Grove English Communication Ⅲ
LESSON 17
The Sagrada Familia: A Spiritual Wonder
There is an unfinished church attracting three million people a year in Barcelona, Spain. The Sagrada Familia is a very impressive church, and perhaps one of the most astonishing constructions on the planet. You will be overwhelmed by its unique exterior with cone-shaped towers soaring up into the sky.
Believe it or not, the church has been under construction for over 140 years. Once completed, it will feature 18 towers dedicated to religious figures. The tallest of them, the Tower of Jesus Christ, which will rise 172.5 meters, will be the tallest religious building in Europe.
The interior is also truly magnificent in its designs and colors. Tree-like columns twist their way up to the ceiling, branching out and reaching upward, making you feel as if you were in an enormous forest. Light pours in from brightly colored stained-glass windows, giving the impression of the sun’s rays coming in through the branches and leaves.
Construction started back in 1882, and the following year, Antoni Gaudi, a 31-year-old architect, took over the project. But construction made slow progress. “My client,” he said, meaning God, “is not in a hurry.” What mattered to him was how the church would reflect his vision of a spiritual wonder.
Gaudi often said, “Nothing is art if it does not come from nature.” He viewed the natural world, created by God, as perfect. He avoided straight lines and right angles because they rarely occur in nature.
Unlike most architects, Gaudi drew only a few blueprints for his structural plans. He made plaster models to express his plans, using clay, rock, rope, and paper. Unfortunately, Gaudi died suddenly in a tram accident in 1926, when the construction was only 25 percent complete. Moreover, many of the models Gaudi had left were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War, so his successors had to restore his plans with the remaining photographs of the models.
Then, in 2001, Gaudi’s project suddenly found a helping hand in 3D printers. The devices have made it possible to reproduce Gaudi’s plaster models more easily. Modern construction technology has also been introduced. The project once seemed to be never-ending, but today it is estimated to be completed in the 2030s, much earlier than expected.
Many people in Spain and around the world are looking forward to the completion of the Sagrada Familia. Now, about 200 architects and craftspeople, including Etsuro Sotoo, a Japanese stone sculptor, are engaged in the realization of Gaudi’s faith and vision.