© Richard HuangCasa Milà was the home of the wealthy businessman Pere Milà. When he decided to marry, he asked the celebrated architect Antoni Gaudí to design a residence for him. The ground floor housed shops, the couple lived on the second floor, and the remaining floors—three through six—were rented out. Apparently, because it was a Gaudí building, the apartments were especially easy to let. Casa Milà was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. It was the last private residence Gaudí designed; afterward, he devoted himself to building theSagrada Família.
One glance at those curves and you know they are Gaudí’s work. Remember his words: “Straight lines belong to humankind; curves belong to God—to nature.” Gaudí imitated the natural world wherever he could. The sweeping lines evoke waves on the sea, while the balcony railings are said to have been inspired by seaweed.
© Richard HuangThrough the entrance, we came upon an oval courtyard designed to give every room ample light and ventilation. Each room receives light from two directions: the street and the courtyard.
© Richard HuangFollowing the designated route, we passed through a series of rooms displaying furniture and household objects from the period. We were not especially interested in the possessions of the rich, so we moved through quickly. Whenever I encountered a mirror, of course, I stopped for a closer look. As luck would have it, this mansion has an abundance of mirrors—the room here had four.
© Richard HuangBathrooms are among my favorite subjects to photograph, as I mentioned in my article “ Bathrooms I’ve Photographed over the Years.”
© Richard HuangNaturally, I also had to take a photo of myself with this world-famous mansion.
© Richard HuangAfter touring the rooms, we reached the attic. Originally used for storage, it also insulated the building; today, it serves as an exhibition space devoted to Gaudí.
© Richard HuangModels of Casa Milà are displayed inside, helping visitors understand Gaudí’s architectural ideas and what made the building unique. Its weight is borne entirely by columns. Neither the exterior nor the interior walls are load-bearing, making alterations easier and allowing for larger windows.
© Richard HuangThe attic consists of more than 270 arches, each of a different height. Their design is said to have been inspired by the skeleton of a snake.
© Richard HuangThe attic has many small windows like this one.
© Richard HuangEach offers a glimpse of a different view.
© Richard Huang
© Richard HuangThrough the window, I immediately caught sight of the highlight of our visit: the fantastical rooftop. Gaudí envisioned it as a place where tenants could hang out their washing, bask in the sun, and socialize, while children played in a fairy-tale setting. He had woven his ideas about communal life into the design.
© Richard HuangUnable to wait any longer, I hurried straight up the stairs to the roof. Six stairwells provide access to it.
© Richard HuangThe rooftop has two ventilation shafts and thirty strangely shaped chimneys. These three chimneys are covered in fragments of champagne bottles. Mosaics made from shards of pottery are one of the hallmarks of Gaudí’s architecture.
© Richard HuangThe other chimneys take the form of helmeted soldiers. Sagrada FamíliaThe two soldiers in the scene of Veronica’s veil on the Passion Façade were modeled on the soldiers of Casa Milà.
© Richard HuangSuch an unusual and playful rooftop is naturally a popular place for visitors to take pictures. For safety, much of it has been enclosed by railings.
© Richard HuangGetting clean, unobstructed shots without those railings proved quite a challenge.
© Richard HuangThen it occurred to me: if curves are one of the defining features of Gaudí’s architecture, why not concentrate on the details and make a series of abstract close-ups?
© Richard HuangBy stripping away the clutter, I left Gaudí’s curves in the frame—and somehow made them feel even more vivid.
© Richard HuangI thought these abstract photographs might look rather good printed and hung on the walls at home.
© Richard HuangGaudí’s words echoed in my mind once again: “Straight lines belong to humankind; curves belong to God—to nature.”
© Richard HuangReligious faith profoundly influenced Gaudí. He designed small arches on the rooftop that frame views of different churches, including his final work, the Sagrada Família.。
© Richard HuangIf details of Gaudí’s architecture make good photographs, then so, it turns out, do details of the visitors.
© Richard HuangAfter touring the rooftop, we followed the stairs directly back down to ground level, where we came upon another circular courtyard. Casa Milà is said to have three light wells in all.
And with that, our tour of Casa Milà was over. It was less elaborate than I had expected, yet it left a deep impression. In Casa Milà, Gaudí brought together—at the highest level—the practical demands of comfortable living, his emulation of nature, his pursuit of innovation, his religious devotion, and his ideas about communal life. Casa Milà’s importance to Barcelona is evident in the fact that its image appeared on a commemorative coin for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. It is a source of pride in the city’s domestic architecture.