I've written before about Sagrada FamÃlia Church in Barcelona, an architectural masterwork by Antoni GaudÃ. In particular you may remember my essay "Will Sagrada FamÃlia Be Mankind’s Last Ever Great Artistic Statement for God?." I wrote that piece after reading an article by Oscar Tusquets Blanca in Domus magazine in 2011. In it he talked about being an instigator as a student of the publication of a manifesto (his term) against completion of the church. And how he now believes he and his fellow signatories were very mistaken. While … [Read more...]
Back From Barcelona
I just got back from spending a week in Barcelona. It's a great city, the weather was perfect, and the crowds weren't too bad. A very enjoyable trip all around. As usual, I have a few observations that struck me while there. Urban Culture I used to have a team I supervised in Madrid, so I had been to that city many times, but never made it to Barcelona apart from one brief in and out trip. I was eager to compare and contrast the two. One thing that struck me was an analogy to the Midwest. Spain was once a mighty empire, but became a sort … [Read more...]