After more than a century of uncertainty, Spanish officials have definitively confirmed that celebrated architect Antoni Gaudi was behind the design of a mysterious building tucked away in a remote Catalonian forest.
The announcement Wednesday puts to rest decades of debate surrounding the Xalet del Catllaras, a three-story mountain lodge constructed for cement factory employees about 78 miles north of Barcelona. While experts had long suspected Gaudi’s involvement due to his connection with factory owner Eusebi Guell, no comprehensive study had been conducted to verify the theory.
That changed when officials commissioned Gaudi expert Galdric Santana to conduct a thorough investigation in 2023. Santana, who leads planning for 2026 commemorative events marking 100 years since Gaudi’s death, discovered definitive proof of the architect’s involvement.
“What’s most important is that it shows the new architectural approach that Gaudi had,” Santana explained.
The researcher identified distinctive structural features that only Gaudi employed during that specific period, including unique arch designs, specialized vaulting techniques, and rooms divided by walls positioned at 45-degree angles. These innovative methods wouldn’t appear in his students’ work for another decade or more, Santana noted.
Using advanced 3D analysis, historical documents, photographs, and floor plans from other Gaudi projects, Santana uncovered geometric and structural evidence that definitively linked the famous architect to the building constructed between 1901 and 1908 in La Pobla de Lillet.
Initially, Santana acknowledged the possibility that Gaudi might not have been the designer, given the structure’s isolated location and the architect’s busy schedule during those years working on major Barcelona landmarks like Park Guell and Casa Batllo.
However, the expert believes Gaudi likely didn’t oversee the actual construction, as the finished building differs from the original plans. This deviation may explain why Gaudi never publicly claimed credit for the design, following the common practice of architects refusing to sign their names to projects that strayed from their blueprints.
According to Santana, approximately ten other structures remain unverified as potential Gaudi creations.
