The Masía Freixa is one of Terrassa's - and indeed Catalonia's - most impressive Modernist…read morebuildings.
Built originally in 1896 as a small factory, it was transformed by the architect Lluís Muncunill in 1907-1910 into a bourgeois residence for the Catalan industrialist Josep Freixa i Artemi. Muncunill was a leading light in Catalan Modernism, which developed the Art Nouveau into the distinctive regional style, of which Gaudi is its most famous exponent.
The result is an astonishingly original and beautiful building, all the more impressive for having very restrained detailing (which is where Muncunill differs from Gaudi). The Masia Freixa is essentially an elongated house, with verandas consisting of impressive, naturalistic arcades of parabolic arches. The other main features are its tower, rather resembling a minaret, and the undulating grey roof, broken by a cupola-like second storey. The doors and windows are shuttered and reflect the parabolic shape of the arcade. The lower part of the outside walls are decorated in pale grey tiles with a geometric pattern.
When built, the Masía Freixa was on the edge of the town, (Masía normally refers to a landowner's residence or a well-to-do farmhouse) but is now in a small park in the western suburbs of Terrassa. It is most easily reached by taking the FGC train from Barcelona (Plaça de Catalunya) half an hour north to Terrassa Rambla station on line S1, from where it is an easy 5-10 minute walk.
The building currently houses the local Music Society, and can be visited on organised walking tours of Modernista architecture - see above for details. That said, it's the exterior which really grabs the attention, and what is worth coming to see.
