Casa Terradas (Casa de les Punxes) Eixample, Barcelona. Commissioned 1903–05. Josep Puig i Cadafalch. Heritage monument.
Introduction
At the acute angle formed by Avinguda Diagonal, Carrer Rosselló, and Carrer Bruc in Barcelona’s Eixample stands Casa Terradas, universally known as Casa de les Punxes—“house of the spikes.” Its urban presence is unmistakable: six conical towers capped by spike-like finials give it a fortified silhouette that dominates the surrounding grid. Yet its architectural logic is far more than decorative. It asserts itself as an emblem of Modernisme, medieval revival, Catalan identity, and technical innovation—a building as storied in symbolism as in structure.
This article dissects its origins, design, ornament, restoration, and current function.
Patronage and Purpose
In 1903, Bartomeu Terradas i Mont, prominent textile industrialist, tasked Josep Puig i Cadafalch with unifying three adjacent family houses—each designated for a daughter: Àngela, Rosa, and Josefa—into a single coherent structure on a triangular lot. This challenge required both spatial ingenuity and symbolic finesse: the result was a singular facade anatomically divided yet visually unified, evoking medieval citadels and addressing the urban geometry with compositional authority.
Architecture and Structural Innovation
Completion and Site
Built circa 1905, Casa de les Punxes defied the rigidity of Cerdà’s Eixample. Its triangular base required adaptive volumetry: Puig i Cadafalch grouped façades into six cylindrical towers (punxes), forging a strong vertical rhythm that softens the acute lot’s constraints.
Structural Rationality
Departing from traditional masonry, Puig i Cadafalch employed cast-iron columns and beams at ground level, enabling open, flexible interiors suited for commercial purposes. On the rooftop, tensioned metal rods suspend the floor slabs (forjados), redistributing loads to ceramic perimeter walls—an astute solution marrying solidity with economy.
Materials include exposed brickwork, carved stone balconies and tribunes, glazed ceramic cupolas, forged iron balconies, and textured stained glass—making the building materially layered and stylistically distinct.
Ornament, Symbolism, Artisan Contributions
Spike Towers (Les Punxes)
The six towers define the building’s nomenclature and silhouette. Their design crosses Gothic revival and local medievalist expression, emblematic yet structurally significant.
Catalan Emblems
Central to the facade is a large ceramic panel depicting Sant Jordi slaying the dragon, accompanied by the inscription “Sant Patró de Catalunya, torneu-nos la llibertat”. Clear evidence of political identity embedded in architecture.
Personal Iconography
The Terradas sisters each receive visual recognition: an angel for Àngela, a rose wreath for Rosa, and a heraldic device for Josefa. Supplemental decorations—pomegranates, daisies, apples, clovers, mythic forms—extend the narrative into allegory and natural symbolism.
Artisan Collaborations
- Enric Monserdà executed much of the facade’s sculptural ornamentation, including ceramic panels and furniture.
- Alfons Juyol i Bach contributed figurative architectural decoration.
- Vidrieria Amigó i Cia provided intricate, textured leaded stained-glass panels at the entry featuring vegetal motifs.
- Manuel Ballarín i Lancuentra forged iron fixtures.
Heritage Recognition and Restoration
In 1975 (some sources cite 1976), the Catalan government declared Casa de les Punxes a National Historic Monument, later catalogued as a Bé Cultural d’Interès Nacional. Legal protection acknowledged its architectural, historic, and cultural significance.
Between 1991 and 2003, a full restoration was commissioned by La Caixa and Colonial. Architects Francesc Xavier Asarta and Albert Pla led the work, which revived original spaces, clean-lined surfaces, and structural clarity. In 2004, the project received the Urban Land Institute Europe Award for Excellence, recognized as a benchmark in heritage intervention.
Public Access, Transformation, and Current Use
In August 2016, one of the three residential units opened as a museum dedicated to Puig i Cadafalch, Modernisme, and the building itself. Visitors accessed the restored ground floor, noble floor, and rooftop, where the punxes’ form and views over Diagonal and the Eixample offered rare spatial clarity.
The museum closed in 2020. Since then, Casa de les Punxes has operated as a coworking and events venue, managed by Cloudworks. Public access is now limited and conditioned on private or corporate engagements.
Visual and Photographic Reflection
The building’s formal language—vertical towers against the Eixample grid, textural interplay of brick and ceramics, emblematic sculpture, and iron filigree—makes it a prime subject. Consider these photographic approaches:
Frontal composition, capturing the towers and facade compartments, juxtaposed against Diagonal’s orthogonality.
- Detail shots of ceramic panels—Sant Jordi and sisters’ motifs—highlight layered symbolism.
- Ironwork close-ups, especially stained glass and balconies—evidence of artisanal depth.
- Roof terrace panorama, framing the punxes in skyline context, especially at golden hour.
Significance in Catalan Modernisme and Architectural History
Casa de les Punxes occupies a crucial position in Catalan architectural evolution. Its medieval revivalist vocabulary and emblematic symbolism are tempered by industrial technology and structural clarity. Some scholars view it as the final expression of Modernisme, before Noucentisme’s turn toward classical restraint. Its layered meanings—modern structure, medieval reference, Catalan identity—render it a building of multi-temporal resonance.
Casa Terradas / Casa de les Punxes is not merely a building but a compact narrative. One of the most evocative symbols of this beautiful city!
