The design by Gaudi was not followed in some aspects. The local government objected to some aspects of the project, fined the owners for many infractions of regulations, ordered the demolition of aspects exceeding the height standard for the city, and refused to approve the installation of a huge sculpture atop the building—described as "the Virgin"—but said by Gijs Van Hensbergen in his biography of Gaudi, to represent the primeval earth goddess, Gaia. [1]
Casa Mila was in poor condition in the early 1980s. It had been painted a dreary brown and many of its interior color schemes had been abandoned or allowed to deteriorate, but it has been restored and many of the original colors revived.
The building is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Works of Antoni Gaudí". The building is owned by Caixa Catalunya.
Casa Milà Rooftop in Spring
Architecture
Casa Milà was a predecessor of some buildings with a similar biomorphic appearance:
- the 1921 Einstein Tower in Potsdam, designed by Erich Mendelsohn
- Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
- Chapelle Notre Dame du Haut, Ronchamp, France, designed by Le Corbusier
- the Hundertwasserhaus and other works by Austrian architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser
- Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, by Frank Gehry
Free exhibitions often are held on the first floor, which also provides some opportunity to see the interior design. There is a charge for entrance to the apartments and roof.
Casa Milà in the media and literature
- A scene in Professione: reporter, a film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, was filmed on the roof of the building.
- Mentioned in the book by Eoin Colfer: Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony
Several scenes in the movie, Gaudi Afternoon, were filmed at Casa Mila.
Catenary arches under the terrace of Casa Milà
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