ANI-Reality : Yuri!!! On Ice

Ever since episode 10 came out I’ve really been wanting to write this post. Not only did this episode have Viktor narrarating it; it had many of us fangirling over Viktor and Yuri’s ring exchange as well as the epicness of the pictures/video of Yuri at the ending credit sequence. But a lot of my own fangirling came from the amount of Architecture that was featured in this episode!

Europe holds some of the most fascinating pieces of architectural history. Heck, Europe’s rich history of architecture is kind of what drew me into this career to begin with.  There were quite a few masterpieces featured in Episode 10 in the city of Barcelona, which has been on my bucket list of traveling for as long as I can remember. One day though, one day.

Most of Barcelonas’ Architecture featured was designed by prominent Architect Antoni Gaudi. Gaudi was the best known practioner of Catalan Modernism. A movement in art, literature, but mostly expressed in architecture. His passions in life included: architecture, religion and nature. He drew inspiration mostly from nature as he was obsessed with organic forms, which is showcased in his work. He also wasn’t much of a pen and paper guy when it came to visualizing his ideas. He truly worked with sculpting and building scale models.

To start off this whirwind of architectural features, our beloved Phichit takes a selfie and so does Viktor and Yuri, in front of Sagrada Familia, Gaudi’s final masterpiece. Gaudí wanted to construct a building that would make an impact on the skyline, but also show his respect for the work of God, which in his opinion should never be superseded by man. La Sagrada familia is a mix of two architectural styles: Gothic and Art Nouveau. The premliminary concept of the Sagrada Familia is quite interesting, he used a Funicular Model, in which he would suspend metal chains and weights from the ceilings to create catenary curves that would when flipped upside down would result in an optimally designed arch that distributes the weight. He would actually hang chains from chains creating a very fluid design. Construction on La Sagrada Familia started in 1882; Gaudi took the lead designer position in 1883 after the previous architect resigned. The construction of the church has been slow as the funding for it comes from private donations, and was put on hold during the Spanish Civil War. Only a quarter of the construction had been completed at the time of Gaudi’s death in  1926, and construction had met its halfway point in 2010. It’s expected to be completed in 2026.

When Viktor and Yuri are out shopping and being tourits; in the background we see Gaudi’s Casa Batllo located in the center of Barcelona. It’s facade (face of building) is decorated with a mosaic of different colored broken tiles. The local name of this building is Casa Dels Osos (House of Bones) due to the organic quality of some of the elements.

In the scene where Otabek and Yurio escape his fanclub they go somewhere and have a talk on the roof of the building. This is actually Gaudi’s Park Guell: a public park encompassing many architectural elements and different gardens. The park is currently listed under UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. Park Guell culminates Gaudi’s personal style inspired by organic natural forms. He also put into practice a structural system that came from his study and understanding of geometry, creating a multitude of forms and volumes, as well as spaces that were from the rigid rationality that is most often found in classic european architecture.

In one of our favorite scenes, our favorite couple exchange rings in front of The Cathedral of Barcelona. This cathedral, like most cathedrals in Europe are of the Gothic architectural style. This wasn’t designed by Gaudi, but I felt it was important to include this one as it was a pretty touching scene – exchanging rings as the church bells ring. *swoon* I feel like this was probably included as significant to the history of spain as the Archbishop of Barcelona sits here. The church was built in the 13th to 15th centuries and new facade was built in the 19th century over the exisiting facade.

Typically I would point out on an interactive map where this would be located but since I featured so many buildings that I have to do a screen shot of where they are relative to one another:

I hope to make it out to these places and get my own photos! Not sure when I’ll plan it, but it’ll happen in this lifetime.  Have you guys seen these places? If there were any other buildings that stood out to you on the show, send me a screenshot and I’ll try to find out it’s history and include it in another post!