An elegant modernist mansion in the mountains north of Barcelona, originally built to house engineers at a coal mine, is now officially recognized as a work of Antoni Gaudí, the most famous and recognizable architect of Catalonia, writes The Guardian.
Xalet del Catllaràs, located about 130 km from Barcelona in the Berguedà region, was built in 1905 at the request of Eusebi Güell, Gaudí's longtime patron. Güell owned a cement company with mines in the region and needed housing for engineers, most of whom were British, to help extract coal for his factories.
Until recently, it was believed that the mansion might be a project by Gaudí, but there was no confirmation. The building clearly displays elements of Gaudí's natural style, inspired by the forms of plants and animals — motifs that he later developed in Park Güell and Casa Batllò in Barcelona. The pointed arches of the building also foreshadow the famous Sagrada Família.
The Minister of Culture of Catalonia, Sonia Hernández Almodóvar, emphasized that the confirmation of authorship "is the result of thorough research and has immense value for our heritage," enriching Gaudí's legacy in the year of the centenary of his death.
The study was conducted by the Department of Cultural Heritage of Catalonia under the leadership of the chair of Gaudí studies, Galdric Santana Roma. "After extensive research, we concluded that Xalet del Catllaràs is indeed a project by Gaudí," he noted. "But this attribution only concerns the initial stage of the project, as Gaudí himself did not oversee the construction, and the work did not always follow his original intent."
Gaudí died on June 10, 1926, at the age of 73, three days after being hit by a tram in Barcelona. In honor of the centenary of his death, numerous exhibitions and events are planned throughout Catalonia.
