A Stacked History: The View from Below Barcelona's Roofs
Monochrome photography from Barcelona in Spain
In Barcelona, architectural history is often a layered collage, visible simply by looking up. This photograph captures the complex, beautiful stacking of a residential building’s upper levels, where different eras and styles collide, likely in the dense Eixample district.
The composition is a study in geometric chaos. The focus is on the various rooflines and additions that accumulate above the main structure. A prominent feature is the elegant, octagonal corner tower, capped with classic Mediterranean clay tiles and featuring small, round ulls de bou (ox-eye windows). This detail grounds the building in traditional Catalan design.
Above and beside this tower, the structure becomes rougher and more modern: brick additions, stuccoed walls, and functional terraces enclosed by simple black railings. The top-most roof, with its exposed chimney stacks and brickwork, reinforces the feeling that the building has grown organically over decades, adding practical spaces where possible.
The black and white processing simplifies the forms, emphasising the stark angles, the deep shadows under the eaves, and the repetitive patterns of the balustrades and tiles. The juxtaposition of the ornate, older stonework with the simpler, functional additions tells a silent story of urban density and the continuous adaptation of Barcelona’s beautiful, enduring architecture.