The site

Casa Batlló, a modernist style building in Barcelona, is the result of the renovation of an austere building designed in 1877 by Emilio Sala Cortés who was Antoni Gaudí’s teacher during his architecture studies. Although the initial idea was to knock down the house, thanks to the courage shown by Gaudí, it was ultimately decided to carry out a full renovation, transforming a classic style building into a masterpiece of modernism, full of imagination and creativity from 1904 and 1906.

Natural light illuminates every corner of Casa Batlló thanks, to a large extent, to the main skylight and two central patios decorated in blue tones, where the light is distributed. The upper tiles on the patios are darker than the lower ones and the windows increase in size the lower we descend. Thanks to these two innovative ideas – the colour graduations and the size of the windows – Gaudí was successful in equally distributing light through the different floors.

Gaudí designed an original ventilation system, including different openings on the house’s windows. These openings are manual and make it possible to regulate the air with precision, without having to open the windows fully. In turn, the design of the central patios, where the majority of air enters, helps to maintain the heat in winter and ventilate in summer. Gaudí, the engineer, achieved maximum comfort following energy efficiency criteria.

Due to its Outstanding Universal Value, Casa Batlló was inscribed in the World Heritage List in 2005.

The project

The project in 2021 was a continuation of a collaboration initiated in 2019, which has been successful in integrating educational activities in the framework of the European Heritage Volunteers Programme with the conservation work done by the hosting institution. The work and the activities during the project combined with the special setting provided an extraordinary opportunity for the participants to immerse themselves in the world and genius of Gaudi, one of the most remarkable and unique modernist architects in the world.

The work in the project was divided in two different areas, where the participants had the opportunity to experience two different kinds of archival work done at archives engaging in the conservation and research of documental evidence of historical relevance.

One of the archival works done by the participants took place at Casa Batlló’s World Heritage office, and it consisted in the detailed documentation of the vast collection of visitor’s books. The books are a valuable source of information for the management of this World Heritage site, given that they provide an insightful understanding of the impressions and perspective of the visitors regarding the way they experienced this very interactive kind of museum and heritage site. The participants catalogued the books and reviewed relevant data discovered on the books, which will assist Casa Battló in collecting information from the books and also to explore new ideas on how to incorporate the material it contains into new interactive experiences.

The other work took place in Casa Amatller, the neighboring historical house to Casa Batlló and contemporary to it, but built in a completely different architectural style, which also functions as a museum. In this house it can be found the Instituto Amatller d'Art Hispanic, which contains a vast collection of photographic historical documentation from the late 19th and first half of the 20th century. The participants were tasked to work in the cleaning, documentation, cataloguing and digitalisation of a collection of ambrotype photographs, which were taken by a amateur photographer around the beginning of the 20th century with the name Ribera. This was the first time that his collection of positive and negative images captured on glass plates had been catalogued. The participants were guided by one of the expert curators at the archive, and learned about the different processes involved in the conservation of this kind of archival documentation, as well as the relevance of their cataloguing and documentation which will allow for future research into the period of time, they provide a window to.

Casa Batlló collaborates closely with the archive of the Instituto Amatller d'Art Hispanic, since the photographs it contains have already in the past been a source of invaluable information for Casa Batlló in their research about the contextual historical period in which Antoni Gaudi lived and worked. Additionally, the photos discovered through these cataloguing of un-documented images, has also provided surprising findings which aided the restorers to recreate elements of the house when found missing, contributing to the protection of the authenticity of the site and to the conservation efforts led by the site management of Casa Batlló. 

The educational part of the project was provided through guided visits and discussions. The participants were treated to special visits to the museum and other sites led by the World Heritage Officer at Casa Batlló, which allowed to a unique perspective into the work of Gaudi.  Additionally, lectures and visits to the management offices provided the necessary background knowledge as well as inside views about the challenges and potentials of Modern Heritage and the management of World Heritage sites which are facing complex times after the emerge of COVID-19 pandemic.

The project was organised by Casa Batlló, in collaboration with European Heritage Volunteers.