Sagrada Família

Gaudí’s Masterpiece: The Final Chapter

For more than 140 years, Catalonians have watched the Sagrada Família take shape over Barcelona. Now finally completed, on the centenary of Gaudí’s death, its silhouette is already well known across the world.

Antoni Gaudí left behind plans and fragments of plaster models, leaving generations of architects and engineers to decipher and complete the monumental vision, all while keeping a working construction site open to millions of visitors every year.

We will be hearing from one of the key engineers responsible for completing the cathedral, as well as a world-renowned architectural historian, to discuss the building of this iconic landmark and the immense responsibility of its conclusion.  

Against an ever-evolving backdrop of design and faith, the building of the basilica has helped to forge the identity of Catalonia. Join us for a remarkable story of structural ingenuity, unfinished vision and the discipline of building for a future you may never see.

ABOUT OUR SPEAKERs

Dr. Josep Maria Garcia-Fuentes

Josep is an architect and architectural scholar whose work spans teaching, research, and professional practice across Europe. He is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at Newcastle University, a Fellow at the London School of Economics’ Catalan Observatory, and a Visiting Professor at the Politecnico di Milano in Italy.

His research explores the connections between architecture, the idea of nature, ecology and the environment, and experimental approaches to preservation.

Alongside his academic career, Josep Maria is an active practitioner. He co-founded the architectural office BMBR-OE with Marco Chiodi, an office aimed at bridging theoretical research and applied professional practice at the intersection of contemporary cultural, environmental, and ideological challenges.

Steve McKechnie

Steve is an award-winning structural engineer and Structural Engineering Discipline Leader for Arup London, leading multidisciplinary and structural engineering design teams for projects in London and across the world.

He studied Engineering Science at the University of Exeter and has spent close to four decades designing buildings of remarkable range and ambition — from Heathrow’s Terminal 5 to 8 Bishopsgate and The Scalpel in the City of London. He is currently leading the design of retrofits at The Acre in Covent Garden and Park Tower Hotel in Knightsbridge, as well as work at the Basilica of La Sagrada Família in Barcelona, completing Gaudí’s astonishing design using prestressed stone masonry.

Our talks are open to the public and professionals alike.
The event takes place at Arnolfini, Bristol, BS1 4QA