Gaud�

From the towering Sagrada Fam�lia to the shimmering, textured fa�ade of Casa Batll� and the enchanting landscape of Park G�ell, it's easy to see why Antoni Gaud� (1852-1926) gained the epithet "God's architect." With fluid forms and mathematical precision, his work extols the wonder of natural creation: columns soar like tree trunks, window frames curve like flowering branches, and ceramic tiling shimmers like scaly, reptilian skin.

With this outstanding attention to natural detail, his inspirations from both neo-Gothic and Orientalist aesthetics, and a lifelong commitment to Catalan identity, Gaud� created a unique brand of the Modernista movement which transformed, and defines, Barcelona's cityscape.

With seven of Gaud�'s projects listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, this book introduces the architect's extraordinary vision and unique legacy, exploring the influences and the details which allow his buildings to impress, inspire, and amaze, one century after their construction.

About the series

Born back in 1985, the Basic Art Series has evolved into the best-selling art book collection ever published. Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Architecture series features:

an introduction to the life and work of the architect

the major works in chronological order

information about the clients, architectural preconditions as well as construction problems and resolutions

a list of all the selected works and a map indicating the locations of the best and most famous buildings

approximately 120 illustrations (photographs, sketches, drafts, and plans)

Window frames curve like flowering branches and ceramic tiling shimmers like reptilian skin in the fervent architectural imagination of Antoni Gaud�. This introduction to the modernist Catalan architect explores how his outstanding attention to natural detail and unique vision transformed Barcelona's cityscape with extraordinary buildings that...
Maria Antonietta Crippa is currently professor "straordinario" of History of Architecture at the Politecnico University in Milan, at the DiAP (Department of Architecture and Planning of the School of Architecture). Since the early 1980s, she has published widely on architecture and town planning.
Peter G�ssel runs an agency for museum and exhibition design. He has published TASCHEN monographs on Julius Shulman, R. M. Schindler, John Lautner, and Richard Neutra, as well as several titles in the Basic Architecture series.