Casa Comalat
Two faces on one house: a grave stone front for the avenue, and a wild dance of ceramic and wood at the back.
At a glance
Casa Comalat stands between the Avinguda Diagonal and Carrer de Còrsega in the Eixample, built in 1909–1911 by the architect Salvador Valeri i Pupurull. It is among his most important and personal works, a late and exuberant flowering of Barcelona Modernisme that openly admires Gaudí. Its great surprise is that its two facades belong almost to different buildings: the Diagonal front is solemn stone, the rear on Còrsega a riot of curving ceramic, coloured tile and carved wood. It is listed as a cultural asset of local interest.
Key facts
- Architect: Salvador Valeri i Pupurull
- Built: 1909–1911
- Client: textile industrialist Joan Comalat i Alenyà
- Ceramics: Lluís Bru
- Address: Avinguda Diagonal / Carrer de Còrsega, Eixample
- Style: late Modernisme, Gaudí-influenced
History
In 1906 the textile industrialist Joan Comalat i Alenyà commissioned the building from Salvador Valeri i Pupurull, then municipal architect of El Papiol. Construction ran from 1909 to 1911, producing one of the most opulent late examples of the Modernista style, with ceramics by Lluís Bru.
The house was put forward for the city’s building award of 1912. Two figures that crowned the roof were lost to a storm during a 1990s restoration and were recovered in a further restoration in 2001.
It remains a private residential building, admired above all for the contrast between its two facades.
What you see
The principal facade, on the Diagonal, is worked entirely in Montjuïc stone and given a dense decorative programme: the flat plane of the wall dissolves into countless curving lines around the openings, restrained but never still.
The rear facade on Carrer de Còrsega is the famous one. There Valeri let go completely, in undulating bays of glazed ceramic, stained glass and carved woodwork that ripple across the surface, a Gaudí-like fantasy turned toward the side street.
Practical information
- The house is private; both facades are seen from the street.
- Walk around to Carrer de Còrsega for the spectacular ceramic rear front.
- Time needed: a short stop on an Eixample Modernisme walk.
Getting there
Casa Comalat is on the Avinguda Diagonal near the Diagonal metro station, a short walk from Casa de les Punxes and the Palau del Baró de Quadras.
Nearby
- Casa de les Punxes and the Palau del Baró de Quadras.
- Casa Milà (La Pedrera) on the Passeig de Gràcia.
- The Block of Discord.
Sources
- Wikipedia (CA), “Casa Comalat”.
- Catalan cultural heritage inventory (Bé Cultural d’Interès Local).
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