The Department of Culture of the Generalitat justifies the state of deterioration of the Pavellons Güell due to the lack of budgets in recent years and clings to the will to solve the damage, in the rehabilitation works that are scheduled. This work, one of the most important at the beginning of Antoni Gaudí's career, is declining behind the Faculty of Law of the University of Barcelona (UB), at number 7 Avenida Pedralbes. La Vanguardia visited the facilities, open to the public public, and was able to corroborate the complaint by Amics de Gaudí, which states that the state of the pavilions is "regrettable". The photos of the report, thus testify.
Amics de Gaudí is a non-profit association that has spent years denouncing the unacceptable state of the modernist monument. A weed-filled garden surrounds the two buildings, where the paint on the walls and ceiling is peeling off. At the entrance to the first pavilion, the floor is cracked and there is a broken and unmarked cobblestone. On the facade, the wooden shutters are cracked and broken. However, the pavilions are still open to the public and general admission costs six euros.
"The problem with the current state of the Pavellons Güell is that the financing has not allowed progress to be made at the rate initially estimated," explained Marina Miquel, deputy director of architectural heritage of the Generalitat's Directorate General for Cultural Heritage, as response to the report published by La Vanguardia.
The justification of Culture coincides with that of Heritage of the UB. The university has owned the Pavellons Güell since 1958 and is also responsible for the transfer of use to the Institut del Paisatge Urbà in 2015, to carry out a comprehensive restoration of the modernist heritage. Since the beginning of the transfer of use, almost eight years ago, only the fence that delimits the enclosure by Avenida Pedralbes has been fixed and the little house where the tickets are sold has been placed. Both UB Heritage and Culture cling to the fact that the pandemic completely paralyzed the restoration process, but that it is now underway and advancing at a good pace.
Why wasn't more progress made during the five years prior to the pandemic, when the transfer of use was already underway? According to Marina Miquel, in 2015 the effects of the 2008 recession were still dragging on. "This crisis left investments for heritage monuments at a minimum," explained the deputy director of Heritage of the Generalitat. For this reason, she maintains her position and emphasizes that Culture gives full support to the project and planning of Paisatge Urbà.
This explanation of the institutions does not convince Juan José Lahuerta, director of the Gaudí Chair at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. "It is inconceivable that, quite naturally, it is said that when the restoration began, a lot was expected from tourism that in the end did not arrive or that the sale of tickets has not given the benefit that was expected for the restoration works. As if everything depended, in a patrimonial work of these characteristics, on the exploitation of a market and not on the obligations of the institutions that we maintain with our taxes", Lahuerta forcefully criticizes.
Luis Guilbert is not so critical. A sculptor, historian and expert in the work of Gaudí, he explained to La Vanguardia that the case of the Pavellons Güell is not exceptional. "All of Gaudí's works have gone through a similar process," he says. According to the artist, modernist heritage "is a group of very delicate works and its restoration must be very meticulous. Otherwise, there is a risk of losing details of significant heritage value, as has happened in Parc Güell". Guilbert defends that although the restoration project "is going very slowly, it does not mean that it is being done badly."
Marina Miquel positively faces the year 2026, when Barcelona will be the world capital of architecture and it will also be the centenary of the death of Antoni Gaudí. "We have to live up to what is expected of the city of modernism," she stressed.
Last Friday the Institut del Paisatge Urbà of the Barcelona City Council published a tender notice for the construction management, safety, health and quality control coordination of the restoration works of the Finca Güell Porter's Pavilion. The aim of this project is to modify the executive plan for the first pavilion, which had been in place since 2018. However, Oriol Hostench, architect and coordinator of the project for the constructive analysis and erection of the Güell Pavilions for their restoration, believes that there are still time to reach 2026 with at least the first pavilion fixed. About the second pavilion, the stable house, Hostench has doubts about him. "If you move quickly with the planning, it could be that it is also ready for the year of architecture," says the architect.
