The Terrades house, better known as Casa de les Punxes, is located on the current
Avenida Diagonal, 416-420, in Barcelona.
It is a modernist building designed in 1905, by the architect Josep Puig i
Cadafalch on behalf of the industrialist Bartomeu Terrades i Brotau.
Terrades asked Puig i Cadafalch to build him a unique building, since he wanted
it to be for his three daughters Rosa, Pepeta and Águeda, each one to be
independent of the others, three united buildings with independent stairs.
Puig i Cadafalch designed a building that is very reminiscent of European Gothic
architecture and, from afar, gave the impression that it was a castle.
Cadafalch created a façade in which brick, stone and wrought iron predominatedly,
finishing the building with six conical towers crowned by spiers.
The house has several decorative ceilings that were highly commented on by
society at that time, especially one dedicated to Sant Jordi, patron saint
of Catalonia, which has the legend written: "Sant Patró de Catalunya,
torneu-nos la llibertat" (Saint Patron of Catalonia, give us back our freedom).
This Catalan spirit of Josep Puig i Cadafalch and his political involvement
led him to practice, apart from being an architect, historian and mathematician,
as a politician, which led him to be named president of the
Mancomunitat of Catalonia from 1917 to 1924.
In 1975, the house was declared a National Historic Monument; in 1976, Cultural
Asset of National Interest.
In 1991, a comprehensive restoration project was carried out by architects
Francesc Xavier Asarta and Albert Pla, which lasted until 2003.
Currently, it belongs to private property.
Source: La Vanguardia, Cartas, 2022/11/04
Photos: Sara Fontana
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