Barcelona Beso

Casa Battlo

Antoni Gaudi takes dwelling art to the limit. Could a house
really get more organic than this?

The roofline is half dragon, half sea monster. The balconies are half skull, half masquerade mask. And the motifs and metaphors don't stop there. Casa Battlo anchors a block of Passeig de Gracia world famous for its modernist structures. Step inside for a visual tour de force somewhere between architecture and art, sculpted of wood, iron, ceramics, glass and other materials. See what the strange shapes suggest to you, like the giant glass eye set into the wall – the eye of a squid? Scalloped staircase baseboards recall seashells. The tiles on the front could be foamy white caps on the sea. Interestingly, Casa Battlo was a functional residence for decades. Wonder how the occupants kept from getting seasick.