Architect Jordi Fauli has been engaged on the Sagrada Familia for 3 decades -- just a fraction of 140 years it's been under construction (AFP/LLUIS GENE)
Jordi Fauli is that the seventh chief architect of Barcelona's iconic Sagrada Familia since Antoni Gaudi began work on the basilica in 1883, and he had been expected to oversee its long-awaited completion.
But the pandemic has delayed efforts to complete this towering architectural masterpiece, which has been under construction for nearly 140 years, and it's not clear whether Fauli will still be responsible when it's finally done.
"I would love to be here for several more years, of course, but that's in God's hands," says Fauli, 62, a wry smile on his lips.
He was just 31 when he joined the architectural team as a neighborhood in 1990 -- the identical age as Gaudi when the innovative Catalan architect began building his greatest add the late 19th century, a project that will take up four decades of his life.
"When I arrived, only three of those columns were built and that they were only 10 meters (33 feet) high," he explains from a mezzanine within the main nave.
"I was lucky enough to style and see the development of the complete interior, then the sacristy and now the most towers."
When finished, the ornate cathedral which was designed by Gaudi will have 18 towers, the tallest of which can reach 172 meters into the air.
The second-highest tower, which is 138 meters tall and dedicated to Madonna Mary, are going to be officially inaugurated on Wednesday with the illumination of the big 5.5-tonne star crowning its highest point.
It is the tallest of the nine completed towers and therefore the first to be inaugurated since 1976.
- Construction halted by warfare -
In 2019, the Sagrada Familia welcomed 4.7 million visitors, making it Barcelona's most visited monument.
But it had been forced to shut in March 2020 because the Covid-19 pandemic took hold, with its doors staying shut for nearly a year.
This year, there are barely 764,000 visitors, municipal figures show.
And as entry tickets are the most source of funding for the continuing building works, the goal of finishing the basilica by 2026 to mark the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death -- he was run over by a tram -- has been abandoned.
"We can't give any estimate on when it'll be finished because we do not understand how visitor numbers will recover within the coming years," Fauli says.
It is off from the primary time Gaudi's masterpiece has faced such challenges.
During the Spanish warfare within the late 1930s, construction work stopped and lots of of Gaudi's design plans and models were destroyed.
For critics, this major loss means they are doing not view what was built later as Gaudi's work, despite the research disbursed by his successors.
UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural agency, has only granted World Heritage status to the Sagrada Familia's crypt and one in all its facades, both of which were built during Gaudi's lifetime.
But Fauli insists the project remains faithful to what Gaudi had planned because it relies on the meticulous study of photographs, drawings and testimony from the late Modernist architect.
- Some local opposition -
Nominated chief architect of the project in 2012, Fauli took over at the pinnacle of a team of 27 architects and over 100 builders.
Today, there are five architects and a few 16 builders working to end the Sagrada Familia.
"It could be a lot of responsibility because it's an iconic project, which many of us have an opinion about," says Fauli.
Building such an enormous monument which pulls huge numbers of tourists isn't welcomed by everyone, with some arguing that the hoards of visiting tourists are destroying the realm.
Many also oppose plans to make an infinite staircase leading up to the most entrance, the development of which is able to involve the demolition of several buildings, forcing hundreds to relocate.
"My life is here and that they want to throw me out," says one check in a balcony near the Sagrada Familia.
Fauli said he understands their concerns and desires to search out "fair solutions" through dialogue.
And if he could ask Gaudi one question? Fauli pauses to reflect for some moments.
"I would ask him about his underlying intentions and what feelings he wanted to speak through his architecture," he says.
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SOURCE: Yahoo
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