The Barcelona Cathedral has unveiled its contribution to the city-wide Gaudí Year celebrations: an immersive virtual reality experience that transports visitors directly into the workshop of famed architect Antoni Gaudí. Titled “Gaudí, the Divine’s Atelier,” the attraction launches this Thursday, 26 February, offering a unique digital window into the creative mind behind some of the world’s most iconic buildings.
Your browser does not support the video tag.
The experience allows visitors, equipped with VR headsets, to step into a meticulous recreation of Gaudí’s studio. The narrative, framed from the perspective of Gaudí in his final days, explains his revolutionary methods, intricate work details, and the profound meaning behind his emblematic designs.
A Centennial Homage
The launch is a significant part of the Any Gaudí 2026 (Gaudí Year), a programme of events commemorating the centenary of the architect’s death. The Cathedral positions its offering as an innovative and respectful tribute to the man whose life’s work redefined the Barcelona skyline.
According to reports from betevé, the story casts visitors as new assistants summoned to the workshop by an ageing Gaudí. Aware that his time is short, he entrusts them with his creative secrets, aiming to ensure they can one day complete his magnum opus, the Sagrada Família.
Inside the Architect’s Mind
The virtual workshop functions as a “living laboratory,” a space where Gaudí thought with his hands. Here, architecture was not merely drawn but physically built, hung, and balanced. The digital environment is filled with the models, tools, and materials that allowed him to explore structural forms long before they were realised in stone and mortar. This recreation is particularly poignant as Gaudí’s original workshop was destroyed in a fire during the Spanish Civil War in 1936.
“Gaudí, the Divine’s Atelier” arrives in Barcelona with considerable international acclaim. Created by GEDEON Experiences, Small Creative, and Japanese broadcaster NHK, the production has already won awards at prestigious festivals including PiXii in La Rochelle, Stereopsia in Brussels, and Beyond the Frame in Tokyo. Its installation at the Barcelona Cathedral marks its Spanish premiere.
A local partnership between the Cathedral, Stromboli Media Films, and Landscapes (the digital arts agency behind Barcelona’s renowned MIRA Digital Arts Festival) promotes the project.
Visitor Information
The complete 45-minute experience, priced at €18, includes a 22-minute immersive VR film, a small complementary exhibition, and a ‘making of’ documentary. Sessions will run daily in 30-minute intervals, from 10:00 (with arrival requested at 9:30) until the final session at 19:00 (arrival at 18:30). Each session accommodates a group of 12 people, and the recommended age is 10 years and older. The experience is accessible to a wide international audience, with audio available in Catalan, Spanish, English, French, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. Tickets are now available for purchase online.
A Modern Lens on a Master
This VR installation joins a growing number of initiatives using technology to offer new perspectives on the celebrated architect. It follows the recent announcement of an art experience at Casa Batlló and the ongoing renovation of the Gaudí Centre in Reus to include a new immersive room. These projects reflect a trend towards blending heritage with digital innovation to engage new audiences, a topic that has also sparked public debate, as seen in the recent controversy over an AI-generated Gaudí speaking Spanish.
