Lluís-Eduard Pellerin house
In just a few years, Sagnier’s architecture evolved from graceful Modernisme with reminiscences of Rococo and a few neo-Gothic details toward a sober Classicism, but without escaping from the orbit of French influence, where it seems he felt so at home. This building is an example of the new tendency, with an abundant use of mansards covered in slate, domes marking the prominent corners, sculptural ornament reduced to a minimum and present only around the openings, etc. The compositional resources therefore make themselves more evident, resources such as breaking the monotony of surfaces with vertical bands that create a more attractive rhythm in a building that lacks the focus of attention supplied in other apartment blocks by first floors that receive special emphasis. This house (which was extended laterally at an unknown date) was nominated for the municipal architecture prize not only because of its sumptuous exterior (sumptuous more in appearance than in reality, since the facade is of coloured brickwork rather than natural stone), but also because it incorporated the latest advances to ensure the comfort of its residents, such as a lift, central heating and running water. For buildings of this category, Sagnier was an assiduous user of floorings in hydraulic tiles, which he himself as well as many other Modernista architects and decorators designed for the leading manufacturers of the day.
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date
1912-1915
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location
Barcelona
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address
Balmes, 170-170 bis / Diagonal 490-500