House Mila

The Mila House was built by order of the Mila family, which is why the attraction has this name. The head of the family was a textile magnate and involved in politics; he went down in Spanish history. More than a million tourists come to Barcelona every year to see with their own eyes the last secular great creation of the famous architect Antoni Gaudi. In total, he implemented more than 15 projects.

History of creation

Construction of the Mila House lasted from 1906 to 1910. The customer wanted to live on the first floor with his family, and rent out the rest to tenants. This was common practice at that time. The architect created a unique building using the frame method. There are no supporting walls; the entire structure is supported by columns. The materials for the columns were stones, metal, and reinforced concrete. At the time, this was an innovative, bold decision. The amazing design made it possible to move the internal walls, changing the layout at the request of the residents.

Brief description

The façade of Casa Mila does not have sharp straight lines; its wavy outlines smoothly transform into the relief of the roof. During laying, the stones were ground down and given the desired rounded shape right on the spot. It was so unusual that even during construction the house received the offensive nickname “The Quarry” - La Pedrera.

The new house was a target for ridicule from all levels of society - from commoners to the elite. Even the customers themselves often made caustic jokes about both the appearance of the house and the architect. “Pile of scrap metal,” “iron dump,” “mole hole” are some of the most harmless names.

Antonio Gaudi is a very talented person. It was not difficult for him to change the details of the project during construction, without coordinating with anyone. His desire to do better often worked against him. At that time, city authorities already required compliance with certain rules and regulations during construction. Very significant fines were imposed for non-compliance.

The Mila family did not escape them either. One of the columns was installed 2 m further than the approved project provided, and the excess height and volume amounted to 4 thousand cubic meters. m! Mila paid a huge fine, for which they had to mortgage the house under construction. They didn't even want to pay the architect the due fee. In order to somehow improve their shaky financial situation, the Mila family decided to start renting out the house already in 1910. To do this, they needed permission from the city authorities, which was issued on the basis of signed documents on the completion of construction. Gaudi, in turn, did not sign the documents until the customers paid him the due fee. Only in 1912 did they finally settle accounts with him.

Architectural features

The roof of Casa Mila, an unusual building, is decorated with unique sculptures decorated with mosaics. In fact, these are just exits from staircases, chimneys and ventilation pipes. They say that their unearthly appearance suggested the appearance of Darth Vader and the soldiers of the Empire to the director of "Star Wars" D. Lucas.

The façade, behind its soft, rounded shapes, hides not one, but two houses. Each has its own separate entrance. The buildings are connected to each other only on the lower floor.

House Mila has an underground garage - at the beginning of the last century this was also a new solution.

In 1986, the house was bought by a banking fund. All residents were offered considerable sums to move out. Only the writer Anna Viladomiu did not receive such an offer. She is still the only occupant of the house and writes novels. Her recent work is called "The Last Resident of Pedrera."

After Casa Mila, the great architect worked on the Sagrada Familia without participating in other projects or accepting proposals.