Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudí

I have chosen the Sagrada Familia of Antoni Gaudí because it is his most iconic building and the pinnacle of his work, but I could have chosen any other work from him and here is why.

Gaudí was one of the most innovative architects of his era, pioneer in many fields and in the vanguard of construction. Many of his techniques are nowadays still unique and relevant in architecture to this day. To name but a few, the catenaries, the hyperbolic paraboloids and the Catalán vault.

The Sagrada Familia was and still is one of the most characteristic buildings on the Barcelona skyline. Built in the Catalan Modernism style, it is still unfinished and the construction is planned to end in 2026. Started more than one-hundred and forty years ago, the project has gone through 9 architects to this day. The building survived the civil war but lost all the work Gaudí did in a fire caused by an attack from the republican side.

As a fun fact, the initial height of the basilica was planned to be one-hundred and eighty meters, but Gaudí lessened it to one-hundred and seventy-two and a half because the height of the mountain of Montjuïc is one-hundred and seventy-seven and, as he said, “The man’s construction cannot surpass God’s one”.