Casa Batllo

I am in Barcelona for Christmas break and I just got back from Antoni Gaudi's Casa Batllo, which I must say is one of the most beautiful and unbelievable work of architecture I've ever seen. As with all of Gaudi's works, the symbolic universe and resemblance to places and objects in nature were ever present in his undertakings and Casa Batllo was no exception to the rule. WIth curved shapes and of a characteristic cobalt blue color, the Battlo family's property was clearly inspired by the ocean and in years to follow, these organic shapes created by Gaudi would influence new trends in modern art. The elements and spaces throughout the house evoke the marine-like universe typical of Gaudi. The entire structure was built to feel like you are in something alive. The outside of the building is called the facade and looks like a choppy sea. The first room we walked into had a sweeping staircase with the railing designed to look like a dragon's backbone. The lateral terminations of the staircase, carved from wood, are like the vertebras of the spinal column. The dragon represents Saint George's slaying of the dragon. The windows looked like tortoise shells and the walls looked like fish scales. This room was designed with no edges and completely curved formed to give the feeling like you are under the sea. Each room has a sky light to allow natural lighting in. He believed that architecture and light went hand in hand. The lighting fixtures all look like sea urchins and the ceiling moldings look like eddies (sea currents). The main room's undulating ceiling swirls as if it were a whirl pool. Curved and spiralling forms decorate some of the doors and the walls.