Torre Agbar - "El pene de Barcelona"

Definitely one of Barcelonas most spectacular buildings of the modern period - La Torre Agbar - also  popularly known as "el pene de Barcelona " - the penis of Barcelona because of its phallic shape.

The 38-storey tower with a total height of 144.4 m is located between Avinguda Diagonal and Carrer Badajoz, near Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, which marks the gateway to the new technological district of Barcelona.

Unfortunately the building is not publicly accessible, it's owned by the multinational group Agbar which has its corporate headquarters in the building and that takes up most of the floors.

Its design combines a number of different architectural concepts, resulting in a striking structure built with reinforced concrete, covered with a fascade of glass, and over 4,500 window openings cut out of the structural concrete. 

A defining feature of the building is its nocturnal illumination. It has 4,500 LED luminous devices that allow generation of luminous images in the façade.

Without my tripod I clamped my camera next to one of the benches of the pedestrian area in the middle of Avinguda Diagonal - to get some acceptable night shots.

By switching the towers environments into black and white with a little help of Photoshop the colours of Torre Agbar shine even brighter within the monochrome surrounding.

Barcelona's roller shutter graffiti

Most of us know Barcelona from its famous sights: La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona Cathedral, Torre Agbar, Las Ramblas, Park Güell, the hill Montjüic, ...

...but are you aware of the thousands of notable graffiti on the hundreds of thousands of Barcelona's roller shutters???

As a Barcelona shopkeeper you just have one alternative: Either you paint the roller shutter of your store yourself or some graffiti sprayer will do the job for you. But in this case you have no choice regarding the motif... ;-)

Cast a glance on my collection of roller shutter graffiti & paintings I found on the streets and back lanes of Catalonia's capital.

If you don't close your eyes in front of the small things of life when strolling through the streets of Barcelona or of your own home town, you find pretty a lot to discover at every turn!

A house of worship like no other.

Basilica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família - Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family

??? 1909 ??? --> laying of the foundation stone: March 19th, 1882

Building completion (planned): 2026 - the centenary of Antoni Gaudí's death.

No matter if you believe in God or not, irrespectively of what religion you belong to, it's really difficult to remain unimpressed by the basilica La Sagrada Familia, a church like no other on this planet.

Gaudi's original design calls for a total of eighteen spires, representing in ascending order of height the Twelve Apostles, the four Evangelists, the Virgin Mary and, tallest of all (approx. 170 m), Jesus Christ. Eight spires have been built as of 2010, corresponding to four apostles at the Nativity façade and four apostles at the Passion façade.

The Evangelists' spires will be surmounted by sculptures of their traditional symbols: a bull (st Luke), a winged man (St Matthew), an eagle (St John), and a lion (St Mark). The central spire of Jesus Christ is to be surmounted by a giant cross; the spire's total height (170 metres (560 ft)) will be one metre less than that of Montjuïc hill in Barcelona. The lower spires are surmounted by communion hosts with sheaves of wheat and chalices with bunches of grapes, representing the Eucharist.
The completion of the spires will make Sagrada Família the tallest church building in the world as well as the church with the tallest spire in the world.

Nativity Façade

Constructed between 1894 and 1930, the Nativity façade was the first façade to be completed. Dedicated to the birth of Jesus, it is decorated with scenes reminiscent of elements of life. Characteristic of Gaudí's naturalistic style, the sculptures are ornately arranged and decorated with scenes and images from nature, each a symbol in their own manner.

A photo out of the year 1928.

Nativity Façade

In contrast to the highly decorated Nativity Façade, the Passion Façade is austere, plain and simple, with ample bare stone, and is carved with harsh straight lines to resemble a skeleton if it were reduced to only bone. Dedicated to the Passion of Christ, the suffering of Jesus during his crucifixion, the façade was intended to portray the sins of man. Construction began in 1954, following the drawings and instructions left by Gaudí for future architects and sculptors. The towers were completed in 1976, and in 1987 a team of sculptors, headed by Josep Maria Subirachs, began work sculpting the various scenes and details of the façade.

interior impressions - enjoy.

The current eight spires as of June 2011, corresponding to four apostles at the Nativity façade and four apostles at the Passion façade.