Barcelona’s Sagrada Família is the world’s most famous unfinished building for a reason

Horace Pan, chairman of the Hong Kong Interior Design Association, explains how Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí’s unfinished masterpiece changed his life

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La Sagrada Familia, an icon of Barcelona designed by architect António Gaudi, inspired Horace Pan Hung-bing, founder of Hong Kong interior design studio Panorama Design Group. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 5:15pm, 1 Aug 2024

Perhaps the world’s most famous unfinished building, the Sagrada Família is due to be completed in 2026. Barcelona’s undisputed major landmark, construction of which began in 1882, it is the masterwork of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. Horace Pan Hung-bing, founder of Hong Kong interior design studio Panorama Design Group and chairman of the Hong Kong Interior Design Association, explains how it changed his life.

The first time I saw it was when I was at university. I was very happy to be able to visit Barcelona. Gaudí is someone we had to study, and it was a valuable experience. I went to Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and we had a Western study trip where we could choose our own itinerary. A classmate and I went to Barcelona, Spain and Italy, and spent a whole month there.

There are many reasons Barcelona and Gaudí and the Sagrada Família had the biggest impact on me. Usually, masterpieces are all finished; you’re visiting a kind of archive. The Sagrada Família is still under construction, and it’s a unique place. I visited 30 years ago, and it’s still evolving under Gaudí’s guidance. In the past, the construction of buildings was usually like this, but this is modern.

Horace Pan, founder of Hong Kong interior design studio Panorama Design Group and chairman of the Hong Kong Interior Design Association. Picture: Horace Pan

I did a quick sketch of it. This was really personal – it’s not like today when you just take a picture and post it on social media. Everyone draws it differently. There’s a process of digestion when you learn something new.

I learned from Gaudí even though he had passed away long before. I could feel the thought, the spirit behind it. It affected me, and it added value during my learning process.

Underneath the Sagrada Família there’s a workshop with a model of it, and it shows how Gaudí thought about gravity and how he made it stable. This is genius: they didn’t have (design software) AutoCAD. Even today, there are not many people who could really make it. There was no way of proving that they could make such a big building. We don’t need to rely on technology sometimes. If you have innovation and creativity, then you can create something new.

Biophilic architecture is a hot topic right now. It means creating spaces that use natural elements – light, shade, greenery. Using it, you’ll feel happy and comfortable.