New VR experience takes visitors inside Gaudí's workshop

As a tribute to the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, described as "one of the key figures of universal art and culture," Barcelona Cathedral is hosting the virtual reality experience "Gaudí: The Workshop of the Divine" as part of the Gaudí Year, marking the centenary of his death.

The production, by the Barcelona-based digital art company Landscapes, creators of the MIRA Music and Audiovisual Research Festival, and by Stromboli, a Barcelona-based production company, premieres on Thursday, February 26 and invites visitors to step into Gaudí's world during the final days of his life. 

The experience allows the audience to walk around the atelier where Gaudí used to work and to take on the role of his assistants, continuing the work he was doing before his death, explains Oriol Pastor Creus, director of Landscapes. 

Although many people may not know it, Gaudí had strong connections to the cathedral and the Gothic Quarter. He used to come to the cathedral to pray and was inspired by Gothic architecture, an influence he later incorporated into the construction of the Sagrada Família, Pastor says.

The project features a film created by French documentary producers GEDEON Experiences, French immersive media studio Small Creative, France's national film centre CNC, and the Japanese public broadcaster NHK. 

The film immerses the audience in Gaudí's universe through a virtual journey that not only places visitors inside the master's workshop, but also allows them to move freely around the space.

"I could watch this film six or seven times, and each time I would discover new things," Pastor says.

"It is a free-moving experience. Virtual reality changes how you see things, making it possible for the audience to go back in time and live in the past," says Agnès Garaudel, CEO of GEDEON Experiences.

According to Pastor, what makes the experience unique is that it offers insight into how some of Gaudí’s most famous buildings were actually built, including Casa Batlló, La Pedrera and the Sagrada Família.

From archive photos to virtual reality

The project has taken more than three years to complete. It began when GEDEON Experiences found between ten and fifteen photographs of Gaudí's workshop, Garaudel explains. 

The team wanted to show this space to the public in an engaging way, to help audiences better understand how Gaudí worked in his early days.

The historical accuracy of the experience has been ensured through extensive collaboration with scientists and historians, and through careful study of historical documents and photographs, Garaudel says. 

The original workshop was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War, and the only remaining traces of it are these images.

Another key aspect of the experience is its accessibility. Garaudel stresses that it has been designed for audiences of all ages and to be accessible to people with physical disabilities. 

'Gaudí: The Workshop of the Divine' premieres on Thursday, February 26 with screenings every 30 minutes from 10 am to 7 pm.