It is incredibly ugly
Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia will be completed in 2026
121–130 of 341 posts
Re: Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia will be completed in 2026
#122Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, the other thing is that many, perhaps most, religious people don't know very much about their religion. Very few Catholics would know the difference between a cathedral and a minor basilica, say (which is what started this thread off in the first place). Actually, I'd argue that this isn't a religious question, anyway; it's administrivia.
Is that true? I wouldn't know what a minor basilica is per se but I definitely know what a cathedral is. I'm orthodox but I think nearly all lay orthodox christians can name their own bishop and the cathedral of his seat, the definition of cathedral being kind of implicit in that administrative awareness. Maybe it's different for catholics? I'll ask some, I am curious now.
The Orthodox Church wasn’t nearly as affected by modernism as Catholicism was.
You can see it directly in church architecture. Compare Catholic Church interiors from the early 20th century and ones now. Now do the same comparison for Orthodox ones. It’s clear that the former desperately don’t want to be Catholic anymore.
Re: Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia will be completed in 2026
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is that true? I wouldn't know what a minor basilica is per se but I definitely know what a cathedral is. I'm orthodox but I think nearly all lay orthodox christians can name their own bishop and the cathedral of his seat, the definition of cathedral being kind of implicit in that administrative awareness. Maybe it's different for catholics? I'll ask some, I am curious now.
I don't think most Catholics would know what a minor basilica was, and I'd expect most to misidentify the Sagrada Familia as a cathedral. And that's before you even get into pro-cathedrals and things... 70% of Ireland is nominally Catholic, and look at the confusion over this, say: https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/2023/06/22/dublin-... Like, the church had to come out and clarify that Dublin didn't have a ca…
Yeah I'm ready to concede this, mostly based on a poll I just saw showing half of canadian catholics not knowing what transubstantiation is.
But still I think these are bad examples. If asked before this thread I would have said sagrada familia is a cathedral. But that's out of ignorance about that building, not about what a cathedral is. The dublin confusion looks similar to me: those people may know well what a cathedral is and just thought the pro-cathedral was one.
Re: Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia will be completed in 2026
#124Looking at the surrounding building of the Sagrada, just makes me wonder again, what the hell happened to modern architecture. Modern architecture has destroyed our cities. It's hard to find a building build after WO2 that's actually pretty, let alone an entire neighborhood. Nothing compared the historic cities of Europe. In a time when it's cheaper then ever to build, they've not been able to build anything even clo…
We underestimate the pressure the world has been under in the last century. In 1950, we had about 2.5 billion people. Today, we have 8 billion. We had to find accommodations for 5.5 billion people who all expected to have a greater standard of living with electricity and living space; something had to give.
We had to be more parsimonious with the materials at our disposal.
Re: Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia will be completed in 2026
#125It's amazing if you haven't gone, especially when sunlight streams in through the windows. I saw a quote while I was there that was something along the lines of, "Gaudí is not an artist with whom posthumous collaboration is possible." A couple minutes walking around the church is all that's needed to confirm that notion.
I’m not particularly religious and not Catholic, but the Sagrada Familia brought me to tears. The interior is one of the most beautiful man-made spaces I’ve ever seen.
This makes me happy as a Catholic.
Re: Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia will be completed in 2026
#126Looking at the surrounding building of the Sagrada, just makes me wonder again, what the hell happened to modern architecture. Modern architecture has destroyed our cities. It's hard to find a building build after WO2 that's actually pretty, let alone an entire neighborhood. Nothing compared the historic cities of Europe. In a time when it's cheaper then ever to build, they've not been able to build anything even clo…
Le Courbousier is what happened. He actually wanted to demolish Paris and put up a huge office park. But I love modern architecture. Try going to the Salk institute or even the Marin County Civic Center. It’s pretty mystical.
Re: Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia will be completed in 2026
#127While still a marvel in its own right, I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed when I visited.
After witnessing the architecture of both ancient and (relatively) modern Eastern/Southeastern structures, I found the Sagrada Familia lacking. It came across somewhat soulless with its bleached cavernous interior and uninspired stained glass artwork.
That came across harsher than I truly feel, but I think it's garnered some undeserved hype especially after 100 years of construction. I wonder what structures inspired Gaudi that may be lost to time, and what feelings he wanted to evoke in me that I didn't experience during my visit.
Re: Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia will be completed in 2026
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
As someone from Barcelona, I really wanna see it finished completely. Those apartments had an expiration date the moment they were built in the 60s. Everyone who bought them at a discount knew that they were going to be torn down when the temple itself was finished. I feel it's like those people that buy a house near an airport, they pay pennies for it, and then start lobbying the government for a change in air traff…
Exactly. Nimbyism at its finest: all gains are mine; all losses should be covered. It's bizarre that at the same time, real estate investors think all value increases are rightfully theirs, but they should be protected from any decrease in value. You can hardly call it 'investing' if you're protected from the downsides.
> Nimbyism at its finest: all gains are mine; all losses should be covered
Nimbyims? This is corporate capitalism at its finest. Private profits, socialized and externalized losses.
Re: Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia will be completed in 2026
#129It's amazing if you haven't gone, especially when sunlight streams in through the windows. I saw a quote while I was there that was something along the lines of, "Gaudí is not an artist with whom posthumous collaboration is possible." A couple minutes walking around the church is all that's needed to confirm that notion.
I’m not particularly religious and not Catholic, but the Sagrada Familia brought me to tears. The interior is one of the most beautiful man-made spaces I’ve ever seen.
Atheist here; I love visiting buildings like that. Sagrada Familia is truly beautiful. I like it way better than St.Peters in Rome.
Re: Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia will be completed in 2026
#130Earlier quoted context omitted.
I know the economics must somehow make sense, but it's still hard to wrap my head around the fact that even with quite literally once-unimaginable computing power, semi-magical modern materials, structural theory, decades of recorded research and testing, international standardisation, leaps in simulations, optimisation, robotics, pneumatics, hydraulics, electronics, networking, transmission, logistics and supply cha…
We can do that. But we can't make new space.
If the footprint is so expensive, you'd expect more investment in building quality, not less.