Casa Mila (La Pedrera)

When this building went up between 1906 and 1912, Barcelonans thought it was so ugly they called it "La Pedrera" — the quarry. Satirical newspapers compared it to a garage for zeppelins. Cartoonists drew tenants trying to park their blimps on the undulating facade. It was Gaudi's last private commission, and he didn't care one bit what anyone thought.

Pere Mila and his wife Roser Segimon had commissioned Gaudi to build a luxury apartment block on the prestigious corner of Passeig de Gracia and Carrer de Provenca. What Gaudi delivered was a building with no straight lines, no load-bearing walls, and a self-supporting stone facade that was revolutionary for its time. The entire floor plan is flexible — interior walls can be moved or removed without affecting the structure, a concept that wouldn't become standard in architecture for another half century. It was also the first building on Passeig de Gracia with an underground parking garage, designed for horse-drawn carriages.

The rooftop is where Gaudi let his imagination loose. The ventilation shafts and chimneys are sculpted into warrior-like figures — some wearing helmets, others resembling storm troopers decades before Star Wars existed. George Lucas has never confirmed the connection, but the resemblance is uncanny and widely noted. The rooftop terrace offers sweeping views across the Eixample to the Sagrada Familia and the sea.

In 1984, La Pedrera was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site alongside Park Guell and Palau Guell. The building still functions as apartments on several floors — real people live behind that famous facade — while the attic, rooftop, and a recreated early-twentieth-century apartment are open to visitors.