Can a project take more than a century to be completed? Well, some projects do take a century to get over.
Sagrada Familia is one of those projects that has taken more than centuries to be completed. It is one of the best-known structure of Catalan Modernisme, attracting over three million visitors annually to Barcelona, Spain. Antoni Gaudi, an architect who is also called by the name "The God's Architect" started the project in 1882. Gaudi was a very religious person, and all his works were infused with a sense of spirituality that reflected the natural world and the God. Sagrada Familia was Antoni Gaudi's most significant work, with this project he was able to take spirituality to a new level. He worked on this project until his death in 1926. This project came to a stop soon after his death. He was not fortunate enough to complete what he had started.
Surprisingly, Gaudi knew this truth. He knew that he wouldn't be able to complete this project during his lifetime, due to which he prepared many 3D models of Sagrada Familia to help the future architects finish the structure. Some of these models and parts of the unfinished basilica were ruined during the civil war that took place in 1936. For fourteen years no one made any action to continue Gaudi's work. After 1950 Sagrada Familia’s construction work lighted again with the help of a group of architects: namely Francesc Quintana, Isidre Puig Boada, Lluís Bonet I Gari and Francesc Cardoner. The construction relied mainly on private donations, and the construction budget for the year 2009 was €18 million.
The reason why the basilica is taking a long time to complete is due to the high complexity of its parts, which include two openings, an ambulatory with a chevet of seven apsidal, different tower and three gateways. Antoni Gaudi wanted to write the history of Catholicism on the walls of Sagrada Familia. The exterior of the basilica has detailed sculptures of characters from the bible, dioramas, and decorative flourishes. Sagrada Familia’s construction has been going on for many years, and each generation of architects put their style of work to bring the basilica to beauty.
The first part of the exterior which was finished in 1935 was based on Gaudí's style. It is devoted to the introduction of Jesus with the symbolic dawn toward the upper east. He also added a few elements such as a small forest cover to represent Nature and the creation of life.
The second part of the construction is directed to the West and faces the sun as a symbol for the death of Christ. This side shows the sins made by human beings and the sufferings Christ had to face. The third part is called the glory side, and it is still under construction. Even though a lot of construction work needs to be done to the outside, most of the inside is complete, and it is built in the same shape and size as Gaudi wanted it to be. He wanted the interior of the basilica to look like a forest because he believed that being close to nature is the closest we can get to God. The interior of the basilica seems like a forest because all the pillars inside are made like trees. It branches out and creates a beautiful ceiling.
As per Gaudí, nothing ought to be higher than Nature. He wanted the tallest tower in Sagrada Familia to be 1-meter shorter than the Montjuic Mountain nearby. Gaudí found it improper that a man’s work surpasses God’s work. Sagrada Familia is expected to be complete by 2026.
Sagrada Familia is one of those projects that has taken more than centuries to be completed. It is one of the best-known structure of Catalan Modernisme, attracting over three million visitors annually to Barcelona, Spain. Antoni Gaudi, an architect who is also called by the name "The God's Architect" started the project in 1882. Gaudi was a very religious person, and all his works were infused with a sense of spirituality that reflected the natural world and the God. Sagrada Familia was Antoni Gaudi's most significant work, with this project he was able to take spirituality to a new level. He worked on this project until his death in 1926. This project came to a stop soon after his death. He was not fortunate enough to complete what he had started.
Surprisingly, Gaudi knew this truth. He knew that he wouldn't be able to complete this project during his lifetime, due to which he prepared many 3D models of Sagrada Familia to help the future architects finish the structure. Some of these models and parts of the unfinished basilica were ruined during the civil war that took place in 1936. For fourteen years no one made any action to continue Gaudi's work. After 1950 Sagrada Familia’s construction work lighted again with the help of a group of architects: namely Francesc Quintana, Isidre Puig Boada, Lluís Bonet I Gari and Francesc Cardoner. The construction relied mainly on private donations, and the construction budget for the year 2009 was €18 million.
The reason why the basilica is taking a long time to complete is due to the high complexity of its parts, which include two openings, an ambulatory with a chevet of seven apsidal, different tower and three gateways. Antoni Gaudi wanted to write the history of Catholicism on the walls of Sagrada Familia. The exterior of the basilica has detailed sculptures of characters from the bible, dioramas, and decorative flourishes. Sagrada Familia’s construction has been going on for many years, and each generation of architects put their style of work to bring the basilica to beauty.
The first part of the exterior which was finished in 1935 was based on Gaudí's style. It is devoted to the introduction of Jesus with the symbolic dawn toward the upper east. He also added a few elements such as a small forest cover to represent Nature and the creation of life.
The second part of the construction is directed to the West and faces the sun as a symbol for the death of Christ. This side shows the sins made by human beings and the sufferings Christ had to face. The third part is called the glory side, and it is still under construction. Even though a lot of construction work needs to be done to the outside, most of the inside is complete, and it is built in the same shape and size as Gaudi wanted it to be. He wanted the interior of the basilica to look like a forest because he believed that being close to nature is the closest we can get to God. The interior of the basilica seems like a forest because all the pillars inside are made like trees. It branches out and creates a beautiful ceiling.
As per Gaudí, nothing ought to be higher than Nature. He wanted the tallest tower in Sagrada Familia to be 1-meter shorter than the Montjuic Mountain nearby. Gaudí found it improper that a man’s work surpasses God’s work. Sagrada Familia is expected to be complete by 2026.
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