Casa Milà, a.k.a. La Pedrera, Barcelona (1906 – 1912)
When Pere Milà contacted architect Antoni Gaudi about building an apartment building above his ground-floor home along the high-status Passeig de Gràcia, he knew Gaudi was going to break the conventions of traditional architecture. Antoni Gaudi designed Casa Milà, commonly known as La Pedrera or “stone quarry” to break free from the classical Beaux Arts and other classically-inspired designs popular at the time, using few straight lines and favoring curves and waves. The building ignores conventional architecture, resulting in mockery and compared to a zeppelin garage. The building continuously courted scandal and controversy. Gaudi ignored local building codes, conflicting with the City Council about the built volume, a pillar extending into the public right-of-way, and maximum height. It was to be Gaudi’s last residential work. In the end, Gaudi’s work, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, remained intact, and it is still a residential and office space.
