Gaudí: Windows on the Future Debuts in Barcelona
Casa Batlló joins the international project “Gaudí: Windows on the Future,” an initiative led by Japanese company YKK AP to mark the centenary of Antoni Gaudí’s death in 2026. The global program explores the architect’s creative universe through the window as a symbol of innovation, connection, and openness to the future. It coincides with Gaudí Year 2026, Barcelona’s role as World Capital of Architecture, and the Catalonia-Japan Year.
As part of the collaboration, Casa Batlló will launch “Gaudí Window Nights,” offering 1,800 free tickets during June for the 7:15 PM time slot, with reservations via newsletter from May 14. A pop-up exhibition at Casa Batlló will present audiovisual content, reproductions, and materials focused on Gaudí’s window design as a key architectural element. Visitors can exclusively purchase the book Gaudí: Windows on the Future, published by Triangle Books and produced by YKK AP, which presents the first comprehensive overview of windows designed by Gaudí.
The main exhibition is being held at Palau Güell, a UNESCO World Heritage site, until October 25, 2026, and will continue in Tokyo and Toyama. The program also includes a documentary and activations in other Gaudí heritage sites, connecting Barcelona with Japan. For architecture and interior design professionals, the initiative frames the window as a technical, material, and cultural interface, linking façade systems, daylighting, and urban context to heritage conservation and future specification.
YKK AP launched its architectural products business for aluminum frames in 1959, now offering resin and wooden windows and curtain walls globally. Guided by the “CYCLE OF GOODNESS®” philosophy, the company positions itself as “a company that thinks about windows.” Since 1995, it has promoted “WINDOWOLOGY,” a multidisciplinary research project through the Window Research Institute, exploring material, technical, spiritual, and social significance of windows. Founder Tadahiro Yoshida notes that while windows became standardized in industrial society, they continue to evolve in the 21st century.
YKK AP’s study finds no architect produced a body of work as diverse in openings as Gaudí, whose projects from late 19th to early 20th century Catalonia show technical and stylistic evolution in structure, materiality, and intricate design. The 2026 initiative gathers contributions from academics, architects, art historians, and professionals involved in Gaudí’s buildings. For real estate and construction, the project bridges heritage, fabrication, and innovation, influencing how contemporary window systems are conceived in cultural and commercial architecture. Learn more from YKK AP.
