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Sagrada Familia: Completing Gaudi鈥檚 vision

How architects carried on building Barcelona's famous church, La Sagrada Familia, after designer, Antoni Gaudi, died.

When visionary architect Antoni Gaudi died unexpectedly in 1926, his followers were left with incredible plaster of Paris models showing how to complete his famous church, La Sagrada Familia.

The only problem was they were smashed 鈥渢o smithereens鈥 during the Spanish Civil War.

New Zealand architect Mark Burry was part of a small team trying to piece together Gaudi鈥檚 vision for the Barcelona basilica.

He tells Vicky Farncombe about his first week in the job.

鈥淭here were literally thousands and thousands of pieces and lots of missing pieces.

鈥淏y day three, I was in despair.鈥

He also shares the spine-tingling moment he heard music in the church for the first time.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the 鈥業ndian Titanic鈥 and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy鈥檚 Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and G枚rel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they鈥檝e had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America鈥檚 occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.

(Photo: La Sagrada Familia. Credit: Getty Images)

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9 minutes

Last on

Wed 26 Jun 2024 02:50GMT

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