Spain confirms Gaudi designed remote forest building

Spanish authorities said on Wednesday renowned modernist architect Antoni Gaudi designed a building in a remote forest area of Catalonia, ending speculation over who was behind the project built in the early 20th century.

Gaudi (1852-1926) had long been linked to the Xalet del Catllaras – a three-storey mountain shelter built for workers at a cement factory 125 kilometres (78 miles) north of Barcelona – because the factory was owned by wealthy industrialist Eusebi Guell, for whom Gaudi built several projects.

But there had been no thorough technical and historical analysis to confirm Gaudi’s role until authorities commissioned an expert report from a Gaudi scholar in 2023.

“What’s most important is that it shows the new architectural approach that Gaudi had,” said Galdric Santana, the report’s author who also chairs commemorative events planned throughout 2026 to mark a century since Gaudi’s death.

Santana determined that Gaudi designed the house, built between 1901 and 1908 in the town of La Pobla de Lillet, at the midpoint of his career, because it contains structural elements used only by Gaudi at that time. They include specific types of arches, vaults and rooms separated by walls positioned at 45-degree angles.

These techniques would not be followed by his disciples until ten or fifteen years later, Santana added.

The scholar said he found geometric, structural and compositional evidence proving Gaudi’s authorship after analysing floor plans for other Gaudi buildings, using 3D techniques and examining old documents and photographs.

Before conducting the report, Santana said it was feasible to consider Gaudi might not be the designer given the building’s remoteness and the fact that he had several prominent projects underway during those years, including Barcelona’s Park Guell and Casa Batllo.

But he believes Gaudi did not supervise its construction because the completed building was modified from the original plan.

That would explain why Gaudi never publicly acknowledged designing the Xalet, he added. At the time, it was common for architects to withhold their signature from a building if the finished work deviated from the original blueprint.

Around ten other works remain unconfirmed as Gaudi designs, Santana said.