PLA DE PALAU


PLAÇA REIAL


Lampposts for the
City of Barcelona (1878)

"Having adopted this solution on the lamps that we have planned, we design them in a spherical form that is supported by a hoop that intercepts three bronze poles that constitute the frame of the lamppost, elevated to a height sufficient to protect the opal lantern from any accidental impact, and being disposed in the sense of the greatest horizontal dimension inherent in luminous rays. (...)

"The crest of the city will occupy the field of the column with the appropriate polychromatic heraldic crest. The upper part of the arms, in order to avoid the intense reflection that would be caused by the rays of the sun on the metal, will be red with golden fluting, and finally the large base of the column on a piece that, fitting into the upper part of the marble pedestal has, on three sides, rods that are perpendicularly bolted pins that are inserted into holes that have been prepared for that purpose, which, being three, perfectly fasten the column to the pedestal. The clean and polished iron, on the parts that are most appropriate for the execution and good appearance, will be covered with a long-lasting waterproof varnish that will preserve the lamppost from the effects of moisture."

In addition, Gaudí proposes a system for paying for the work, not at fixed rates but at the price that would be the result after the lamppost was properly built, with the conviction that less would be spent than the amount budgeted:

"Having determined the budget for the lamppost to be made, it is commissioned, not for a fixed quantity, commonly called an all-in price, but for the cost that results after the piece is completed; in other words, with the budget for the candelabra (...) set at three thousand five hundred, and taking into account any contingencies which are accounted as three percent, it gives a total of: three thousand six hundred five pesetas; we are completely sure that their cost will not exceed this quantity, and there may even be expected to be a surplus in favor of the Municipal Government."

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