When Antoni Gaudí is restored there is always room for surprises. This is what has happened during the restoration of the rear facade of one of his most universal works, the Batlló house on Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona. This intervention, which is still ongoing, has allowed the original colors to be exposed, which will change the chromatic aspect as it was known until today.
Thus, the dark gray of the railings and the wrought iron of the balconies has given way to a lead white, and the yellowish stuccoes are now dark gray, while the green timbers of the windows have changed to a white hue. “We already had signs of it, but when you start working you notice the dimension of the change. What was clear has become dark and vice versa. That is to say, as if it were a total and absolute negative of the facade that we knew until now”, Xavier Villanueva, the architect responsible for the work, emphasized yesterday. Different research teams have analyzed samples of different materials these months to find out the exact shade of each element.
Another discovery has been more technical and structural. It refers to the beam system that supports the balconies through a bolted modular structure. “Instead of working through the cantilever concept, like almost all of them, they are rigged. It is something very particular and with a Catalan twist. It’s the first time I know this specific system in Gaudí’s work”, added Villanueva.
In fact, this is the first comprehensive restoration of the rear facade since 1906, when Gaudí renovated the previous home for the Batlló family. The intervention, with an investment of 3.5 million euros, began in November and is expected to end this autumn.
As in other previous renovations to the property, visitors can see live the work done by the restorers. For this reason, a passable scaffolding has been installed on the roof, decorated with a flowery parabolic pergola. During this tour, a temporary exhibition on the rear facade was also opened on the fifth floor.
According to the managers of the house, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005, the ceramic and glass trencadís at the back symbolizes a blooming climbing plant, while the corrugated iron balconies linked together evoke the plant’s branches.
