With 5 hours left in Barcelona, I took a taxi to Parc guell to save time. When I arrived, i was surprised the park was sold out for the day. they only let in 400 people in per hour. Luckily, I found out you could book a guided tour to get in. I asked for the next tour at the ticket booth. Originally they said there were none left, then they said it was in Catalan at 12:30. I was thinking about loafing around for 2 hours, and I asked the teller again if there were any earlier tours... when the ticket seller said there was actually a French tour starting in 5 minutes, i was more than willing to let myself be guided in French to roam around the gardens. It didn’t matter which language a tour guide was speaking. It was apparent to me what gaudi was doing in architectural language. First, the paths were curvilinear and organic and winded down the terraced hillside. Unlike Olmsted, some of the branching pathways were very sharp.
The parapet walls were rounded on top giving a very open transition between park and city. I found out some more interesting tidbits which may or may not be true between my poor French listening comprehension and my general inattention to tour guides... The crushed ceramics used to clad the walkways were ideal for their colors and their ability to clad complex geometries. Guell hired gaudi to make a park to create a respite from the pollution of the city below. Originally guell planned to make 60 houses on the site, but eventually only made 2. Structurally, the sloped arcade columns are formed like trees on an incline and support the stone pathways above. The central gathering space is supported by a forest of columns between shallow umbrella shell structures. Each umbrella is adorned with a ceramic pattern story panel mosaic. The edge of the gathering space is a continuous snaking ceramic bench replete with scuppers emptying out to gutter channels for water. At the base of the park were two gingerbread house-like structures with ceramic glazed frosting on tops.
The parapet walls were rounded on top giving a very open transition between park and city. I found out some more interesting tidbits which may or may not be true between my poor French listening comprehension and my general inattention to tour guides... The crushed ceramics used to clad the walkways were ideal for their colors and their ability to clad complex geometries. Guell hired gaudi to make a park to create a respite from the pollution of the city below. Originally guell planned to make 60 houses on the site, but eventually only made 2. Structurally, the sloped arcade columns are formed like trees on an incline and support the stone pathways above. The central gathering space is supported by a forest of columns between shallow umbrella shell structures. Each umbrella is adorned with a ceramic pattern story panel mosaic. The edge of the gathering space is a continuous snaking ceramic bench replete with scuppers emptying out to gutter channels for water. At the base of the park were two gingerbread house-like structures with ceramic glazed frosting on tops.
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