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Torre Bellesguard or Casa Figueras (1900-1909)

In the township of Sant Gervasi de Cassoles (now a district of Barcelona), the widow of Jaume Figueras [hence the alternative name for the building] commissioned Gaudí to renovate the Torre Bellesguard (1900–1909).

 This strange building was erected on the ruins of the former summer palace of King Martin I the Humane and breaks completely with Gaudí’s typical aesthetics, as he used neo-Gothic elements whilst including his modernist style.  Gaudí designed it this way, in an attempt to respect the former building as much as possible, and tried as always to integrate the architecture into the natural surroundings.

The house imitates an imposing castle with ‘an unyielding ground plan’.  The building's ground-plan measures 15 x 15 meters, with the corners oriented to the four cardinal points. Constructed in local slate, stone and brick, it is taller than it is wide, with a spire topped with the four-armed cross, the Catalan flag and the royal crown. The house has a basement, ground floor, first floor and an attic, with a gable roof.   It has elongated windows and incorporates the original battlements.

The name Bellesguard (beautiful view, in English) refers to the fantastic view from the house, as the work is at the foot of mount Tibidabo, a unique location.

Depending on the angle at which you look at the terrace roof of the Torre Bellesguard, it is said you can see a dragon there, - another Gaudi dragon.

The building‘s administrators indicate they think

‘it is Gaudí’s most historic and personal work and that in it is reflected his unmistakable patriotism for although the building is constructed with stone and bricks, in the great tower that crowns the whole work and which bears the four-branched cross the four red and yellow bars of the Catalan flag, the señera, can be seen as an architectural tribute to the medieval past of Catalonia.’