Lamp Post by Falques, Avinguda Gaudi, Barcelona

There was a time when this modernist lamp post along with other three, were part of an imaginary geometric figure on a square at the intersection of Avinguda Diagonal and Passeig de Gracia known as Cinc D'Oros (Five of Gold in a deck of Spanish cards). Although the decision to make the square dates back to 1907, meant to honor Pi i Maragall, president of the Republic, it wasn't till 1915 that the place was fully conditioned.

First there were only the stones and a round space in the middle. The lamp posts, later fixed on the stones, were made in 1909 by architect Pere Falqués, the same artist that created the famous 31 lamps integrated on benches along Passeig de Gracia. Maybe it was by that time that the curious name after the five of gold card appeared cause they looked so from above.

In 1934 the monument was officially inaugurated with a sculpture by Viladomat in the middle. Such sculpture devoted to the Republic was later replaced by an obelisk and a lady representing Victory (1940), in this case of General Franco, by sculptor Frederic Marès.

The four lamp posts and the statue once unmounted were stored in a municipal warehouse at carrer Wellington. The sculpture dedicated to the Republic was placed at Llucmajor square in Nou Barris quarter in 1990 and the lamps, well, now you know where they are. All four of them can be admired along Avinguda Gaudi which goes from Sant Pau Hospital (at my back in the picture) to Sagrada Familia cathedral in the background. I hope you like the black and white option.

How Artificial Intelligence is Transforming Barcelona

Barcelona is a city that embraces innovation and creativity, and artificial intelligence (AI) is no exception. In recent years, Barcelona has become a hub for AI research and development, attracting talent, investment and projects from all over the world.

One of the reasons why Barcelona is such a hotbed for AI is because of its strong academic and research institutions. The city is home to two of the top universities in Spain: the Universitat de Barcelona and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. These universities have strong programs in computer science, mathematics, and engineering, which are all essential for AI research.

In addition to its academic institutions, Barcelona is also home to a number of AI startups. These startups are developing a variety of AI-powered products and services, including healthcare applications, financial services applications, and marketing applications.

Barcelona is also a popular destination for AI talent from around the world. The city is known for its relaxed lifestyle, its Mediterranean climate, and its vibrant culture. These factors make Barcelona an attractive place to live and work for AI professionals.

In this blog post, I will explore some of the ways in which AI is transforming Barcelona, from improving public services and urban mobility, to fostering ethical and inclusive use of data and algorithms.

AI for public services and urban mobility

One of the main goals of Barcelona's digital strategy is to use AI to improve public services and urban mobility, making the city more efficient, sustainable and responsive to citizens' needs. For example, Barcelona is using AI to optimize waste management, traffic control, public transport, energy consumption and air quality. Some of the projects that illustrate this are:

- Nennisiwok Artificial Intelligence Lab, a company that develops AI solutions for smart cities, such as a system that uses computer vision and deep learning to detect and classify waste in real time, helping to reduce littering and increase recycling rates.

- Microsoft's R&D hub in Spain, focused on applying AI models to improve user experience on the web. The hub is located in Barcelona and is part of Microsoft's WebXT division, which contributes to the development of multiple products, including Windows, Azure and Bing.

- LOGISTAR, a European project that uses AI to optimize the European supply chain, reducing costs, emissions and congestion. The project involves several partners from Spain, including the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (IIIA-CSIC), which is based in Barcelona and conducts basic research in AI.

AI for ethics and inclusion

Another key aspect of Barcelona's digital strategy is to promote the ethical and inclusive use of AI, ensuring that data and algorithms respect citizens' digital rights and do not discriminate or harm anyone. To achieve this, Barcelona has developed several initiatives, such as:

- The Municipal strategy on algorithms and data to ethically drive artificial intelligence, a government measure that lays down the mechanisms for applying AI to municipal management and services while respecting citizens' digital rights. The measure includes principles such as transparency, accountability, privacy, security, diversity and non-discrimination.

- The Decidim platform, an open source software that enables participatory democracy and collective intelligence. The platform uses AI to analyze and cluster citizens' proposals, comments and votes, facilitating deliberation and decision making.

- The WeNet project, a European project that aims to create a platform for social networking based on diversity-aware AI. The project involves several partners from Spain, including IIIA-CSIC, which leads the research on diversity-aware machine learning.

AI for creativity and culture

Finally, Barcelona is also using AI to foster creativity and culture, enhancing the city's artistic and cultural heritage with innovative technologies. Some of the examples of this are:

- Play & Sing, a project that uses AI to help people with brain injuries recover their musical abilities. The project is led by IIIA-CSIC in collaboration with Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau.

- Gutenberg y ChatGPT, a project that uses AI to generate interactive stories based on classic literature. The project is developed by IIIA-CSIC in collaboration with Universitat Pompeu Fabra.

- Numerales, a project that uses AI to create numerical art based on mathematical concepts. The project is developed by IIIA-CSIC in collaboration with Escola Massana.

Artificial Intelligence is transforming Barcelona in many ways, making it a smarter, more sustainable, more democratic and more creative city. Barcelona is committed to being at the forefront of AI innovation, while ensuring that it serves the common good and respects human dignity.

As AI continues to grow, Barcelona is well-positioned to become a global leader in the field. The city has all of the ingredients necessary for success: strong academic institutions, a vibrant startup scene, and a talented workforce.

Palau Baro de Quadras - Ramon Llull Institute's Brand New Headquarters

Built between 1904 and 1906, Palau Baro de Quadras, is a beautiful sample of Catalan modernisme. This palace was designed by architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch for Baro de Quadras (baron of Quadras). The building's main entrance is at Avinguda Diagonal 373, where you can appreciate a very elaborate façade of European Gothic influence blended with Neo-Plateresque style.

From across the street you seem to be standing before a Renaissance Italian palazzo rich in lattice work. Worth mentioning are the gargoyles and floral adornments on this side of the palace. On carrer Roselló there is a backdoor entrance. That side, features a Modernista style with some hints of the Wiener Sezession school (Vienna Art Nouveau or Jugendstil).

This emblematic place was known till last October as Casa Asia, which is a public cultural institution devoted to the promotion of projects to strengthen relationships with that continent and that is going to inaugurate its new premises inside Hospital de Sant Pau's modernist complex. For those who don't know, the old Art Nouveau buildings there have been restored and will be used for other services.

Palau Baro de Quadras has been donated by the City Town Hall to Ramon Llull Institute. As part of their mutual collaboration, the City Council will integrate in the institute's consortium with the intention of participating in the international promotion of Barcelona and Catalonia.

Institut Ramon Llull is a public body created to foster Catalan language studies at international universities and to promote Catalan cultural production in all artistic areas.

But let's return to our palace. Notice in the image above, the stairway to the upper floor. Upon entering through either the main gate or the backdoor, you arrive to this place which has a small fountain to the right over a beautiful mosaic floor. Besides the profuse adornments surrounding the stairs, you really ought to see the stained glass ceiling that is slightly shown in the upper part of the photo. Some other day I will show you the gallery in the second floor and other details of this wonderful building so well preserved.

I hope you enjoyed yet another Barcelona photo here at Barcelona Photoblog. Perhaps you want to check this previous post about Palau Baro de Quadras.

But to know a place you need to see it for yourself and not just an image. Take a look at this very short video with slides that show the whole palace.

Rainy Day at Hotel Casa Fuster

Hotel Casa Fuster in Barcelona, works night and day, come rain or shine, to guarantee more than just the simple satisfaction of its clients. No wonder it is a 5 star, Grand Luxe Monument, member of the Leading Hotels of the World. In spite of that, the weather does not help sometimes, and employees have to make an extra effort to make guests feel at home. The picture is taken with a cellphone. 

Casa Fuster was finished in 1911 by architect Lluis Domenech i Montaner, whose works also include, Hospital de Sant Pau and Palau de la Música. This door, was the entrance to the carriages in the house of Mr. Mariano Fuster i Fuster, an illustrious businessman from Mallorca, who gave this house as a wedding present to his wife

Kids Improvising Slide

There are many kinds of parks, some of them include a playground for kids that allows parents to "have a break". But as you see in today's picture playgrounds are not good enough to match the fantasy of an improvising kid. 

The park is just three blocks away from Sagrada Familia or Hospital de Sant Pau, at the intersection of carrer Industria with carrer Marina and of course there is a playground.

See Picture of Park with Kids Improvising Slide on a Google Earth Map

Catalan Modernisme: Palau del Baró de Quadras

Built in 1904 by Josep Puig i Cadafalch, the palace has a front façade combining Gothic and Plateresque, and a rear façade facing carrer Roselló which is a block of flats.

Notice in the picture the abundance of gargoyles and floral adornments or the beautiful lamps in the Arabic-style interior. One of the details I find most interesting to admire is the ironwork of the front door.  

Palau Baró de Quadras used to be known as Casa Asia, a public institution promoting different projects in common with Asian countries now located in Hospital de Sant Pau.

Now the Palau holds Institut Ramon Llull which is a public Catalan institution.

See Palau del Baró de Quadras Picture on a Google Earth Map

Stained Glass: Mare de Déu de Montserrat Church

While celebrating my daughter's First Communion I took some pictures of the stained glass work at Mare de Déu de Montserrat Church near Hospital de Sant Pau. It is a small building and not different from many others but I have always liked religious art. My father used to take me to churches when I was a child not to pray, but to admire the beauty of the place. So I guess cathedrals, altars, organs or stained glass remind me of both my childhood and my father.

See Mare de Déu de Montserrat Church Stained Glass Picture on a Google Earth Map

Grand Luxury Hotel Casa Fuster Modernist Landmark of Barcelona

Hotel Casa Fuster by architect Domenech i Montaner - picture by Carlos Lorenzo

Do you want to discover one of the top modernist landmarks in Barcelona? Come visit with me the Grand Luxury Hotel Casa Fuster, member of the prestigious Leading Hotels of the World group, a jewel of Catalan Art Nouveau architecture.

History

Hotel Casa Fuster started being just a casa modernista but it was not any odd house indeed. This beauty was built by the matchless architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner who was commissioned by Don Mariano Fuster i Fuster, illustrious member of the Mallorcan high society apropos of his marriage to Miss Consuelo Fabra i Puig, daughter of the Marquis of Alella.

In fact, Fuster wanted to give this house to his wife as a wedding present and there were no limits for expenses. He put the house under his wife's name and dedicated a rose window to her, on the facade of Jesus Street where you can read her initials CF.

Domenech's work was the first house in Barcelona built with white marble and cost 13 million pesetas, a fortune that made it the most expensive in the city at that time, one year before La Pedrera by Gaudi, which is about 400 meters away down Passeig de Gracia.

Those were times in which houses talked a lot about the class of their owners. The history of this famous street is that of the war of egos among the powerful elite of wealthy businessmen and nobles on each side of the road. Can you imagine this magnificent white marble five story building, shining on top of the hill at the end of Passeig de Gracia? 1,920 square meters of property on the premises of an old chocolate factory demolished in 1905 stating clearly that it was second to none.

Corner of Hotel Casa Fuster facing Gran de Gracia street

 
The works began in 1908 and ended in 1911, the year in which the family entered to live on the noble floor, that is, the first one. The rest of the floors were for rent. This was very common in Barcelona. It really helped covering the ostentatious expenses.

What is today the main entrance of the hotel was the access for carriages that used to go through till the opposite side, a back alley in which there is a church. On the other hand, what we know at present as Café Vienés was the family events room in which there was a staircase to go up to the private floor of the family.

In the early twenties the family had to sell the house. It was impossible to keep such pace, not even by renting the upper floors. Nevertheless the flats remained for rent long after the owners left.

Over the years, businesses such as a barber shop and a grocery store were prosperous in the area of Cafe Vienes famous for its jazz concerts nowadays every Thursday from 9 to 11 pm. Another part of the building, what at present is the Sala Doménech i Montaner in the underground floor used to be a very popular dance hall in the middle of the 50s known as "The Blue Danube". It was a place of reunion for the different social strata in the city.

Famous Cafe Vienes in Hotel Casa Fuster

But that is not all. The house changed from hand to hand several times according to the historical ups and downs of the city so it was not strange to see the consulate of Hitler's Germany or the Italian Institute during Mussolini's dictatorship occupying one of the floors. Although not all was that fascist in its records! The same floor was taken by the POUM (Workers Party of Marxist Unification) to establish their headquarters in 1936. Also the Defense Committee of the Revolution by the Iberian Communist Youth was organized here. In 1939, once Republicans lost the civil war, Franco's Falange settled in the house and also their official Social Assistance institutions.

By the way, this was the house of the famous Catalan poet Salvador Espriu for 30 years! It is said that he did not want to abandon the premises until a leg injury impaired him and made it impossible for him to climb the stairs. 

In 1962 the company ENHER (the Ribagorzana Hydroelectric Company) bought the house for 11 million pesetas. The intention was to tear down Casa Fuster and start a more functional high rise building called Barcelona Tower. There was a tremendous campaign to defend this urban heritage, led by important personalities and publications such as Oriol Bohigas and Destino magazine.

As a result of the general protests ENHER, not only did not demolish the house, but promised to make a restoration of the building.

The Hotel

In 1999 "Casa Fuster" was on sale and in the year 2000 it was bought by Hoteles Center.

It is now the property of a group of companies called GRUPO NOGA (the initials of the name and surnames of the owner). The group's headquarters are in Granada, where the company opened its first hotel in 1992. There are others in Cordoba, Badajoz, Seville and Valencia.

Opened in 2004, Hotel Casa Fuster started attracting foreign and local clients alike. It was a privilege to sleep in such beautiful landmark not only because of the architecture but because of the history. This well deserved fame made it part of the most expensive hotels in the village. You may easily spend here more than 1000 euros per room although the standard ones are about 255 EUR (+VAT). Of its 105 rooms, only 67 are standard bedrooms. The rest are superior rooms, junior suites and suites. The company also owns Suite Center Barcelona apartments in Passeig de Gracia 128, some steps away from the entrance.

Hotel Casa Fuster Front Façade on Passeig de Gracia 132

 
The list of famous guests is countless but as you know a hotel like this strictly protects the privacy of its clients. You'd better Google them up.

Not only you can sleep in an enormous King size bed with a view of Sagrada Familia but you can enjoy the popular terrace from where Passeig de Gracia is all in front of your eyes right until Plaça Catalunya, 10 blocks away.

The hotel has eleven meeting rooms, a gym, a sauna and a massage room. There is the Galaxó Restaurant on the first floor which has an average price of 60 euros and has a menu called 'modernist' for 40 euros. Besides being a place to stay and find solace, Hotel Casa Fuster is much more. It is the central spot for all sort of events and activities, such as weddings, anniversaries, baptisms, bachelor parties, business meetings, congresses, cocktails, spots, movies...you name it.

Guests are pampered by hotel staff from the doormen till the last employee and that is perhaps what makes it so unique on top of the architecture and history.

The Architect

Lluís Domènech i Montaner was a prolific architect. His professional life began in 1874 with the pantheon project for Anselm Clavé, in Poblenou's cemetery in Barcelona, and ended in 1919 with Casa Domènech in Canet de Mar.

During forty-five years he produced more than seventeen buildings among other projects, of which 46% corresponds to housing, 25% to public architecture, 16% to funeral architecture, 6% to monuments, 4% to religious architecture and 3 % to industrial architecture.

Doménech i Montaner, also known for Hospital de Sant Pau and Palau de la Musica, which he build in parallel to Casa Fuster was a modernist architect of international renown and a professor of architecture. In fact, Gaudi was Montaner's pupil in the school of architecture.

His style may look more sober than Gaudi's but it is by no means less solid as he was the father sort to say, of Catalan modernisme.

Check the images above and admire the impressive facades of Casa Fuster, in which the architect avoids the straight lines as much as possible with the intention of creating movement while highlighting representative ornaments of nature like flowers, plants and birds. Remember that Doménech i Montaner was also a botanist! This man was a genius overshadowed by the Messi of architecture, Antonio Gaudi.