Favourite Landscapes - Park Güell

 

Park Güell

Park Güell is a public park comprised of both gardens and architectural elements located in Barcelona, Spain. The origin of the park began as a private estate – Eusebi Güell commissioned Antoni Gaudí to draw up plans for an estate for well-off families within a zone known as Muntanya Pelada, a beautiful location with views over the sea and Barcelona.

Views of the Sea and Barcelona from the Park

The original plan involved the implementation of 60 triangular-shaped plots, with a network of paths, viaducts and steps to accommodate the lie of the land. Gaudí took a sensitive approach to the landscape, retaining vegetation that was already thriving on the property, whilst also ensuring that any added species were Mediterranean plants that required little water. He also designed various collection and storage systems for water, which, alongside the vegetation, helped prevent the erosion of the land caused by the heavy Mediterranean downpours. Gaudí’s approach to the hard elements, however, was anything but sensitive. As a  part of the Modernista movement, he used a very unique style, inspired by natural forms within nature, creating beautiful architectural elements that often incorporated bright and colourful mosaics.

The Gardens

Unfortunately, a lack of buyers led to work on the estate being stopped, with only two of the sixty houses having been built, one of which was Güell’s home and the other belonged to Gaudí. Güell turned the site into a large private garden, allowing it to be used for public events. After his death in 1918, the City Council purchased the park and it was opened as a municipal park in 1926 – one of the two houses was converted into a school, whilst the other eventually became the Gaudí House Museum in 1963. Park Güell has since been a much loved public park, drawing in many visitors, and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. 

Mosaic Sculpture

I absolutely love Park Güell, even though I have only visited it once. The colourful mosaics and sculptural buildings are so striking yet seem so at home within the naturalistic landscape – the integration of art into the landscape is so beautiful to me. I also like how Gaudí retained the existing vegetation and added native plants to create a sustainable landscape, also utilising sustainable water design to prevent erosion.

References

Park Güell. (n.d.) Park Güell Official Website. Available at: https://parkguell.barcelona/en?q=en (Accessed: 9 May 2021)