Barcelona hosts international scientific congress on Antoni Gaudí

The Gaudí International Congress began Thursday in Barcelona and will examine the architect's legacy, vision and influence through Sunday. 

It brings together more than 40 original scholarly papers from many disciplines, presented by experts, researchers and professionals from around the world. The papers come from contributors in Europe, Asia and the Americas, with nearly 30% from outside Spain.

The congress is part of the ‘Gaudí Year,’ a series of events marking the anniversary of the death of the architect behind masterpieces such as the Sagrada Família basilica and Casa Batlló. He lived from 1852 to 1926. 

The program has three themes. The first, ‘Design, Technique and Conservation,’ covers the construction and materials of Gaudí's work. The second, ’History, Theory and Documentation,’ looks at the historical and documentary context around the architect. While the third, ‘Communication, Values and Contemporary Projection,’ examines how his work is communicated, its symbolic value and its impact today.

Diverse disciplines

Galdric Santana, curator of the ‘Gaudí Year,’ said the disciplines at the congress "are very broad." They include medicine, the history of medicine, physiology, cranial symmetry, materials science, art history, architectural history, geometry and acoustics. 

Santana said one of the congress's achievements is that it has brought together, "harmoniously, and with great compatibility," an established scientific community focused on the visionary figure dubbed ‘God’s architect.’

At the opening ceremony, Catalan Culture Minister Sònia Hernández said the forum "opens up new avenues of research and new fields of study" on Gaudí, and that collaboration among institutions, experts and the cultural sector "is key to the success of a commemoration of this nature."

The congress will also produce a volume of proceedings, published by the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), and a second volume of selected papers in an indexed series from the international publisher Springer. 

Santana welcomed that the initiative will yield "a volume of proceedings containing new, highly valuable material."