Santa Coloma de Cervelló, Catalonia, Spain

Hyperbolic Paraboloid Windows with Trencadís Inlay at the Crypt of Colonia Güell

2059

Catalan Modernisme, 1908–1915

Interior fenestration detail from the Crypt of Colonia Güell, designed by Antoni Gaudí with the collaboration of Francesc Berenguer i Mestres and constructed 1908–1915. The windows are set into walls of rough-hewn basalt blocks, recycled brick, and iron slag that give the crypt its characteristically dark and archaic texture. Each window opening is framed by a hyperbolic paraboloid form assembled from layers of thin brick — a curved surface that is simultaneously concave and convex at different angles of view. The window frames are edged with trencadís ceramic shards. The stained glass within the teardrop or petal-shaped apertures is leaded in complex floral and abstract circular medallion patterns in jewel-toned colors. Small mosaic-embedded crosses appear in the surrounding masonry. The deep recession of the windows into the thick stone walls ensures they are always seen in relative shadow from within, intensifying the color contrast of the glass.