Biosphere and Gaudí: A Sustainable Commitment at Bellesguard

Bellesguard Team

For another consecutive year, we have been awarded the Biosphere Sustainable certification, the leading international sustainability recognition. This distinction fills us with pride, and we are grateful to those responsible for granting it to us.

At the heart of The values that drive us, alongside rigorous historical research and the quality of our guided tours to share this knowledge. Since Torre Bellesguard opened its doors to the public in 2013, we have consistently embraced responsible consumption, waste recycling, and the use of local materials, among other sustainable practices.

However, in our case—being a Gaudí building—it couldn’t be any other way. The architect, famous for his deep respect for nature and for revolutionizing modern architecture, was also a pioneer of sustainability and biomimicry (design inspired by biology), even though he never used that term.

We can see this reflected in the bioclimatic optimization of his buildings, with ingenious solutions for ventilation, natural lighting, and rainwater collection. These principles are evident throughout Torre Bellesguard, along with his studies on acoustics, health, and the social well-being of workers.

We also find it in the recycling of discarded materials, which is the foundation of his renowned trencadís technique—reusing fragments of glass and ceramics for decorative purposes. Additionally, he used affordable and local materials, such as brick and nearby stone. In the case of Bellesguard, this meant slate,  from the nearby Collserola mountain range.

Likewise, his approach extended to the design of furniture, hardware, and architectural details, following principles that we now recognize as ergonomics—as seen in the garden benches and door handles of Bellesguard. These methods continue to be subjects of study and still astonish researchers today.

For all these reasons, our commitment to sustainability is a matter of consistency with the legacy of Antoni Gaudí—a legacy that, like nature itself, is linked to the future.

As Gaudí himself said:
“The architect of the future will be based on the imitation of nature, because it is the most rational, durable, and economical of all methods.”