Commentary on: Empathy and Change by Corneliu Irimia33

When commencing the work for the Sagrada Familia cathedral, in 1882, Antoni Gaudi knew very well that he was facing an endeavour for which an entire life would not be enough. Work on the cathedral is still going on and it has been recently estimated that it will last until 2026; that is the deadline for ceasing the works and not for finishing it, because Sagrada will remain un-finished, un-stuck in a final shape and will always allow further changes and additions, not necessarily inscribed in the concrete materiality but at least in the viewers' imagination. In fact, Gaudi is said to have commented, with regard to the initial estimations, of several hundred years necessary for finishing the building: “My Client is not in a hurry” …

Any layman a bit familiar with Gaudi's creations would see him, above everything else, as a great artist, a magician of shapes who used his brilliant imagination to transform architecture into “pure art”. Still, a more careful and educated sight will reaveal, behind the artist, the rigorous engineer who strove to firmly ground each constructive element both aesthetically and functionally.