Embracing Life 生命之恩

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Sagrada Familia
Europe's most unconventional church, the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia, is an emblem of a city that likes to think of itself as individualistic. Crammed with symbolism inspired by nature and striving for originality, it is Gaudi's greatest work.





This bleak facade was completed in the late 1980s by artist Josep Maria Subirachs. A contrversial work, its sculpted figures are angular and often sinister.


The most completepart of Gaudi's church, finished in 1904, has doorways which represent Faith, Hope and Charity. Scenes of the Nativity and Christ's childhood are embellished with symbolism, such as doves representing the congregation.

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Gaudi's initial ambitions have been scaled down over the years, but the design for the completion of the building remains impressive. Still to come is the central tower, which is to be encircled by four large towers representing the Evangelists.

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Casa Mila "La Pedrera"
Gaudi put all his architectural daring into this, his most famous house. The result is a remarkable wave-like facade and a roofscape of chimneys and vents resembling abstract sculptures.






Casa Mila is Gaudi's greatest contribution to Barcelona's civic architecture, and his last work before he devoted himself entirely to the Sagrada Familia.

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Torre Agbar
A 21st-century skyscraper at Placa de les Glories Catalanes, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was designed by French architect Jean Nouvel in association with the Spanish firm b720 Arquitectos.


According to Jean Nouvel, the shape of the Torre Agbar was inspired by Montserrat,
a mountain near Barcelona, and by the shape of a geyser rising into the air.


This architecture arises from the land, yet it does not have the weight of stone. It could even be a distant echo of those old Catalonian obsessions with form, induced by the mysteries of the wind off Montserrat.


A distant mirage by day and also by night, a precise landmark at the entrance to the new Diagonal from Las Glorias Square, this unusual object will become the new symbol of the international metropolis and one of its best ambassadors.

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Edificio Y Plaza del Forum 2004
By Herzog & de Meuron
The site is located at the end of the Avenida Diagonal, where it meets the Mediterranean Coast and connects to a newly created gigantic artificial platform, spanning over the Ronda Litoral.


For a reason, they decided instead of planning the building as an independent object within an open space, they would propose a building that will generate and structure that open space.


The open public space that emerges under the triangular body is thought as a hybrid space, a mixture of several urban typologies.


A series of courtyards that cut through the elevated volume as well as the artificial platform establish multiple relations between the street level and the other levels of the building, while always permitting new angles of vision and a changing play of light.

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Parc de Diagonal Mar, Barcelona 2002
Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue's Diagonal Mar Park adds a touch of colour, dynamism and life to an urban setting in transformation.


On Barcelona's Avenue Diagonal near the sea, the park is in the middle of an area destined to contain a housing complex, commercial spaces, three hotels, administrative offices and a conference centre. The park is its pulsating, colourful, eccentric heart.


Diagonal Mar Park is divided into six areas: one dedicated to fountains, one for sports, a bar, a "magic mountain" for kids, a children's playground and a dog-walking area. Each of these areas gravitates around a large body of water that cuts the site in two, just as Avenue Diagonal cuts across Barcelona and divides the city.


The project has been applauded on a number of occasions and earned prestigious awards such as the Premios Azulejos de Espana de Arquitectura y Interiorismo.

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The main path, dotted with fountains and bizarre waterfalls, follows the shape of the lake to create a series of little plazas paved with porcelain stoneware in eight different shades of white. EMBT's project is concerned primarily with surfaces: the pavement, the walls, the finishes on the benches and fountains create a fun, playful, sunny atmosphere.


An atmosphere that encourages interaction with the city and its people: "(...) it is a large park which stretches out forwards to the adjacent avenues....Its design favours an interaction with the city", reads a text by Enric Miralles.


The main pathway links the park directly with the beach via a pedestrian bridge which becomes a series of places for strolling, cycling and skating.

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the monumental and the intimate
Barcelona is a European metropolis that through its history, climate and the customs of its inhabitants, is predestined to make use of its exterior space, according to its respective configuration, as a living urban location of its social interrelations.



Bye! Barcelona

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Exploring Italy

Italy's elongated shape means travel can take up a fair proportion of your visit. Rome, Florence, and Venice are naturally the main tourist destinations. Italy has drawn people in search of culture and romance for centuries. Few countries can compete with its Classical origins, its art, architecture, musical, and literary traditions, its scenery, or its food and wine.

ROME
From its early days as a settlement of shepherds on the Palatine hill, Rome grew to rule a vast empire stretching beyong western Europe. Later, after the fall of the Roman empire, Rome became the center of the Christian world. The lagacy of this history can be seen all over the city. The Pope, head of the Roman Catholic Church, still resides in the Vatican City, an independent enclave at the heart of Rome. In 1870 Rome became the capital of a newly unified Italy, and now has over 2.8 million inhabitants.

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Castel Sant' Angelo
This massive cylindrical fortress takes its name from the vision of the Archangel Michael, experienced by Pope Gregory the Great in the 6th century, as he led a procession across the bridge, fervently prying for the end of the plague.