God’s Architect//
Gaudí is the inspiration for Sotoo Etsuro, chief sculptor of the Sagrada Família.// But who was Gaudí’s inspiration?//

　“I do not know if we are giving this degree to someone crazy or to a genius; only time will tell.”//
　These were the words of the director of the architecture program at the University of Barcelona as he presented a degree to the young Antoni Gaudí.//
　In fact, Gaudí’s early work did look to some like the work of someone out of his mind.// Consider Park Güell with its strange buildings and animals.// And with his blond hair and blue eyes, Gaudí looked different from other Catalans.//
　History has answered the question.// Gaudí was a genius.//
　As a young man, Gaudí liked to dress in the latest fashion and drive around Barcelona in a horse-drawn carriage.// All that changed in 1883 when he was asked to take charge of the Sagrada Família.// Gaudí had always been religious, but from that time on, he dedicated himself entirely to God.//
　Interestingly, the story of how Gaudí became the chief architect of the Sagrada Família sounds like a religious myth.// Josep Bocabella, who had started the Sagrada Família, was searching for an architect to complete it.// One night, Bocabella had a dream: a knight with blond hair and blue eyes came to save his church.// Later, when Bocabella met Gaudí, he recognized him as that dream knight.// He asked Gaudí to become the chief architect of the Sagrada Família.//
　From then until the end of his life, Gaudí followed the path of medieval monks.// He moved into his small workshop at the church and devoted himself to work and prayer.// He never married, ate simple meals, and dressed in old clothing.//
　Gaudí’s work shows his deep faith.// God was his inspiration.// He designed as God would want him to: “Those who look for the laws of Nature as a support for their works are working with God.”//
　Someone crazy or a genius?// Above all, Antoni Gaudí was “God’s architect.”//