Which Catalan architect designed Casa Batllo in Barcelona?

Antoni Gaudí designed Casa Batlló in Barcelona. He transformed an existing 1877 building for textile industrialist Josep Batlló between 1904 and 1906, rather than constructing an entirely new house from an empty site.

The building stands on Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona's Eixample district, within the Illa de la Discòrdia, or “Block of Discord,” a stretch containing several Modernista buildings by different architects. Gaudí's design is famous for its flowing stone façade, mask-like balconies, colored glass, and mosaic made from broken ceramic tiles known as trencadís.

Its local nickname, Casa dels Ossos (“House of Bones”), comes from the skeletal appearance of the columns and balconies. The roof is often interpreted as a dragon's back, with a tower and cross associated by some observers with Saint George, Catalonia's patron saint. Josep Maria Jujol and other assistants contributed to parts of the work, but Gaudí is the architect credited with the redesign. Casa Batlló became part of the UNESCO-listed “Works of Antoni Gaudí” in 2005.