Casa Batlló Barcelona building restoration photos, Antoni Gaudi architecture refurb, 20th Century Catalan architect

Casa Batlló Barcelona Building Restoration

19 June 2025

Hidden for 100 years: Casa Batlló in Barcelona reveals the restoration of back façade and courtyard of Gaudí’s legendary building

Façade before restoration and after restoration:

photographs [left] (© David Cardelús) and [right] (© Claudia Mauriño)

• This remarkable rediscovery reveals Casa Batlló’s back façade and private courtyard exactly as Gaudí envisioned them following the completion of the property in 1906.

• Following a meticulous study, a €3.5 million investment, and a year-long intervention, local master artisans in ironwork, glass, wood, and ceramics— working alongside architects and historians—brought the restoration to life.

• The work has restored the façade’s original wood, iron, and stucco hues, reinstated lost courtyard features such as the pergola and planters, and rebuilt and discovered for the first time Gaudí’s innovative vaulted balcony support system.

picture © Casa Batlló

Address: Passeig de Gracia, 43, L’Eixample, 08007 Barcelona, Spain

photo © Anibal Trejo

Casa Batlló Barcelona Building Restoration News

More than a century later, Gaudí’s best-kept secret is finally being unveiled: Casa Batlló has completed one of its most ambitious undertakings—the full restoration of its 1906 back façade and private courtyard on the Noble Floor—bringing to light the original design Gaudí conceived for the Batlló family.

photo © Casa Batlló

Since 1915, the back façade’s colors had shifted and courtyard features—like its planters and pergola had disappeared. Whilst there was some limited restoration work in the 1950s and 1990s, this marks the first truly comprehensive restoration.

photograph © Berta Hache

After exhaustive planning, restoration work proceeded in parallel on-site at Casa Batlló and in specialist artisan workshops, where centuries-old techniques were preserved and adapted to contemporary standards—foregrounding craftsmanship as a living heritage and entrusting named experts to carry on Gaudí’s legacy.

photo © Berta Hache

On the Back Façade

The stucco and glass-and-ceramic trencadís on the side walls and cornice were restored. The wrought-iron railings, wooden windows and balcony doors, and the mosaic pavement were recovered on the balconies, reinforcing the structure, which was in a very deteriorated state.

photo © Arxiu Mas-Fundació Institut Amatller d’Art Hispanic

In the Private Courtyard

Elements lost over time have been reproduced, such as the planters beside the ventilation courtyards and a heather pergola shaped like a parabola, originally located in the centre of the courtyard. The pavement was faithfully replicated with 85,000 Nolla mosaic pieces, respecting original techniques. Iron railings and doors, as well as the courtyard walls including stucco and glass-and-ceramic trencadís, were also restored.

photograph © Casa Batlló

A Collaborative Project Full of Surprising Discoveries

Like past restorations, this project revealed unexpected marvels—most strikingly a previously unseen, spiral-shaped structure of mixed brick and iron, a newly discovered vaulted system supporting the balconies, a groundbreaking innovation for its time.

image © Casa Batlló

Investment in Restoration, 2024 Results & Visitor Numbers

Since 2019, Casa Batlló has committed over €25 million to heritage restoration and conservation, undertaking an ambitious program of interventions underpinned by its robust financial performance. In parallel, the institution has emerged as one of Europe’s foremost cultural landmarks, distinguished by its unwavering dedication to museological innovation.

In 2024 alone, the institution reported revenues in excess of €65 million and a net profit of €34 million, achievements underpinned by both a marked increase in visitor attendance and the diversification of its cultural programming. The largest allocation, totaling €4.5 million, was directed towards restorative works on the façade, courtyard, and third floor.
www.casabatllo.es/en/about-us/

Trencadís restoration process:

photograph © Casa Batlló

Casa Batlló Barcelona building restoration images / information received 190625

Previously on e-architect:

20 November 2024
Quayola Casa Batlló façade mapping

image : Claudia Maurino
Casa Batllo: Gaudi building

Casa Batlló Barcelona building facade:

image courtesy of architects practice

www.casabatllo.es/en/about-us/

photograph © Adrian Welch

Casa Batlló

Location: Passeig de Gracia, Eixample, Barcelona, north east Spain

Dates built: 1904-06

Design: Antoni Gaudí Architect

Casa Batllo in Eixample by Antoni Gaudi

Architect Antoni Gaudí, was assisted on this house remodelling project by Domènec Sugrañes i Gras, Josep Canaleta and Joan Rubió.

Address: Passeig de Gràcia, 43, 08007 Barcelona, Spain

Phone: +34 932 16 03 06

Location: Passeig de Gracia, Barcelona, Catalunya, Northeast Spain, southwestern Europe.

Casa Batlló Context

A ‘sister building’ to Casa Battlo is just to the north:

Casa Mila – The Quarry / Casa Milà – La Pedrera, Passeig de Gracia, Eixample
Date built: 1910
Design: Antoni Gaudí Architect

photo © Adrian Welch
Casa Mila Barcelona