LA SAGRADA
FAMILIA
Sagrada Familia
In 1882, construction of
Sagrada Familia started under architect Francisco de Paula del Villar. In 1883, when Villar resigned, Gaudi took over as chief architect, transforming the project with his architectural and engineering style, combining Gothic and curvilinear Art Nouveau forms. Gaudi devoted the remainder of his life to the project, and at the time of his death at age 73 in 1926, less than a quarter of the project was complete.
Relying solely on private donations, Sagrada Familia's construction progressed slowly and was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War, only to resume intermittent progress in the 1950s. Since commencing construction in 1882, advancements in technologies such as computer aided design and computerised numerical control (CNC) have enabled faster progress and construction passed the midpoint in 2010. However, some of the project's greatest challenges remain, including the construction of ten more spires, each
Background
The Basilica of the Sagrada Familia was the inspiration of a bookseller, Josep Maria Bocabella, founder of Asociacion Espiritual de Devotos de San Jose.After a visit to the Vatican in 1872, Bocabella returned from Italy with the intention of building a church inspired by the basilica at Loreto. The apse crypt of the church, funded by donations, was begun 19 March 1882, on the festival of St. Joseph, to the design of the architect Francisco de Paula del Villar, whose plan was for a Gothic revival church of a standard form. The apse crypt was completed before Villar's resignation on 18 March 1883, when Gaudi assumed responsibility for its design, which he changed radically. Antoni Gaudi began work on the church in 1883 but was not appointed Architect Director until 1884.
Construction
On the subject of the extremely long construction period, Gaudi is said to have remarked: "My client is not in a hurry. When Gaudi died in 1926, the basilica was between 15 and 25 percent complete. After Gaudi's death, work continued under the direction of Domenec Sugranes i Gras until interrupted by the Spanish Civil War in 1936.Parts of the unfinished basilica and Gaudi's models and workshop were destroyed during the war by Catalan anarchists. The present design is based on reconstructed versions of the plans that were burned in a fire as well as on modern adaptations. Since 1940 the architects Francesc Quintana, Isidre Puig Boada, Lluís Bonet i Gari and Francesc Cardoner have carried on the work. The illumination was designed by Carles Buigas.
The current director and son of Lluis Bonet, Jordi Bonet i Armengol, has been introducing computers into the design and construction process since the 1980s. Mark Burry of New Zealand serves as Executive Architect and Researcher. Sculptures by J. Busquets, Etsuro Sotoo and the controversial Josep Maria Subirachs decorate the fantastical façades. Barcelona-born Jordi took over as chief architect in 2012.The central nave vaulting was completed in 2000 and the main tasks since then have been the construction of the transept vaults and apse. As of 2006, work concentrated on the crossing and supporting structure for the main tower of Jesus Christ as well as the southern enclosure of the central nave, which will become the Glory façade.
Construction status
Chief architect Jordi Fauli announced in October 2015 that construction is 70 percent complete and has entered its final phase of raising six immense towers. The towers and most of the church's structure are to be completed by 2026, the centennial of Gaudi's death; decorative elements should be complete by 2030 or 2032. Visitor entrance fees of 15–20 euros finance the annual construction budget of 25 million euros.Computer-aided design technology has been used to accelerate construction of the building. Current technology allows stone to be shaped off-site by a CNC milling machine, whereas in the 20th century the stone was carved by hand.
In 2008, some renowned Catalan architects advocated halting construction, to respect Gaudi's original designs, which although they were not exhaustive and were partially destroyed, have been partially reconstructed in recent years.
AVE tunnel
Since 2013, AVE high-speed trains have passed near the Sagrada Familia through an underground tunnel that runs beneath the centre of Barcelona. The tunnel's construction, which began on 26 March 2010, was controversial. The Ministry of Public Works of Spain claimed the project posed no risk to the church. Sagrada Familia engineers and architects disagreed, saying there was no guarantee that the tunnel would not affect the stability of the building. The Board of the Sagrada Família and the neighborhood association AVE pel Litoral had led a campaign against this route for the AVE, without success.Consecration
The main nave was covered and an organ installed in mid-2010, allowing the still-unfinished building to be used for religious services. The church was consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI on 7 November 2010 in front of a congregation of 6,500 people. A further 50,000 people followed the consecration Mass from outside the basilica, where more than 100 bishops and 300 priests were on hand to offer Holy Communion. Starting on 9 July 2017, there is an international Mass celebrated at the basilica on every Sunday and holy day of obligation, at 9 a.m, open to the public. Occasionally, Mass is celebrated at other times, where attendance requires an invitation. When Masses are scheduled, instructions to obtain an invitation are posted on the basilica's website. In addition, visitors may pray at the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament and Penitence.
Design
The style of la Sagrada Família is variously likened to Spanish Late Gothic, Catalan Modernism and to Art Nouveau or Catalan Noucentisme. While the Sagrada Familia falls within the Art Nouveau period, Nikolaus Pevsner points out that, along with Charles Rennie Macintosh in Glasgow, Gaudi carried the Art Nouveau style far beyond its usual application as a surface decoration.
Plan
While never intended to be a cathedral (seat of a bishop), the Sagrada Familia was planned from the outset to be a cathedral-sized building. Its ground-plan has obvious links to earlier Spanish cathedrals such as Burgos Cathedral, Leon Cathedral and Seville Cathedral. In common with Catalan and many other European Gothic cathedrals, the Sagrada Familia is short in comparison to its width, and has a great complexity of parts, which include double aisles, an ambulatory with a chevet of seven apsidal chapels, a multitude of towers and three portals, each widely different in structure as well as ornament. Where it is common for cathedrals in Spain to be surrounded by numerous chapels and ecclesiastical buildings, the plan of this church has an unusual feature: a covered passage or cloister which forms a rectangle enclosing the church and passing through the narthex of each of its three portals. With this peculiarity aside, the plan, influenced by Villar's crypt, barely hints at the complexity of Gaudi's design or its deviations from traditional church architecture.Tower of the Virgin Mary
It is located over the apse and stands 138 metres tall, surrounding the large hyperboloid that lights the altar, drawing sunlight from outside into the presbytery. The inside of the tower will be an empty monumental space full of light.
To date, 100 panels have been put in place on the tower of the Virgin Mary. We are now on the eighth of the nineteen levels it will have when finished. With these, the tower stands at 87.5 m. It is expected to reach 102.31 m by the end of the year.From the street, it is clear how this tower is progressing, as it is being built without exterior scaffolding. You can see the parabolic stone sections, with arrises at the corners in blueish granite evoking the mantle of the Virgin Mary. At the base of the tower, next to the text of the Ave Maria, there are relief representations of flowers associated with the Virgin, designed by the Temple sculpture workshop and carved in the stonemasons’ workshop under the supervision of Etsuro Sotoo.
Towers of the evangelists
Of the 135 metres the towers of the evangelists will reach in 2022, the one for Matthew is already 83.87 metres high; the one for John is 80.83 metres, and the ones for Mark and Luke are 86.82 metres. The four towers are now at levels two or three of the thirteen they will have.Tower of Jesus Christ
It will be the tallest, at 172.5 metres. The shell is made up of twelve paraboloids of triangular windows, with svelte porphyry arrises at the corners, representing the blood of Jesus Christ. Inside, 85 metres from the temple, visitors will enter a first space, 60 metres up, with a stone spiral staircase with a glass enclosed lift at the centre. The tower will start to grow from here and have twelve levels. Currently, work is also under way on the final project for the pinnacles of the six central towers.Passion facade
In 2017, the outer acroterions on the upper narthex were put in place with the lion of Judah and the lamb of Abraham, two representations of Jesus Christ from the Old Testament. Both pieces are the work of Lau Feliu and were sculpted in granite from the French region of Tarn.In 2018, the elements of the upper narthex will be completed with the scene of the empty tomb placed behind the central columns and the holy cross in the central acroterion. Sculptor Francesc Fajula is currently putting the finishing touches on the sculptures: the empty tomb with the figure of the angel, which weighs 3.8 tonnes and is practically finished, and the figures of the three Marys. Each sculpture is three metres tall. At the same time, work is under way on the stone cross and sculptor Lau Feliu is putting the finishing touches on the angels that accompany it, which will be sculpted in stone soon.
The space between the wall of the prophets on the upper portico and the base of the central window on the Passion façade has been completed. This space, located twenty metres up, evokes the garden where the Gospel explains Jesus Christ was buried and an abandoned quarry, where his tomb was dug. It is set aside for quiet worship, designed for individual or group reflection, prayer or contemplation.The blocks that make up the wall, laid out in a pyramid, have been cut using the traditional wedge system. Typical Mediterranean plants, symbolising life after death, have been planted among the stones to complete the representation of the garden.
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