Beyond the architect renowned for his monumental works, there exists a more intimate Gaudí: the child who looked at the world with curiosity. This text focuses on his childhood, the period before construction, exploring how the landscape of Camp de Tarragona influenced his understanding of space.
Gaudí's childhood, marked by the countryside, stone, light, and the proximity of the sea, could have been the origin of his unique vision. This closeness to the land shaped his perception, going beyond mere contemplation to incorporate a physical and bodily understanding of the environment.
A significant experience was climbing the bell tower of the Prioral de Sant Pere in Reus with his father. The narrow staircase, the changing air, and the descending light created a sense of emergent space, a physical presence of the void that marked his way of feeling and, subsequently, of understanding architecture.
This lesson in architecture before architecture, with the surrounding wall, the accompanying void, and the guiding light, became integrated into his sensibility. The ascent became a form of learning from within, a way of perceiving forms through the body.
Gaudí's sensitivity was formed in a specific environment. In Camp de Tarragona, nature, though not exuberant, presented persistent forms: the leathery leaves of the olive tree, the horizontal branches of the carob trees, the twisted trunks of the pines, and the dry stone walls. This language of organic forms responded to an internal logic.
The landscape of Reus and the family farmhouse in Riudoms, between the city and nature, established a duality that would be reflected in his work. Gaudí's father, a coppersmith, imparted a direct intuition for volume and form, teaching him that matter transforms.
Mediterranean light was another decisive element. Gaudí considered it fundamental to architecture, a way of structuring space. In Camp de Tarragona, this light permeated the landscape, modulated by the sea's proximity, turning the territory into a visual system where the landscape became language, interpreting the laws of nature.
The city of Tarragona, with its stratified history and walls, added a layer of time to this formation. This entire set of childhood experiences was fundamental to how Gaudí understood and conceived space, underpinning all his subsequent architectural work.
