Casa Batlló reopens its doors with the prominent presence of Kriskadecor

Published on 13-05-2021     |     News and releases

After a long remodelling period, Casa Batlló reopens its doors to present Casa Batlló 10D Experience, the new one hundred percent immersive visit, which is ground-breaking and unique worldwide. An additional 2,000 m2 of never-seen-before itinerary provides a long list of novelties. The new vertical communication nucleus designed by Kengo Kuma stands out among them.

Just like Casa Batlló is a tribute to the light of the Mediterranean, the Kengo Kuma & associates project is an homage to Gaudí's use of light in this modernist building. In the Japanese architect’s own words, "it travels from the rooftop’s bright sky to the dark depths of the coal bunkers." His intervention speaks of it, but in an abstract way, free from the colours of the house, its materials, and its historical dimension.

164,000 meters of Kriskadecor chain adorn the atrium, the new staircase that connects the eight floors and the coal bunkers. According to Kengo Kuma, “we have imagined this space dressed in aluminium link curtains, which with their meticulous materiality catch the light, as if they were fishing nets, and show it to us in all its forms: brightness, silhouettes, shadows... This way, by omitting the use of any other materials, and erasing the presence of this blind box and its staircase using these chains, we are able to speak of light and light only”.

The lighter shades of aluminium are found at the beginning of the course, on the roof, and little by little they darken until they reach the black hues that dress the space of the old coal bunkers in the basement. With that gradation of light, which replicates the use of colour in the courtyard, a story that accompanies us throughout the journey is spun without words. We start from the roof to end up in the cellars; from the heavens down to earth, from light to shadow... and all this explained only through light, as if it were the house’s own grammar.

The project also posed the challenge of finding a sound neutralising solution. To this end, the development and innovation department of the Montblanc company created innovative acoustic panels that cover the ceiling above the chains and successfully counteract the noise.

Below you can check what has been published in different media:

Articles:

• Kengo Kuma designs sculptural metal-mesh curtain for Gaudí's Casa Batlló, Dezeen.
• Kengo Kuma installs shimmering chain-clad staircase inside gaudí's Casa Batlló, DesignBoom.
• Kriskadecor and Kengo Kuma for Casa Batlló, Archiproducts.
• Kengo Kuma adds chain clad staircase to Gaudí’s Casa Batlló, Archello. 
• Intervención en la Casa Batlló de Barcelona, Arquitectura Viva.
• By the grace of Gaudí: the reinvention of Barcelona’s Casa Batlló, Financial Times.  
• Más tecnología y flores eléctricas comestibles para reabrir la Casa Batlló, El País.

Videos:

• Casa Batlló 10D EXPERIENCE, Casa Batlló.
• Casa Batlló reobre amb una immersió al món de Gaudí a través d'una experiència en 10D, TV3
• La Casa Batlló presenta '10D Experience', un viatge multisensorial a través de la Intel ligència Artificial, la Realitat Augmentada i el Machine Learning, El Periódico.
• La Casa Batlló presenta '10D Experience', un viatge immersiu a la ment de Gaudí, Time Out Barcelona.

Photos courtesy of Casa Batlló.