Torre Agbar por Jean Nouvel: Agbar Tower by Jean Nouvel

So--this ginormous building that I hated so much in relation to its context in our studio project at Placa de les Glories, may just have something special after all...

Agbar is the water company, so it seems only appropriate that the building incorporates water into its design with the reflective windows, and the varying cold to hot colors about the exterior. Without the tour, though, we never would have known that Nouvel carried his idea through the building. This is the basement whose stairway is made of volcanic stone to represent the connection between the land and the earth's core as you go from ground level to beneath the earth's surface.

Additionally, the area that is submerged is called "hell" and the lighting shown is the ACTUAL lighting. Why you would want people to feel like they were in hell while attending a conference in the auditorium I do not know. Nouvel designed the aud by himself, wanting to be sure that the acoustics and the emotion of the space would fit its use. The walls are made of a hard material but they are masked by a metal mesh sheath set a few feet inside of the wall to give it the appearance of continuity. The chairs are comfortable enough to sit in, but not enough so that you can fall asleep...unless you are Bob--in which case the comfort is not a factor.

Through the skin by the aud to the skin of the main tower you can see the glass panels, windows, and colorful facing

The interior literally reflects the exterior...with mirrored panels placed at specific angles to reflect light deep into the spaces. Nouvel even specified the existence of colorfully painted squares on the wall to represent the square windows that let light through the colorful facade.

Upstairs, Ben checks out the views from the cafeteria

Oh Placa de les Glories...*sigh*

OK--so how rockin' is this cafeteria?? The colors and squares themes play out in every aspect of the building, right down to the furniture and decoration...the office floors are even made of magnetic squares that can be moved should they want to rearrange!

Felipe seemed pretty impressed!

Finally, we made it up to the very top of the Tower...which is pretty flippin' high. Cool views, but I think I almost enjoyed the elevator, with its changing colored ceiling light, as much as I did the destination!

We've reached the top...consider yourselves lucky that we got into the building, let alone the top floor which overlooks the company President's office floors.

Just to give you some sense of scale...this is us...on one floor of this monster...

and while I call it a monster, as I originally tried to find the reasons that this building just didn't make sense (since it doesnt match its surroundings in the least), I found it hard not to like it. The explanations seemed valid enough for the building itself. I guess I don't mind Torre Agbar so much, as long as I'm on the inside.

:)

El camino hacia la capella: Walk toward the chapel

It is said that a woman appeared on a few separate occasions at a cave in the side of the mountain below the monastery. We headed down the 2nd funicular and took the pilgrimage to the chapel which encloses that spot, stopping along the way to see sculptures by famous artists and architects.

Tom and Bob walking up the path

Awesome against the sky

The wooden rail and line in the path

OH NO! Bob got squished by a boulder!

The cave inside the chapel

Sagrado Corazon-thinking of my SHA girls

Christi and Professor Vidal

That's our Montserrat

Subir la montana: To climb the mountain

BRACE YOURSELVES

Gisela and Billy are clearly ready for the funicular ride uphill

Yeah--this little uphill trolley-car could go crashing down a long way... and we'd still be at the top of the mountain where the monastery is!

Welcome to paradise

There are "Bishop's Bellies" and "Elephants" and all sorts of wonderful things here.

Need we mention that ability to connect to nature at the top of strangely-shaped mountains in the noon sun with the wind blowing through you?

Pictures can never do it justice...theres just SO MUCH MORE

Bob, Tom, Ben, and Billy have found a peak that they can share

There's an entirely separate trail with more peaks and a hermitage to be discovered, if only we had all the time in the world...

...times like these make it almost feel like we do

Monestir de Montserrat: Monastery of Montserrat

Hard to imagine people coming up into these mountains, but easy to understand why they stayed, this is the church, service, and private tour by one of the monks of the Church, chapel, and the Black Madonna.

Church facade meets the building that encloses the entry courtyard

The entry-courtyard...very Michelangelo

A main hall on the upper floor of the monastery overlooking the courtyard

How gorgeous is this church?!!!!!! There is almost too much for the eyes to take in

This shot was taken from the side of the church looking through the arcade to the opposite arcade.

I believe this is an early Gaudi chapel. It is located at the rear of the Basilica and is named for the Moreneta, the Black Madonna sculpture (whose rear is above the arch in the photo). She is a point of pilgrimage to Montserrat, along with the Holy Grotto where Virgin Mary is said to have appeared.

Looking back into the chapel from the hall

Ridiculous detailing! The left part is the arch of a doorway carved out of stone, and the right is a painting.

World-Reknowned Montserrat Boys' Choir

(they were amazing!)

Ceiling detail of the Astrologic Signs in one of the main gathering halls of the monastery

The upper level of the monastery complex

CUArch + Christi...where was Bri?

Yea-it's incredible...AND...cue lunchtime at the top of the mountain!

Habia una vez...: Once upon a time...

There was a very early morning meeting time for the Barca kids at Placa Espanya...

Brian got sick and had to turn back, but the others forged onward, determined not to fall asleep on the hour-long train ride to Montserrat.

Finally the students arrived, though the hour of sleep could never have made up for the sleep lost this semester in studio, clubs, and apartment gatherings.

Suddenly, it was like the students were magically turned into paparazzi...what could have been the cause??

Montserrat, of course. A mountain in Catalunya which attracts tons of people each year on pilgrimages not only for religious purposes, but for the natural beauty that is this mountainous region.

While most students rejoiced, Gisela was not so sure about our next mode of transportation...hanging just isn't her thing.

Victoria on the other hand was able to flash a smile to take the students out of paparazzi-mode long enough to grab a snack and a gondola to the top.

Sean looked back over the 5-minute journey and wondered how he would ever make it back down.

It is easy to see why monks and hermits and the Virgin Mary would want to chill here.

Bob contemplates becoming a hermit

Until we get distracted from plans for the holy-life by some Catalan-pride, hanging regally on one of the rounded edges of the mountain.

This is a fairytale.

...At least that's the way we'll describe it so you aren't too jealous...