What architectural model technique did Gaudí use to design the Colònia Güell church?

Gaudí designed the Church of Colònia Güell using a hanging chain model. By suspending weighted strings from fixed points, he created a physical model whose catenary curves showed how the church's arches, vaults, and supports could distribute loads naturally.

Gaudí developed the model at roughly 1:10 scale in a shed beside the proposed church. Small bags filled with birdshot represented the weight of the future structure. He photographed the hanging arrangement and inverted the image, treating the resulting form as a guide for the masonry design. This approach helped him determine not only the shape of the arches but also the positions and inclinations of the columns.

The project was commissioned by Count Eusebi Güell in 1898, but construction did not begin until 1908. The family halted work in 1914 after Count Güell's death, leaving only the crypt completed. That crypt is therefore the surviving part of an ambitious church whose full design was never built.