Antoni Guadí

When you think about architecture and the creativity and ingenuity that is backed behind it, you usually think of something that has never been done or seen before. I remember reading Dr. Seuss books and being fascinated by the whimsical structures illustrated in many of his stories and wondered if there were any buildings that bared any kind of resemblance. When I was 11, my dad ended up taking a military assignment over in Germany and he brought my family along as well. We ended up living there for three years and over that time period, we were able to do a lot of traveling. We got to visit many different countries, including Spain.

I actually had the chance to view some of the buildings constructed by Antoni Guadí. I can honestly say, viewing his works in books, on the internet, or in magazines doesn’t do the real thing any justice, especially the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família. Despite the building being very big in size, the intricate detail that Guadí wanted to design is amazing; considering the fact that back in the 1900s, when the project first began, all of the details in the stone were hand-carved. Even though Guadí passed away before his masterpiece was complete, his work was continued under a long list of other architects and researchers. Luckily technology has advanced far enough workers to be able to use a CNC milling machine to add in the detail, but much of their designs are based off of "reconstructed versions of his lost plans and modern adaptations". It is estimated that the Sagrada Família won’t be completed until 2026. I wonder if the completed version will end up being what he had in mind.