| Commissioned
by Eusebi Güell, Gaudí built two pavilions
at the entry to the industrialist’s estate in Les
Corts, a neighborhood in the northern part of the city.
They are two auxiliary buildings, one destined as a stable
and tack room, and the other as an entryway and home for
the concierge. Between the two, a spectacular wrought
iron door was placed, made in 1885 in the locksmith workshop
Vallet i Piqué of Barcelona; it has a figure of
a dragon, the perpetual guardian of the property.
Gaudí designed the structure of the pavilions
from parabolic vaults and arches, using brick as the
basic building material and applying, in some parts
and for the first time, ceramic trencadís, the
systematic practice of covering exteriors with a layer
made from broken tiles that are adapted to curved surfaces.
The two pavilions evoke the exotic aesthetic present
in other of the architect’s buildings from the
same period, as well as the predominance of straight
lines over curves.
In 1924, with the opening of Avinguda Diagonal, the
land was divided again, and the other two doors for
entering the property also lost their function.
In 1956, the University of Barcelona acquired the pavilions
and the garden surrounding them. Since 1977, the Reial
Càtedra Gaudí has been housed here, belonging
to the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and
dedicated to the study and documentation of the work
of the architect.
Cultural Item of National Interest since 1969.
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