Casa Calvet () is a building, designed by

Antoni Gaudí Antoni Gaudí i Cornet ( , ; ; 25 June 1852 – 10 June 1926) was a Catalans, Catalan architect and designer from Spain, widely known as the greatest exponent of Catalan ''Modernisme''. Gaudí's works have a style, with most located in Barc ...

for a textile manufacturer which served as both a commercial property (in the basement and on the ground floor) and a residence. It is located at Carrer de Casp 48,

Eixample The Eixample (, ) is a district of Barcelona between the old city (Ciutat Vella) and what were once surrounding small towns (Sants, Gràcia, Sant Andreu, etc.), constructed in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its population was 262,000 at ...

district of

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. It was built between 1898 and 1900. Gaudí scholars agree that this building is the most conventional of his works, partly because it had to be squeezed in between older structures and partly because it was sited in one of the most elegant sections of Barcelona. Its symmetry, balance and orderly rhythm are unusual for Gaudí's works. However, the curves and double gable at the top, the projecting oriel at the entrance — almost baroque in its drama, and isolated witty details are ''modernista'' elements. Bulging balconies alternate with smaller, shallower balconies. Mushrooms above the oriel at the center allude to the owner's favorite hobby. Columns flanking the entrance are in the form of stacked

bobbin A bobbin or spool is a spindle or cylinder, with or without flanges, on which yarn, thread, wire, tape or film is wound. Bobbins are typically found in industrial textile machinery, as well as in sewing machines, fishing reels, tape measures ...

s — an allusion to the family business of textile manufacture. Lluís Permanyer claims that "the gallery at ground level is the façade's most outstanding feature, a daring combination of wrought iron and stone in which decorative historical elements such as a cypress, an olive tree, horns of plenty, and the Catalan coat of arms can be discerned". Three sculpted heads at the top also allude to the owner: One is Sant Pere Màrtir Calvet i Carbonell (the owner's father) and two are patron saints of Vilassar, Andreu Calvet's home town. Between 1899 and 1906, the Arts Building Annual Award (Concurso annual de edificios artísticos) awarded modernist pieces, like the Casa Calvet, the Casa Lleó Morera and the Casa Trinxet.

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