The doors of La Pedrera

Antoni Gaudí designed the apartments in Casa Milà with an open floor plan, emphasising light and ventilation, and envisioned the doors as both functional and ornamental elements.

The wrought iron entrance doors

The most visible doors of La Pedrera are its wrought iron and glass entrance doors. Inspired by nature, Gaudí created a set of irregular forms: smaller, more protected panes of glass at the bottom and larger, brighter ones at the top. This is where functionality meets aesthetics.

The grand door has three sections: the tallest central section, used for car entry, and two lateral sections for pedestrian use.

The apartment doors of La Pedrera

Gaudí demonstrated his mastery of woodwork in the spectacular door to the main apartment of La Pedrera. This large walnut surface, sculpted in relief, features Gaudí’s signature undulations, rhythms, curves and ellipses.

Innovatively, Gaudí incorporated wrought iron peepholes into the apartment doors, which served as both ornamental elements and allowed direct communication without opening the door and providing a place to leave post. Inside the apartments, the luxurious character was enhanced with various ornamental details such as handles and mouldings.

One stand-out interior door design features sliding glass doors separating the dining room from the living room. Gaudí’s solution consisted of three components: a central section with a door and two upper windows, foldable to either side and two lateral sections capable of housing the central door and sliding into the wall to disappear completely.

Some apartment doors included translucent glass, while others did not. Gaudí designed this variation to separate intimate spaces, such as bathrooms, bedrooms or studies, from open areas while still permitting light to pass through translucent glass where appropriate.

Bibliography
FERRER, David: Gaudí. Barcelona: Santa & Cole, ETSAB, Edicions UPC, 2002.