Spain confirms Gaudí designed remote forest building
LA POBLA DE LILLET — Spanish authorities said on Wednesday that renowned modernist architect Antoni Gaudí designed a building in a remote forest area of Catalonia, ending speculation over who was behind the project built in the early 20th century.
Gaudí (1852-1926) had long been linked to the Xalet del Catllaras — a three-story mountain shelter built for workers at a cement factory 125 kilometers north of Barcelona — because the factory was owned by wealthy industrialist Eusebi Guell, for whom Gaudí built several projects.
But there had been no thorough technical and historical analysis to confirm Gaudí’s role until authorities commissioned an expert report from a Gaudí scholar in 2023.
“What’s most important is that it shows the new architectural approach that Gaudí had,” said Galdric Santana, the report’s author who also chairs commemorative events planned throughout 2026 to mark a century since Gaudí’s death.
Mr. Santana determined that Gaudí designed the house, built between 1901 and 1908 in the town of La Pobla de Lillet, at the midpoint of his career, because it contains structural elements used only by Gaudí at that time. They include specific types of arches, vaults, and rooms separated by walls positioned at 45-degree angles.
These techniques would not be followed by his disciples until 10 or 15 years later, Mr. Santana added.
The scholar said he found geometric, structural, and compositional evidence proving Gaudí’s authorship after analyzing floor plans for other Gaudí buildings, using 3D techniques and examining old documents and photographs.
Before conducting the report, Mr. Santana said it was feasible to consider Gaudí might not be the designer given the building’s remoteness and the fact that he had several prominent projects underway during those years, including Barcelona’s Park Guell and Casa Batllo.
But he believes Gaudí did not supervise its construction because the completed building was modified from the original plan.
That would explain why Gaudí never publicly acknowledged designing the Xalet, he added. At the time, it was common for architects to withhold their signature from a building if the finished work deviated from the original blueprint.
Around 10 other works remain unconfirmed as Gaudí designs, Mr. Santana said. — Reuters
