Antoni Gaudi
Antoni Gaudi i Cornet was born on June 25, 1852 in Reus Catalonia. He lived there until 1873, then he transferred from his school there to the Provincial School of Architecture in Barcelona, Spain. After working on some small projects as a student, he graduated in 1878. Most of Gaudi's works were done in and around Barcelona. He was greatly influenced by the Catalan movement and Art Nouveau. However, he adapted his own very complex style. He concentrated on detail, and colorful ornamentation. At the beginning of his career, he used mostly straight lines for his buildings, with colorful decorations and sculptures. Later, he used intricate shapes and curves, but still kept his unique ornamentation.

Gaudi's first major job was the Casa Vicens (1883-1888). It was built as the summer residence for the ceramics dealer, Manuel Vicens i Montaner.

Unlike some of his later buildings it was made up of mostly straight faces, but had vast decorations. Many of his other buildings were commissioned by the Guell family. The works he did for them helped him become famous in Barcelona.

Those structures range from residential mansions (Palau Guell - 1886-1888) to estates (Pavellons Guell - 1884-1887, Colonia Guell - 1898-1908, and Guell Cellars - 1895-1898) and even an urban park (the Park Guell - 1901-1914).

He also worked for other people. He made a new building for the convent school Colegio Teresano (1888-1889) and remodeled an apartment building - Casa Batillo (1904-1906). His last civil building was the Casa Mila (1906-1910), an apartment building designed for the Mila family. Antoni Gaudi also built structures outside of Barcelona, but did not really influence the outside world until decades after his death.

Gaudi's most famous structure is the Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family, also known as the Temple de la Sagrada Familia. It was started in 1882 by Francisco del Villar in Barcelona, and is still not completely finished. In 1884, Gaudi took over the construction, and after a time, changed the plans so that the temple was no longer being built in the Gothic Revival style.

In 1908, Gaudi centered all of his efforts on the temple. He stopped taking other commissions and worked on the building until his death in 1922, when he was hit by a street car. The temple continued to be constructed until 1936, when Gaudi's plans were burnt by a shelling during the Spanish Civil War. In 1952, construction began again, and is still going.

Antoni Gaudi's works have a style of their own. Not only are the outsides intricately designed, but the insides are as fantastic. It seams to me that each pillar, stairway, chimney and gate is a sculpture, and they are all put together to form one big sculpture - the building.

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