Sagrada Família: Stone, Light and Height

The Nativity Façade of the Sagrada Família

Begin at the façade that turns stone, plants and animals into celebration. The eastern façade on Carrer de la Marina celebrates the birth of Jesus through joy, hope and an abundance of life. Animals, flowers and trees cover the stone, while the three portals are dedicated to Hope, Charity and Faith. It was the first fa…

The branching columns of the central nave

Enter the structural forest and let its branches explain how the church stands. In the nave, Gaudí replaced the mass of Gothic buttresses with inclined columns that branch like trees and transfer loads directly to the foundations. Between their branches he opened hyperboloid skylights so light could descend from above.…

The presbytery seen from an elevated gallery

Look up to +15 metres: this elevated stop makes the building section visible. The choir galleries introduce the first elevated layer in this map. The Basilica's documentation places the side-nave choir 15 metres above the floor and the semicircular children's choir 15 metres above the apse chapels and ambulatory. This …

The presbytery, baldachin and high altar

The presbytery, raised two metres, concentrates altar, baldachin and vertical axis. The apse occupies the head of the church, directly above the crypt, and shares its semicircular plan. The presbytery rises two metres above the Basilica floor and is defined by twelve columns. At its centre, a large block of porphyry fo…

The Passion Façade of the Sagrada Família

Cross to the façade where hard light and angular sculpture change the tone. The western façade on Carrer de Sardenya narrates the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. Against the Nativity side's natural abundance, Gaudí designed a severe architecture of slanting columns, deep recesses and hard contrasts of light. …

Antoni Gaudí's tomb in the Sagrada Família crypt

Finish ten metres below ground, at the church's built beginning. The crypt was the first part of the church to be built, begun in 1882 ten metres below ground. Gaudí retained its semicircular neo-Gothic plan but improved its light, ventilation and vertical connections through light wells and spiral stairs. His tomb is …