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The inaugural exhibition, Beyond the Facade, will be staged by United Visual Artists <\/a>(UVA), founded by Matt Clark. The exhibition is paired with UVA\u2019s commission for the building\u2019s iconic facade, featuring a new projection mapping piece created for the fifth edition of Casa Batll\u00f3\u2019s annual mapping festival. Conceived as a prologue, the facade work will launch the same day the gallery opens.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n inaugural show by united visual artists explores cycles of life<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The initiative, called Casa Batll\u00f3 Contemporary, signals a major step in how the iconic building<\/a> engages with present-day culture. For the first time, Gaud\u00ed\u2019s modernist interiors are renovated by the Barcelona-based team<\/a> at Mesura to host two contemporary art shows annually, accessible either as part of the full visitor route or with a standalone ticket. According to program director Maria Bernat, the aim is to \u2018foster a dialogue between the past and future,\u2019 situating Gaud\u00ed\u2019s radical vision within a contemporary framework.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The opening show will center on British art practice<\/a> UVA\u2019s exploration of cycles of life through light and movement. Known for projects that bring together art, architecture, and technology, UVA has previously exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, YCAM in Tokyo, and the Sydney Biennale. Their installation at Casa Batll\u00f3 invites visitors to glimpse themselves within shifting patterns of light.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n mesura\u2019s architectural intervention<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Transforming Gaud\u00ed\u2019s domestic floor into a gallery posed a challenge for the architectural team of Mesura. Historically, the second floor housed private apartments before later serving as a conservation workshop. The intervention restores original features such as woodwork and stained glass while introducing a new architectural language. Central to the redesign is a curved metal ceiling screen-printed with concentric ripples, resembling water disturbed by a drop. Produced with robotic technology, it provides structural support and a distinct identity without overwhelming Gaud\u00ed\u2019s hand. \u2018Our goal was to create an echo of his work, a whisper that adds to his universe without altering it,\u2019 explains Carlos Dimas, partner at Mesura.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n gaud\u00ed\u2019s legacy in the 21st century<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The project is timed to coincide with the centenary of Gaud\u00ed\u2019s death in 2026, as well as Barcelona\u2019s designation as World Capital of Architecture. For Casa Batll\u00f3\u2019s directors, the new gallery embodies the idea of \u201921st-century heritage\u2019: a cultural institution that is both rigorously preserved and actively reinterpreted. General director Gary Gautier emphasizes that the gallery reinforces Casa Batll\u00f3\u2019s role as a cultural beacon, expanding its identity beyond conservation toward innovation.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The transformation also reflects long-term planning. The new space was envisioned in Casa Batll\u00f3\u2019s 2015 Master Plan, which set guidelines for conservation, use, and dissemination of the building. \u2018Something we envisioned 10 years ago will soon become a reality: reviving a historic space, opening it to the city, and giving it a new purpose,\u2019 says chief architect Xavier Villanueva.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Casa Batll\u00f3 has already become a platform for digital and media-based art, commissioning works since 2021 from Refik Anadol, Sof\u00eda Crespo, and Quayola for its facade and interiors. With the launch of Casa Batll\u00f3 Contemporary, those interventions expand into a permanent curatorial program. The new gallery positions the building as a historic icon of modernism but also as an active participant in Barcelona\u2019s avant-garde cultural scene.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n project info:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n name: Casa Batll\u00f3 Contemporary<\/p>\n location: Casa Batll\u00f3<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0@casabatllo<\/a>, Barcelona, Spain<\/p>\n architecture: Mesura<\/a> | @mesura.eu<\/a><\/p>\n facade mapping 2026: United Visual Artists<\/a> | @unitedvisualartists<\/a><\/p>\n area: 230 sqm second-floor gallery<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n opening: 31 January 2026<\/p>\n initiator: Casa Batll\u00f3 Master Plan (2015)<\/p>\n![\"gaud\u00ed\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/gaudi-casa-batllo-hidden-apartment-mesura-gallery-contemporary-art-designboom-06.jpg\")
image courtesy of Casa Batll\u00f3<\/p>\n![\"gaud\u00ed\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/gaudi-casa-batllo-hidden-apartment-mesura-gallery-contemporary-art-designboom-04.jpg\")
render of Casa Batllo\u0301 Contemporary Exhibition Space, courtesy of Mesura<\/p>\n![\"gaud\u00ed\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/gaudi-casa-batllo-hidden-apartment-mesura-gallery-contemporary-art-designboom-01.jpg\")
graphic study of casa batllo\u0301 facade mapping | courtesy of United Visual Artists<\/p>\n![\"gaud\u00ed\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/gaudi-casa-batllo-hidden-apartment-mesura-gallery-contemporary-art-designboom-02.jpg\")
graphic study of casa batllo\u0301 facade mapping | courtesy of United Visual Artists<\/p>\n![\"gaud\u00ed\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/gaudi-casa-batllo-hidden-apartment-mesura-gallery-contemporary-art-designboom-03.jpg\")
Matt Clark portrait | image by Anne Ray, courtesy of United Visual Artists<\/p>\n