The Department of Culture of the Government of Catalonia confirms that the design of the Xalet del Catllaràs in La Pobla de Lillet (Berguedà) is the work of Antoni Gaudí. 

A study commissioned to architect Galdric Santana, a professor at the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB) and director of the Càtedra Gaudí at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC), concludes that Gaudí was the author of the project, although he did not oversee the construction of the building. 

The research was conducted as part of the Gaudí Year, a commemorative initiative promoted by the Department of Culture and curated by Santana.

In 2023, the Directorate General for Cultural Heritage of the Department of Culture commissioned a study to analyse and verify the authorship of the Xalet del Catllaràs, which had previously been attributed to Antoni Gaudí. 

The study was entrusted to Gaudí expert Galdric Santana Roma, who is currently the curator of Gaudí Year. 

The report is the result of extensive documentary and constructive analyses, supported by geometric, structural and compositional evidence that objectively substantiates the attribution. It also includes abundant graphic and analytical material. 

Through architectural drawings comparing the Xalet with other works by Gaudí, the study incorporates 3D surveys that allow the analysis to be objectified and provide a constructive perspective consistent with the architect’s work. 

Historical documents and photographs have also been carefully examined, revealing significant details related to the object of the study. Santana analysed general aspects related to previous research and documents on the Xalet’s attribution.

The study examines in detail all the elements that led him to conclude that the project for the Xalet del Catllaràs can be attributed to Antoni Gaudí.

However, the author of the study concludes that Gaudí did not supervise the construction of the building, which was carried out and modified by others, thereby losing its original formal and structural coherence. 

This would explain why the architect never publicly claimed its authorship. Juli Batllevell, a collaborator of Gaudí, may have been responsible for the execution. It should also be noted that the chalet has undergone several modifications over the years. 

The study analyses in depth a number of specific technical and construction aspects, such as the building’s cross-section, which includes an analysis of the geometry and layout of the main arch and highlights the differences between the parabolic and catenary arches, both associated with Gaudí’s architecture. 

The research also studies the use of a cloister vault, now lost, adjacent to the chalet, whose construction typology is characteristic of Gaudí. It also examines the access between rooms through 45-degree circulation halls, another feature characteristic of Gaudí’s architecture in the local context and during the period between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A similar feature can be found in Torre Bellesguard, a contemporary work by Gaudí. 

The project for the Xalet del Catllaràs dates from between 1901 and 1908, coinciding with the construction of the Asland factory. During that period, it was common for architects not to sign works that were not executed faithfully according to their original design. At the time, Gaudí was working on several projects for Eusebi Güell.

The study can be consulted in the DRAC repository (Dades i Recursos d’Accés Obert de Cultura