tear point towards the Sagrada Familia, a fact
that some experts interpret as a sign of sadness for not being able to
see it finished; some other chimneys present crosses, letters X's and
other various signs of Gaudí's enigmatic symbolic universe. The shape of
the chimneys has been reproduced in numerous elements related to Gaudí,
such as in the Roman soldiers of the Veronica group located on the
Passion façade of the Sagrada Familia, which the sculptor Josep Maria
Subirachs made in homage to the architect. The film director George
Lucas was also inspired by them for the helmets of the imperial soldiers
and the evil Darth Vader in the Star Wars saga. Likewise, this
iconographic element was chosen to make the statuettes for the Gaudí
Awards, which are given annually. the Catalan Cinema Academy, and which
consist of 35 cm high bronze figures, designed by Montserrat Ribé based
on the Gaudinian forms present on the roof of La Pedrera.
The philosopher and writer Josep Maria Carandell offers in his work La Pedrera, cosmos de Gaudí a symbolic interpretation of the roof of Casa Milà based on religious, cosmogonic and literary concepts. For this author, the roof would be an auto sacramental (a dramatic work in celebration of Corpus Christi), a staging of the origin of life and the family sublimated by divine revelation. According to this hypothesis, the theatrical character of the terrace would be originated by two dramatic works, Life is a Dream by Pedro Calderón de la Barca - as in the lobby of the building - and Hamlet by William Shakespeare, while the presence would also have continuity. from Ovid's Metamorphoses, due to the changing and sinuous appearance of the roof. In Catalonia, the presence of giants and big heads, or animal figures such as dragons and vipers, is traditional in Corpus Christi processions, and that would be Gaudí's intention for the roof of La Pedrera. Thus, the staircase exits would be giants, each of which would assume a role in the auto sacramental: the main ones, located in the chamfer, would be the Fathers, in the shape of a dragon coiled in itself, the one on the right being the Mother , who is at the same time mother nature, the mother of the family and the personification of the Virgin Mary and, allegorically, of Life, while the one on the left is the Father, identified with God the Creator and as an allegory of Power; the others would be the children, in two pairs, symbolized by the windows placed at their feet in a triangular shape, the male ones facing upwards and the female ones facing downwards, the one on Paseo de Gracia being the "warrior son", the good and heroic one, who corresponds to Saint Michael (or Saint George), or to Sigismund, the protagonist of Life is a Dream, while ultimately it would be Jesus and, allegorically, Wisdom; The one facing the neighbors' patio is the "skeptical son", evidenced by being naked (he does not have the trencadís covering that the other figures have), and who would correspond to Hamlet, the doubtful and irresolute character; his equivalent, equally undressed, is the "crazy daughter", who corresponds to Shakespeare's Ophelia or Calderon's Rosaura; and the one on Provenza Street is the "sensible daughter", whose virtues Estrella, the infanta of Life is a Dream, assumes as an allegory of Love and the Holy Spirit (as demonstrated by its shape of three intertwined doves). Finally, the two ventilation towers are identified by Carandell with the King and the Queen, the first being the one in the shape of a mask, which would correspond to Claudio in Shakespeare's play or Basilio in Calderón's; and the second, cup-shaped, would be Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, the adulterous queen, who would personify Lasciviousness - hence the openings in the shape of a female womb.
The building did not respect any conventional style standards, for
which it received a lot of criticism. To begin with, the name "La
Pedrera" is in fact a nickname assigned by citizens who criticized its
heterodoxy. Satirical magazines were the main space for disseminating
criticism: Junceda presented her in a joke as an "Easter monkey"; Ismael
Smith suggested that it had suffered an earthquake like Messina; Picarol
assimilated it to an imaginary Wagnerian Valhalla or as an anti-war
defense against the war in Morocco, or as a hangar for airships. In his
Diary Joaquim Renart made a joke about the difficulty to put hangings on
the wrought iron balconies. The anecdote is also famous that when the
French politician Georges Clemenceau came to Barcelona to give a
conference, when he saw La Pedrera he ran away without even giving his
speech, terrified that people could live in a place like that.
However, it also had defenders, one of the first being Salvador Dalí,
who claimed it in the magazine Minotaure in 1933, in an article titled
De la beauté terrifiante et edible de l'architecture modern style.
Later, it was praised by figures such as Le Corbusier, Nikolaus Pevsner,
George Collins, Roberto Pane or Alexandre Cirici.