Antonio Gaudí’s Magical Playground
How
would you like to play in one of the most amazing public
parks in the world? If you visit Barcelona, Spain, you can.
Spanish
architect, sculptor, and artist Antonio Gaudí originally
designed this unique park to be the garden area of a spectacular
housing development. His idea was to create a community
that combined city and country living. But the houses, shops,
schools, and roadways across the mountainous terrain were
never constructed. Only the garden area and its magical
spaces were designed and built, and remain as a children’s
playground.
The park, called Parc Güell, combines the engineering know-how of an innovative architect with the fantastic vision of an artist. Vivid colors weave through curved surfaces with flowing lines and spaces. Light glitters on textured surfaces. The Pavilion Building looks like a miniature castle with mushroom-shaped turrets crowning its roof and slanted walls. Nearby, the lizard-shaped fountain appears ready to leap through its colorful blue, yellow, and green ceramic tiles and into life.
But
besides being fun to look at, the park is also a work of
engineering genius. Antonio Gaudí invented a complex
column-and-roof system that boggles the mind. Roof-support
columns tilt or lean to one side instead of being perpendicular
to the floor. This engineering principle funnels the weight
of the thin concrete roof down to the supporting ground.
Today, these thin concrete shells are imitated by engineers
throughout the world.
One hundred years old next year, Parc Güell stands as one of the greatest public-garden areas in the world.
