HAPPY 161 Antoni Gaudi!!

Ya gotta love the Google doodles.  We've all seen them (whether we realize it or not).  They are the different ways the word "Google" shows up on Google's main page at google.com.  Sometimes the word Google turns into a game that can help you kill time at work.  Some the doodle is an animation that moves when you click, and sometimes it turns into a musical instrument allowing you to compose your own symphony while you have you morning coffee and check out the latest headlines.

Today, June 25, 2013, Google is celebrating Antoni Gaudi's 161st birthday with a special architectural homage to a man who revolutionized design for generations to come.  On top of that, my favorite architect, Santiago Calatrava, has said that Gaudi is one of his biggest influences and inspirations (which makes sense because they're both from Spain).  Here's the doodle:

Antoni Gaudi (25 June 1852 - 10 June 1926) is a Spanish born architect from the Catalonia region of Spain.  He is considered the father of Catalan Modernism architecture.  Gaudi is most noted for his radical design of Sagrada Familia which is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, Spain.  Here is an image of the church (which is not technically a cathedral because it is not the seat of a bishop):

The project was started in 1882 and Gaudi joined the project in 1883 when he decided to transform the plans to a blend of gothic and curvilinear art noveau styles.  The strange thing is that upon Gaudi's death in 1926, the building was less than 1/4 complete.  In 2010, the church was officially half way done and construction has made intermittent progress mostly relying on private donations.  The church's estimated completion date is 2026 - 100 years after Gaudi's death at age 73.

Talk about a passion project.  How long does it take for you to get bored with a project?  Image spending your entire life on a project and only seeing it 25% completed when you die.  Here are a couple more images of this amazing building:

I imagine the above photo is an HDR photo which means the colors may have been enhanced for visual effect (I'll do a blog about HDR soon), however the stained glass windows surrounding the inside pavilion may allow various colors to pour in on church-goers.  See how this building stands head and shoulders above anything around it:

Wikipedia Specs:

Specifications
Capacity	9,000
Length	90 m (300 ft)[2]
Width	60 m (200 ft)[2]
Width (nave)	45 m (150 ft)[2]
Spire(s)	18 (8 already built)
Spire height	170 m (560 ft) (planned)

I don't know where they're going to build an additional 10 spires on this thing, but there is no lack of imagination.  Here are a couple other unique works of the amazing architect Antoni Gaudi:

Casa Mila

Casa Batllo

Be inspired!