Antonio Gaudí’s architectural achievements were greatly enhanced by the sustained collaboration and expertise of artisan craftsmen.

This is particularly evident in Gaudi’s application of the inverted catenary arch, which represents an analogue form of parametric design and is a technique fundamental to pottery.

Potters suspended a rope to create a template corresponding to the desired size and shape of a kiln, then inverted it to serve as a construction guide.

This inverted arch concept had been in use on the Iberian Peninsula and around the Mediterranean for 6,000 years.

Originating in Nubia, Africa, the Nubian inverted arch was rotated around its central axis to create a vault. This complex architectural form spread northward from Africa and was used to construct shelters, burial mounds, and kilns.

A key characteristic of arches and vaults is their ability to be constructed without interior support or shoring. Bricks are positioned at a slight incline, following the same principle applied in the construction of the dome of the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower.