The space that was originally occupied by the gardens of the Amatller house and which later and for 25 years was a warehouse for the Station Service, has reopened as a new museum space. For a few days, a line of light on the ground directs the visitor from the gate of Passeig de Gràcia to the interior of the island, where he begins a journey that starts in the Barcelona of 1900, retraces the history of Amatller family and shows the house designed by a young Josep Puig i Cadafalch with 360º projections and virtual reality.
The Digital Museum of the Amatller House adds to and multiplies the visit to the spectacular noble floor of the house, the only one that could be seen until now in groups of 15 people. The new space, which has the artistic direction of Ideal Barcelona, has involved an investment of three million euros by two entrepreneurs, Aaron Sabatés and Pere Barcons. "We wanted to convey the restless and entrepreneurial spirit that led to the transformation of Barcelona and that allows us to highlight our identity and the values of work and progress", he explains.
The project in this space of 2,000 square meters spread over two floors began to be forged six years ago. Following the thread of modernism and family, the first room discovers Antoni Amatller Ràfols, the second generation of the line of chocolatiers and the one who led to the great expansion of the business, his son and his granddaughter, Teresa Amatller Costa. She managed the family inheritance and was in charge of conserving and expanding the artistic heritage started by her father. Single and without close family, Teresa created the Institut Amatller Foundation which now manages the legacy.
On this floor, a large space designed for the little ones has been reserved that recreates this stretch of Passeig de Gràcia, drawn by Pilarín Bayés and where you can paint and see characters such as Antoni and Teresa Amatller, Ildefons Cerdà, Apel ·les Mestre, Josep Puig i Cadafalch, Francesca Bonnemaison or Antoni Gaudí.
On the lower floor, an immersive room with the Ideal signature, houses the projections that will be renewed every year and that now, starting from a decorative dragon in the house, has been dedicated to the figure and meaning of this animal in Catalonia, and in other parts of the world such as Canada or Japan. In a last room, with 3D glasses, the visitor flies astride the dragon, first inside the Amatller house, traveling through the entire noble floor of the building, and then through the sky of Barcelona while the main modernist buildings emerge from the clouds designed by Puig and Cadafalch. The space, designed not only to attract tourists, but also Barcelona residents and schoolchildren, has the capacity to receive 270 visitors every hour and the entrance costs 18.50 euros.
