The visitor entering Casa Batlló starting this Friday will find a completely new tour to discover this work by Antoni Gaudí. The Bernat family, owners of the modernist building, have invested 30 million euros in renovating a large part of the building, in works that began in 2017 and have allowed the recovery of the original stuccoes of the main floor and the restoration of its main facade. The remodeling has also meant incorporating 2,000 new square meters into the tour, with immersive experiences to awaken the senses of all users.
From now on, the route through Casa Batlló begins on the ground floor, where the old coal bunkers used to be located. Descending a dark staircase, which aims to recall the old use of this area, one arrives at the first immersive room, which recreates the influences Gaudí had as a child. With a dome of more than a thousand screens, different sounds and images intertwine to transmit the sensations the artist, who is sleeping in the center, might have felt. A moving walkway accompanies visitors throughout the room.
Once this first immersive experience is overcome, smart headphones are provided that adapt to each user. Through artificial intelligence, Casa Batlló has devised guides that offer different content depending on how visitors behave, generating shorter explanations for those who want to see everything in 40 minutes or more extensive ones for those who want to spend three hours.
At this point, the visit that had been made until now through the interior of Casa Batlló begins. New elements have been added such as "magic paintings" hung on the walls that explain with moving images the history of Gaudí and the Batllós, but also ephemeral installations, which surprisingly reproduce letters that write themselves or footprints that appear on the stairs.
To finish the tour, one has to go through another immersive room. This consists of an LED cube with six faces that reproduces millions of documents, plans, drawings, or manuscripts of the artist in a few minutes. Without the need for augmented reality glasses, the room is an explosion of lights and music that aims to decipher Gaudí's way of thinking. To also appeal to the sense of taste, before entering, one must try an "electric flower", popularly known as acmella oleracea, which leaves no palate indifferent.
Although the most skeptical may see these additions as a distraction from Gaudí's original work, the general director of Casa Batlló, Gary Gautier, assures that they do not want to "cover up" his legacy, but rather to enhance it and make it accessible to everyone. "Culture has been treasured in books and museums that are increasingly distanced from the consumption habits of our society. Everything we do challenges the status quo and we believe that everything can be done differently. We challenge the status quo by creating a surprising and exciting experience, fun for all ages," he explains.
Tickets sold out for the first two weekends
The reopening of Casa Batlló will begin by opening on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, with a 30% capacity, explains Gautier. This schedule, with 140 visits per day, is planned until June, awaiting to see how the epidemiological situation evolves. For now, tickets for the first two weekends have already sold out. The price is 35 euros, with a 2x1 promotion for residents in Spain. Gautier indicates that they expect to add more products to their offer shortly, such as the Magic Nights, which include the visit and a concert on the terrace.
Casa Batlló is one of the most profitable tourist attractions and businesses linked to culture in all of Barcelona. Before the pandemic, in the 2019 fiscal year, it invoiced a total of 28.3 million euros, with a profit of 12.6 million, that is, for every hundred euros it earned, 45 euros became profits for the owning company. As a consequence of the pandemic, however, in 2020 Casa Batlló recorded losses, as the number of visitors decreased by one million. For this year, they expect to offset costs with revenues, and close in balance. The emblematic building on Passeig de Gràcia belongs to the Bernat brothers, former owners of the Chupa Chups group.
Likewise, after the labor conflict with the front-of-house staff, the management has decided to subcontract a new company, Specialisterne, which employs people with Asperger's or autism. Initially, 20 workers will be incorporated, but the intention is to grow more, as more days open.