It has been said that "The work of Antonio Gaudi has transcended time, styles, and the period in which it was created. His achievements grew from his great capacity for observation and his fervent interest in nature. He was a passionate observer, learning directly from what he saw in the sky and the clouds, in water, rocks, plants, animals, and mountains,"" (Nonell 7). There is mystery that surrounds the complex and exotic designs by Antonio Gaudi. He has often been referred to by many as a mad man, because of the intensity of his structures (Academic). .
In order to understand Gaudi's achievement it must be said that his work is not entirely architectural. "It is more than that: it is not architectural in the same sense that historians understand architecture,"" (Nonell 7). His work does not fit into any particular classic style in architecture. "It was a time of economic prosperity and urban expansion with the new European styles- (Meltzer 1). Neither was he a disciple of any great master. Gaudi was the first architect in his family, mostly consisting of craftsmen. "He did not have the idiosyncrasy that is characteristic of dynasties of architects,"" (Nonell 7). "Gaudi saw things as they actually are, without prejudice, not as sometimes one might with them to be,""(Nonell 8). .
Throughout his career Gaudi made use of practical solutions that were both simplistic and functional. .
Antonio Gaudi was born in Reus on June 25th in 1852. He was the son of a coppersmith from a farming family in the village of Ruidoms. The Gaudi family originally came from the south of France. The family migrated to Catalonia in the 17th century, supposedly fleeing from religious persecution (Lyons 11). Gaudi was the youngest in the family of five. Most of his childhood and adolescence was spent in Rues where he also attended his secondary schooling. It is evident, even in his early years that he was not considered to be the most devoted student.