Inside Antoni Gaudí's most private building

BarcelonaIt's Gaudí's least touristy building: the Teresian convent in Barcelona's Sarrià district remains a place of retreat. "It's very austere, but very beautiful," says Asun, a nun from the congregation of Saint Teresa of Jesus who has lived there most of her life, since her school days as a boarder. For Asun, the convent, which appears in every Gaudí monograph, is simply "home." She says this with pride as she welcomes about fifty journalists covering the presentation of the Gaudí Year's program. And what a home it is, with the famous succession of narrow parabolic arches on the first floor and the surprising addition of two small forests of columns at either end.

The Teresian convent dates back to the late 1880s. Gaudí took over the project after the foundations of a previous design had already been laid. As Asun mentioned, austerity was a requirement, reflecting the congregation's vow of poverty, so Gaudí used humble materials, specifically bricks and crushed stone. However, he ensured that natural light flooded every corner of the building, thanks to courtyards and a gallery reminiscent of a cloister. Even on gloomy days like this, the interiors are bathed in abundant light.

In the upper part of Barcelona are located Gaudí's lesser-known buildings. Besides the convent, there are the pavilions of the Güell estate, built just before the convent, famous for the gigantic dragon on the entrance fence. Of the two buildings, the gatekeeper's house is accessible, following restoration work carried out by the University of Barcelona with the support of the Barcelona City Council. Restoration of the dragon is scheduled to begin this autumn, thanks to a grant from the World Monuments Fund (WMF). There is no date yet for the restoration of the other pavilion, which served as stables. The simplicity of the interior is striking in contrast to the exotic yet historicist feel of the façades and domes, which were pioneering in Gaudí's work in their use of quoins. The third of these buildings is the Bellesguard tower (1900-1909)Built on the site of the former residence of Martin the Humane, beneath the arcades of the attic, it is impossible not to think of a thread that connects the three buildings and how Gaudí drew upon his historical knowledge.

Against the legends surrounding Gaudí

This latest presentation of the Gaudí Year was held at the UPC School of Architecture, which has housed the Gaudí Chair since the mid-1950s. "In its origins, the chair's main mission was the study and cataloging of the valuable academic archive material preserved at this school.7 The impetus given by the master builders of that era, which hosted the first architecture studies in the Lonja," recalls Elena Fernández Salas, Vice-Rector for Architecture and Sustainable Development at the UPC. "The fact that this date was close to the centenary of Antoni Gaudí's birth, coupled with the growing international prominence of his figure, which led to the first exhibition of an architect at MoMA at that time, explains why the center adopted the name Gaudí Chair," she says. Thus, the research and academic and scientific dissemination of Gaudí's work, as well as the safeguarding of his buildings, became one of the chair's main missions, and it now faces new challenges.

"Just as the Gaudí Chair was necessary in 1956 to counteract the effect of the architect's detractors, this chair remains more necessary today than ever. Circumstances have changed, but not necessarily for the better. The artistic interpretation of the architect's work and the man himself has been geared exclusively towards its conversion into a tourist attraction and a commodity for cultural consumption," says Fernández, who emphasizes that the entity's mission continues to be "to study, understand, disseminate, and preserve the figure of Antoni Gaudí, reaffirming the profoundly scientific nature of his work and dismantling some of the

In the field of academic activities, some of the highlights will be, how it was made public in October 2025An international scientific congress will be held at La Pedrera from October 22nd to 25th, and a scientific journal dedicated to the architect will be launched. "We know who Gaudí is, but we don't really know him, so new contributions still need to be made one hundred years after his death," says Galdric Santana, curator of the Gaudí Year. For Santana, Gaudí was a pioneer of sustainable architecture and the circular economy. "If we used the cistern and water collection system that Gaudí proposed, we would take advantage of the heavy rains we're experiencing these days and avoid the intermittent droughts we suffer," says Santana. Also during Wednesday's event, Mediapro Xperiences presented a preview of the immersive exhibition about the monumental fountain project in Plaça Catalunya that Gaudí designed in 1877 during his student years. It will be on display during the last quarter of the year in a space of more than 1,000 m².² which they haven't made public. The monumental fountain project stemmed from a dispute Gaudí had with his professors, because they failed him for having finished a previous exercise at home. Students were required to complete the exercises in class so the professors could see that no one was helping them. Gaudí designed the fountain as a kind of make-up exam, demonstrating that he could complete a project in just one or two days. The panel praised him, but gave him a "good" instead of an "excellent" because of his previous actions. Thus, with the title of Gaudí CodeThe public will be able to discover the fountain's volume for the first time using 3D glasses. "It's like entering a cathedral of water," says Santana. "Building it would be a game-changer and would improve Plaça Catalunya." The events on Wednesday concluded at Casa Batlló, which is planning a groundbreaking botanical study of the building and a musical theater production inspired by the architect's childhood.

A concert by Jordi Savall at the Bellesguard Tower

As announced in October, the Gaudí Year program will include four major exhibitions, two of which will be the Santana exhibition at the Museum of the History of Catalonia in the autumn, which will also travel to Korea and Japan, and the Mediapro Xperiences exhibition. The Catalan government has also announced some thirty other activities. on its cultural agendaThese include an exhibition of Gaudí's original works at the Reus Museum (until March 31) and the blessing and inauguration of the Tower of Jesus Christ at the Sagrada Familia in June. The program also includes more exhibitions in Catalonia and the four cities outside Catalonia where Gaudí buildings are located: Palma, León, Astorga, and Comillas. Among the Catalan exhibitions are... The cradle of modern architecture in Catalonia (1872-1962), in the historic building of the University of Barcelona (from April 3 to December 31), and The Sagrada Familia and Barcelona, ​​144 years of shared journeyThe exhibition, which will be held at the Palau Robert from April 27 to July 31, will be based on a shared chronology between the basilica and the city that has witnessed its growth over several generations. Later, on June 10, the renovated Gaudí Centre immersive space in Reus will open its doors; Jordi Savall will give a concert at the Torre de Bellesguard in September; and, starting October 1, the MNAC will present a collection of previously unseen works by Gaudí from the Barcelona City Council's storage facilities, following a prior search and conservation and restoration work. The exhibition will also include a selection of works recently acquired by the museum, which allow for reflections and analogies with Gaudí's work. Furthermore, in the field of conservation, Casa Vicens will inaugurate the restored smoking room on November 16, which will recover its original blue color. The Gaudí Year is one of the official commemorations of the Generalitat of Catalonia for 2026, and the Department of Culture is allocating €6.5 million to it. The event has also been declared an Event of Special Public Interest (EEIP) by the Spanish Ministry of Culture, meaning that private companies wishing to collaborate will receive tax benefits, with the aim of fostering public-private partnerships. The EEIP Gaudí 2026 is managed by the Polytechnic University of Catalonia BarcelonaTech (UPC).