Towers under Construction La Sagrada Familia
by Chuck Kuhn
Title
Towers under Construction La Sagrada Familia
Artist
Chuck Kuhn
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
PRESENT
The 19th of March 2017 was the 135th anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone of the Temple. Currently, 70% of the Basilica is finished and we are working on building the six central towers.
In 2017, construction kept up a good pace on the towers of the evangelists and the Virgin Mary, which began in December 2016, with post-tension ed stone panels pre-assembled in the Galera workshop. The towers follow the architectural model of the sacristy, which Gaudí left a plaster model of.
In 2018, works will focus on continuing construction of the towers of the evangelists and the Virgin Mary, and beginning work on the tower of Jesus Christ. Over the course of the year, the Passion façade will also be completed, executing and putting in place the final symbolic elements on the upper narthex. Also on this façade, work will begin on restoring the last of the pinnacles, on the bell tower of James the Less. Inside the Basilica, work will continue with climate control and the final flooring in the central nave.
Tower of the Virgin Mary
It is located over the apse and stands 138 metres tall, surrounding the large hyperboloid that lights the altar, drawing sunlight from outside into the presbytery. The inside of the tower will be an empty monumental space full of light.
To date, 100 panels have been put in place on the tower of the Virgin Mary. We are now on the eighth of the nineteen levels it will have when finished. With these, the tower stands at 87.5 m. It is expected to reach 102.31 m by the end of the year.
From the street, it is clear how this tower is progressing, as it is being built without exterior scaffolding. You can see the parabolic stone sections, with arrises at the corners in blueish granite evoking the mantle of the Virgin Mary. At the base of the tower, next to the text of the Ave Maria, there are relief representations of flowers associated with the Virgin, designed by the Temple sculpture workshop and carved in the stonemasons’ workshop under the supervision of Etsuro Sotoo.
Towers of the evangelists
Of the 135 metres the towers of the evangelists will reach in 2022, the one for Matthew is already 83.87 metres high; the one for John is 80.83 metres, and the ones for Mark and Luke are 86.82 metres. The four towers are now at levels two or three of the thirteen they will have.
Tower of Jesus Christ
It will be the tallest, at 172.5 metres. The shell is made up of twelve paraboloids (like the dome of the sacristy) of triangular windows, with svelte porphyry arises at the corners, representing the blood of Jesus Christ. Inside, a first space, 60 meters up, will have a stone spiral staircase with a glass enclosed lift at the center. The tower will start to grow from here and have twelve levels.
Currently, work is also under way on the final project for the pinnacles of the six central towers.
Uploaded
February 27th, 2018
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