The Palau Baró de Quadras is a small modernista palace located in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern 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 ...

Avinguda Diagonal Avinguda Diagonal (, in Spanish Avenida Diagonal) is the name of one of Barcelona's broadest and most important avenues. It cuts the city in two, diagonally with respect to the grid pattern of the surrounding streets, hence the name. It was ori ...

, equidistant from

La Pedrera La Pedrera or Pedrera (Spanish, 'quarry') may refer to: Places * La Pedrera, Amazonas, Colombia **La Pedrera Airport * La Pedrera, Gijón, Asturias, Spain * La Pedrera, Rocha, Uruguay * La Pedrera, Rivera, Uruguay * Pedrera, Seville Pedrera is ...

and

Casa de les Punxes The Casa de les Punxes or Casa Terradas is a building designed by the Modernista architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch. Located in the intersection between the streets of Rosselló, Bruc and the Avinguda Diagonal in the Barcelona Eixample area. ...

. It was built by the Catalan architect

Josep Puig i Cadafalch Josep Puig i Cadafalch (; Mataró, 17 October 1867 – Barcelona, 21 December 1956) was a Catalan '' Modernista'' architect who designed many significant buildings in Barcelona, and a politician who had a significant role in the development of ...

between 1904 and 1906. In 1976 it was designated as Nacional National Historical Monument of Artistic Interest. Currently houses the main offices of the

Institut Ramon Llull The Institut Ramon Llull (English: Ramon Llull Institute) is a consortium consisting of the Generalitat de Catalunya, (Catalan Government), the Govern de les Illes Balears (Government of the Balearic Islands) and the Ajuntament de Barcelona (Barc ...

The building

Starting with a thorough renovation of an existing building on a narrow plot of land that faced Carrer Rosselló, Puig i Cadafalch created this small Modernista building, now with two facades, Diagonal and Rosselló. The palace is situated in the ''Quadrat d'or,'' where the most important Modernista buildings can be found including

Casa Milà Casa Milà (, ), popularly known as ''La Pedrera'' (, ; "the stone quarry") in reference to its unconventional rough-hewn appearance, is a '' Modernista'' building in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was the last private residence designed by arc ...

– La Pedrera,

Casa Batlló () is a building in the center of Barcelona. It was designed by Antoni Gaudí, and is considered one of his masterpieces. A remodel of a previously built house, it was redesigned in 1904 by Gaudí and has been refurbished several times after th ...

and

Casa Calvet Casa Calvet () is a building, designed by Antoni Gaudí 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 district of Bar ...

Antoni Gaudí Antoni Gaudí i Cornet (; ; 25 June 1852 – 10 June 1926) was a Catalan architect from Spain known as the greatest exponent of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works have a highly individualized, '' sui generis'' style. Most are located in Barc ...

Casa Amatller Casa Amatller () is a building in the Modernisme style in Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain, designed by renowned Catalan architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch. Along with Casa Batlló and Casa Lleó-Morera, it makes up the three most important buildings i ...

and

created by Josep Puig i Cadafalch or

Casa Lleó Morera The Casa Lleó Morera () is a building designed by noted modernisme architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, located at Passeig de Gràcia 35 in the Eixample district of Barcelona. In 1902 Francesca Morera assigned Lluís Domènech i Montaner to re ...

designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner. The Avinguda Diagonal façade has one of the most impressive Gothic revival balconies seen in Modernista architecture. The artisans Alfons Juyol and Eusebi Arnau used carved stone for their design. The rear façade, facing Carrer Rosselló, has floral motifs extending horizontally and vertically along the three balconies and down the four floors. The building has an entryway characterized by an elaborate decoration of the stairway, a glasswork on the skylight and a Roman mosaic flooring. Its central position provides the axis around which the stairwell and layout of the first floor revolve. The iron grillwork on the ground floor doors, facing both Avinguda Diagonal and Carrer Rosselló, were forged by master ironworker Manuel Ballarín i Lancuentra. The large rooms facing Avinguda Diagonal are the most public spaces in the building and meant for receiving visitors. They feature Moorish-style stone arches with colorful ceramic floral motifs and Gothic sculptural elements. The spaces that face Carrer Rosselló were designed for family use, with more detailed floral stucco relief work gracing the walls. Bold Ionic columns covered with floral and plant motifs, in the English Arts and Crafts style, face the fireplace, the symbol of home life. It's important to see the extraordinary woodwork of the coffered ceilings and the hardwood flooring with various geometric designs. PiC_Baro_Quadras_interior_6380

Restorations

The Palau was restored in 1980 to house the

Music Museum of Barcelona Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...

. In 2001 this Museum was moved to the Auditori. Between 2003 and 2013, the building served as the official headquarters of Casa Àsia, located now in a Modernista pavilion of the

Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau The former Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau (, en, Hospital of the Holy Cross and Saint Paul) in the neighborhood of El Guinardó, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, is a complex built between 1901 and 1930. It is one of the most prominent works o ...

. The building currently houses the main offices of the

, a public consortium that comprises the

Generalitat de Catalunya The Generalitat de Catalunya (; oc, label=Aranese, Generalitat de Catalonha; es, Generalidad de Cataluña), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia politically organizes its self-government. It is formed ...

(Government of Catalonia), Balearic Islands Government and the Barcelona City Council, with a mission to promote the Catalan language and culture abroad. The last restoration was in 2015. The architect Àngel Gil and restorers of cultural assets Anna González and Josep Pasqual made the first phase of preventative restoration and conservation of the architectural and ornamental features of the entrance to the Palau Baró de Quadras. The restorers made interventions on elements of stone, mosaics, tiles, sgraffiti and ceiling coffering, and another series of actions on the wrought iron railings, the wooden door in Carrer de Rosselló and the bronze lamps.

Gallery

File:Josep.Puig.i.Calafalch.Palau.del.Baro.Back.Barcelona.jpg, Rear façade, Roselló street. File:Josep.Puig.i.Calafalch.Palau.del.Baro.Detail.3.Barcelona.jpg, Sant Jordi with the dragon, by Eusebi Arnau. File:Josep.Puig.i.Calafalch.Palau.del.Baro.Detail.5.Barcelona.jpg, Sculptures on the main facade. File:Josep.Puig.i.Calafalch.Palau.del.Baro.Detail.1.Barcelona.jpg, The Mansard roof. File:PiC Baro Quadras interior 6394.jpg, Detail of the entrance's floor mosaic. File:Palau del Baró de Quadras (Barcelona) - 14.jpg, Diagonal room's columns. File:044 Palau del Baró de Quadras.jpg, Foyer details. File:021 Palau del Baró de Quadras.jpg, Floral arrangements on the wall. File:Palacio del Barón de Quadras, chimenea.jpg, Rosselló room's chimney. File:PiC Baro Quadras interior 6339.jpg, Rosselló room's columns. File:Casa Asia.jpg, Patio with columns and stone fountain. File:PiC Baro Quadras interior 6333.jpg, Wood ceiling and vegetable motifs on the walls of Rosselló room. File:Palau del Baró de Quadras (Barcelona) - 20.jpg, Detail of the stained glass window.

The building

Restorations

Gallery

References

See also