Casa Enric Ribalta
This gem is the work of Jeroni F. Granell Manresa and was concluded in 1903. Thankfully it was restored to its former glory in the late 80s and won many prizes at the time. The upper floor is raised differently, with three sinuous profile windows and a curvy cornice. The green floral theme on the top floor sgraffito is just stunning.
Casa Batlló
Casa Ignasi Coll Portabella
Casa Ignasi Coll Portabella (1905) by architect Josep Graner Prat. It is considered eclectic in style (typical of the Catalonian Modernist movement). However, baroque elements seem to dominate its design. It is located on the corner of Rocafort and Gran Via, in Eixample.
Casa Dolors Alesan de Gibert
Casa Dolors Alesan de Gilbert (1902) embrace the first two floors and form the balconies for the third. The stone railings are richly sculpted. The gallery-like upper floor features eight openings, leading to four semicircular balconies. This Modernist beauty is the work of Enric Fatjó Torras and can be found on Passeig de Sant Joan, 110.
Carrer de Milans
Carrer Milans is a circular/pentadecagonal street in the Gothic Quarter. It tells a story of how, at the beginning of the 19th century, the old city walls were removed to give way to the old city center’s expansion. In this case, Francesc Daniel Molina, the royal architect at the time, got quite creative and opened up this little street.
Casa Comalat
The architect Salvador Valeri i Pupurull worked on Casa Comalat from 1906 to 1911. It has two distinct façades, this post focuses on the Carrer de Corsega façade. This “back façade” is surmounted by a turret in the shape of a harlequin’s hat clad in glazed green ceramics. The irregular wooden galleries give the façade a special movement, and the ceramic tiles lend splashes of color. The parabolic arches over the doors on the ground floor give the building its Gaudiesque feel, resembling bones/skeletal structures.
Casa Josep Sabadell
Each floor has a different design and showcases the windows/doors in different ways. Ceramics and sgraffito are used to bring life into the overall design. The central polygonal grandstand “applied” onto an exposed brick arch, which carries the images of Saint James and the Virgin of Montserrat. Designed by Josep Masdeu Puigdemasa on Avinguda Meridiana, 99-101.
Casa Antonia Serra i Mas
Casa Antònia Serra is one of Poblenou’s Noucentist gems. Originally built in 1926 and designed by one of the most important architects of the time, Ramon Puig Gairalt, it exudes charm and uniqueness. Located in an angular corner, it projects its image from far away. It has many typical ornamental elements of Noucentism (a departure from Modernism, a Catalan cultural movement of the early 20th century that originated largely as a reaction against Modernism).
Casa Vicens
Casa Vicens combines exposed brick, stone, and polychrome ceramics, and uses wrought iron on railings that are so unique! The standouts are, however, ceramics. Particularly the ones representing the marigold. Joan Bergós was his collaborator in executing the ceramics vision.
Teatre Lliure
This impressive “Noucentist” complex with Florentine influences was designed by Josep Maria Ribas i Casas and Manuel Maria Mayol i Ferrer. It was one of the largest architectural complexes at the 1929 Barcelona World’s Fair. The beautiful sculptural work was done by Frederic Marès and the murals by Darius Vilàs.
Casa Fuster
Built in 1908, Casa Fuster is situated right on Passeig de Gràcia. It was commissioned as a gift from its benefactor (Marià Fuster) to his wife, and at the time was considered to be the most expensive home in Barcelona. It is considered by experts to be an exercise in expressive contention. The main material used was white marble. Casa Fuster features robust columns with red stone base, floral ornaments and trilobed windows. Both of its facades are built around a rostrum in the shape of a tower that rises to the top of the building. Casa Fuster is topped with curious garrets in the French style, an unusual feature in Catalan Modernista architecture.
Casa de la Premsa
It was built for the 1929 World Fair and was intended to house the accredited press to cover the event. The hard-to-pinpoint-a-style construction was designed by Pere Domènech Roura, the son of modernist master Domènech i Muntaner. Of the hodgepodge of styles used in the construction, the most recognizable are the Neo-Mudéjar elements of the main façade along with Neo-Gothic and Neo-Romanesque elements throughout.
