Report names Antoni Gaudí as architect of modernist Catalan chalet
The Government of Catalonia has published a report confirming Antoni Gaudí as the architect of Xalet del Catllaràs, an early 1900s chalet in northern Spain.
The report was written by a professor at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Galdric Santana Roma, to prove Gaudí's authorship of the Xalet del Catllaràs. It was commissioned by the Government of Catalonia's department of culture.
Situated in the mountainous area north of Barcelona in the county of Berguedà, the modernist chalet was built between 1901 and 1908 for Eusebi Güell, Gaudí's lifelong patron, who commissioned the architect for Park Güell.
Designed to house engineers who were setting up mining facilities, Gaudí had long been suspected as the architect of Xalet del Catllaràs because of his ties to Güell, but there was no prior evidence to confirm this.
Santana Roma concluded Gaudí as the building's architect because of structural details that he was known to use at the time of its construction, and only adopted by others 10 or 15 years later. These included types of arches, vaults and interior walls placed at 45-degree angles.
According to news agency Reuters, Santana Roma believed that Gaudí did not acknowledge himself as the chalet's architect because, as he did not supervise the construction, the completed building was changed from its original plans.
Construction on Xalet del Catllaràs also coincided with Gaudí's work on Casa Batlló and Park Güell, which led some to previously doubt his involvement in the remote chalet.
Now not in use, Xalet del Catllaràs has a pointed arch structure containing six apartments across its three floors.
A chimney protrudes from the roof and a spiral staircase protrudes from the centre of the facade.
Gaudí's most iconic building, the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, is set to complete this year to coincide with the centenary of his death. The iconic structure recently became the tallest church in the world with the addition of a portion of the cross atop one of its towers.
The photography is by Angela Llop.
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