Sagrada Família Schools

Historia

The Sagrada Família Schools building was constructed in 1909 by the modern Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí near the site of the Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Sagrada Família. It was a small school building for the children of the workers building the Sagrada Familia although other children of the neighborhood attended, especially from the underprivileged classes.The building has a rectangular footprint of 10m by 20m, and contains three classrooms, a hall, and a chapel, with lavatories in an addition to the building. The construction was done with a brick facade, in three overlapping layers, following the Catalan technical tradition. Both the walls and the roof have a wavy form, that gives the structure a sensation of lightness but, at the same time, great strength. On the exterior three areas intended as open-air classrooms were covered with iron pergolas.The building has been seen as an example of constructive genius and has served as a source of inspiration for many architects for its simplicity, stamina, original volume, functionality, and geometrical purity. Its undulating form has been applied by architects like Le Corbusier, Pier Luigi Nervi, Felix Candela, and Santiago Calatrava.HistoryThe building was designed on the commission of the Devout of San José which was presided over by Josep Maria Bocabella, founder of the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia. Its principal promoter was Gil Parés, the first parish priest of the Sagrada Familia, who was the school's principal until 1930. At first he followed the pedagogic method of Andrés Manjón, founder of the school of Ave Maria de Granada, but from 1915 on he applied the Montessori method.