Antoni Gaudí. Jeremy Roe

as a modern city was decided. Subsequent generations were critical of the design, for the lack of variety that it imposed on the city.

      To maintain a focus on Gaudí it is not possible to consider in detail the merits or defects of Cerdà’s plan; in any case it has subsequently been distorted by developers. Cerdà’s plan had intended to integrate into the city important architectural features and social amenities to make urban life bearable, such as patio gardens at the heart of each block of apartments, centres for medical care and food markets. Cerdà’s design was based in part on research of the existing living space of the city, and responded to the poverty that he saw.

      While subsequent generations sought more imaginative solutions to the problem of urban space the design brief they were faced with was similar: to solve the social problems raised by changes to urban life.

      Furthermore, Cerdà’s Eixample established a standard type of townhouse with a façade facing the street, another looking onto a courtyard at the rear, and with load bearing walls built around patios that provided ventilation. The Casa Batlló and Casa Milà are Gaudí’s contribution to Cerdà’s plan and each are based on the type of house established by the Eixample.

      Projects such as the Park Güell were also inspired by the aim to improve urban life, but in a less abstract way.

      Finally, the scope of Cerdà’s plan is a representative example of the new spirit that animated the minds of Barcelona’s architects and patrons. While Gaudí and his contemporaries, the generation of Modernisme, thought very differently to Cerdà they all shared the confidence and vision to plan on a bold and grand scale.

      24. Casa Milà, Façade from Calla Provença, balcony detail.

      25. Casa Milà, Window detail view from the courtyard.

      Theories of Architecture and the Search for a Modern Style

      Cerdà’s plans for the city were underpinned by his belief that, “… we lead a new way of life, functioning in a new way. Old cities are no more than an obstacle.”

      Considered in the context of nineteenth-century architecture his statement signals the distinction between an engineer and an architect.

      For the architectural community the buildings of old cities, towns, and even ruins were an important source of inspiration for architectural style, which is a second factor informing Modernisme. Two currents of thought animated responses to the history of architecture: firstly, international developments in architectural theory and practice, and secondly, the development of a modern Catalan architecture.

      Both of these formed an important foundation for Gaudí’s development as an architect. The generation of his university teachers had been important in initiating this process. Elias Rogent i Amar was an architect whose work comprised both these elements. Unlike Gaudí, Rogent had travelled widely in Europe.

      In addition to this he had studied the works of the French theorist Viollet-le-Duc, who is known for his important analysis of Gothic architecture, which concentrated not on its aesthetic appeal, but instead on the structural elements at its core.

      The academic study of style in this French theorist’s work provided a foundation for an increasingly eclectic use of architectural styles and decorative motifs. In Barcelona this eclecticism was frequently based on the use of regional Catalan styles, and often supplemented with other national Spanish styles such as the Moorish style.

      An example of this gradual eclecticism in Rogent’s work is found in the first major building added to Cerdà’s Eixample.

      In 1872, after twelve years of work, the new University of Barcelona was opened. On approaching the building there is little about the Romanesque style that declares itself as modern. However, no building from the Romanesque period exists on such a scale. The sober and ordered style places an emphasis on the horizontal plane created through the repetition of the arches on each storey. The rhythm created by the arches creates a harmonious effect and animates the imposing bare wall. The building evokes the form of a monastery: during the medieval period the monastic orders had made fundamental contributions to the establishment and the development of European universities. The choice of style is also concerned with origins. Catalonia is especially rich in Romanesque architecture and Rogent’s choice was guided by an interest in employing a national style.