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The Holy Family
By now, the famed architect Antonio gaudi and his most representative work, the sacred Family, do not need representations. One of the most visionary architects throughout history with a captivating genius and imagination has achieved to date, that seven of his works are World Heritage Sites by UNESCO (See also Casa Batllo de Gaudí), but without doubt the most emblematic and visually impressive work is the temple of the Sagrada Familia of Barcelona.
An architectural icon visited by more than four million people a year, which continues to impact the lives of many passers-by and visitors. An architect with a singular and unmistakable style, who mixed the forms of nature with unparalleled technical perfection, illuminating unique and eclectic works.
Around 1883, Gaudí accepted the commission to determine the construction of the Sagrada Familia when I was only 31 years old. Let us remember that in 1882 the first piece was placed - on March 19 - by the diocesan architect Francisco de Paula del Villar y Lozanoque, who later resigned from the job.
The architect used a large part of his life and efforts to this work (43 years), where the last 15 years he did it exclusively without accepting any other commission, innovating in construction techniques and trying to use the technologies of that time.
To this day, the team in charge of finishing the majestic work continues to work with the latest technologies; aeronautical engineering software, virtual reality recreations or 3D printers (See also the article on a 3D printer to build a house in 24 hours). They are the new tools that architects use to try to glimpse and complete an architectural work that has been under construction for more than 100 years.
But not only the building itself needs new technologies. The adjoining urbanism and the number of visitors incorporate new challenges of social coherence in areas with high tourist intensity. Neighborhoods that are being monitored by tools based on big data or IoT, and even with sophisticated programs that incorporate artificial intelligence technology as we can test in the following video:
Sagrada Familia construction chronology
We would like to add a series of infographics to see what the architectural and constructive situation of the building is from the perspective of history and what parts of it we still have to finish in order to have a general perspective. (By clicking on the following image it is enlarged)
Sagrada Familia chronology
Size and characteristics of the Sagrada Familia
Out of curiosity, as we like to detail the articles from time to time, we have looked for different infographics so that we can see the majesty of the entire building, both from its architectural characteristics and to try to understand the magnitude of the work or its plans thanks to a Illustrative infographic made by Raúl Camañas, Rocío Márquez and Oriol Malet for the newspaper La Vanguardia.
So that we are aware of the size and the plans of the Sagrada Familia:
Due to the dimensions of the building and the site, it undoubtedly affects what the neighboring urbanism is:
Regarding the dimensions in height, width and sections of the building and plant of the same, we can identify it in the following plans; The first two correspond to the Passion façade and the Nativity façade correlatively, and the third corresponds to the sectional floor plan.
Let us remember that the building has three main portals or facades, which are:
- The facade of the Passion; Gaudí dedicated it to the passion, death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
- The facade of Glory; This portico is inspired by the shapes of the Montserrat massif, the pillars of Catholicism appear.
- And the facade of the Nativity; also called the facade of Life, Joy and Christmas. It is an explosion of joy at the birth of Jesus.
For an adequate view of both the aforementioned porticoes, as well as the plans and the most representative construction elements, we can access a large infographic from HERE.
What parts of the Sagrada Familia still need to be built?
Since we have a chronological vision for years of the Sagrada Familia and an idea of the parts that make up this magnificent building from an architectural perspective, now we need to recognize that construction elements have not yet been built and we can detail it from the following infographic of the Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia.
There are many unknowns regarding the question of when will the construction of the Sagrada Familia be finished. Although the most skeptical predict that in 2026 we can enjoy a sweeping end after 144 years since its inception (According to the architect-director Jordi Faulí), the reality is that the tallest towers of the building still have to be built, and not only it is a variable of constructive will. We are facing other factors, both constructive and economic, which undoubtedly - according to some architectural scholars - will influence the date of the end of the work.
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