I sometimes tease my wife that she is the only person I know that has a favorite architect. There may be some competition with the previous title holder after our trip to Spain. The truth is, I am pretty much enamored as well.

Where we were both exposed to architecture as an art was in college. We both took Art History 101 and 102. From there, we learned about Frank Lloyd Wright. For Americans, his work is much more approachable since we can more easily travel and visit some of his buildings. Wright was prolific and there is even one of his houses here in Oregon. In 2002, we made a specific destination as “House of Falling Water” on an east coast road trip.

The genius of specific architects is that they are visionaries. For instance, Wright invented the Ranch style house. Arguably, that is the most popular American home style ever. It is simple to build, easy to maintain and infinitely adaptable.

Another architect that we learned about in Art History was Antoni Gaudi because Spain was out of sight, out of mind in 1995 so it got filed on the backburner. However, modern Barcelona is the city that Gaudi built (and is still building despite his death in 1926).

I am not going to go into all of the specifics of each work, but you can check the link for additional information. Above is Casa Batllo, a personal residence Gaudi remodeled in 1904. It is remarkable for the use of color as light direction, ventilation as a function of design and flexible spaces with movable room dividers.

Park Guell was originally envisioned as a housing development outside of the city. Only two houses were built but much of the infrastructure was and that is what has become the park. The dragon fountain is the symbol of Barcelona and it is in this park.

Gaudi’s real masterpiece in my mind, and I think much of the world’s is Sagrada Familia. This is a categorized as a Basilica not a Cathedral and it is still in progress. When it will be done, who really knows. Gaudi kicked it off knowing that he would not see it completed but laid out the master plan and then also left it open for future generations to make their particular personal stamps.

End Your Programming Routine: Barcelona is a top twenty-five world destination and Gaudi is part of that. As you know me, I am not all about collectivism or subjective interpretation but I can admire a future thinker and a reverent one at that. Gaudi is one of the founding voices in modernism. It has taken me a while to appreciate that type of expression but in many ways modernism is a more complex presentation. It may appear simpler or cruder even but there can be more behind the image.