{"id":9335,"date":"2026-06-10T09:57:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T09:57:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/?p=9335"},"modified":"2026-06-12T15:12:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T15:12:49","slug":"future-challenges-lie-ahead-at-sagrada-familia-says-lead-architect-mauricio-cortes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/10\/future-challenges-lie-ahead-at-sagrada-familia-says-lead-architect-mauricio-cortes\/","title":{"rendered":"“Future challenges” lie ahead at Sagrada Familia says lead architect Mauricio Cort\u00e9s"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mauricio<\/div>\n

Today marks the inauguration of the Tower of Jesus Christ at the Sagrada Familia<\/a>. In this Gaud\u00ed Centenary<\/a> interview, its lead architect discusses how modern technology helped reach this monumental milestone, but how work on the church is far from finished.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I’ve read a few headlines that said that, this year, the Sagrada Familia will be completed,” lead architect Mauricio Cort\u00e9s told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

“However, the case is that the central towers will be completed with the Jesus tower, but then there are future challenges ahead.”<\/p>\n

\"Mauricio
Mauricio Cort\u00e9s (above) has spent 20 years working at the Sagrada Familia (top image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Among these, he said, is the completion of the world-famous basilica’s main elevation, for which the timeframe is yet to even be determined.<\/p>\n

“The biggest [challenge] will be Glory Facade, which is the main facade,” said Cort\u00e9s. “Maybe it will take 10 years, but we don’t yet have a fixed schedule.”<\/p>\n

“Before the facade becomes a reality, there are several levels of underground construction to make it possible,” he explained. “The underground works are ongoing.”<\/p>\n

“It’s been five generations of workers”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cort\u00e9s is a Mexican architect who has been working on the Sagrada Familia \u2013 the world’s tallest church \u2013 since 2006. It’s a significant time in human terms, but just a short chapter in the building’s 144-year history.<\/p>\n

One huge milestone he has been fortunate to have experienced in this time is the completion of the central towers \u2013 The Four Towers of the Evangelists, The Tower of the Virgin Mary and the massive centrepiece, The Tower of Jesus Christ \u2013 on which he led the design and construction team.<\/p>\n

He describes the responsibility of working on the project, which is arguably Spain’s most famous landmark, as a daunting but energising experience.<\/p>\n

“Obviously, it’s pressure, but in a way, a thrill,” he reflected. “The vibe is that you are part of a legacy, not only of Gaud\u00ed’s original vision and striking architecture and genius, but it’s been five generations of workers, architects, masons and even donors that have contributed.”<\/p>\n

“So it’s been the work of generations and you feel part of it on that chain, and that is very humbling, it also keeps you focused,” he continued.<\/p>\n

\"Sagrada
He recently led the completion of the spires of the central towers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cort\u00e9s’s career at Sagrada Familia began on its ground floor, where he worked on extending the neo-gothic cloisters around the Nativity facade, which was the only section Gaud\u00ed lived to see completed.<\/p>\n

These elements feature highly organic shapes with very free forms, in contrast to the more geometrised, parametric spires, such as the Tower of Jesus Christ, which is being inaugurated by Pope Leo XIV today on the centenary of Gaud\u00ed’s death.<\/p>\n

Cort\u00e9s said these contrasting styles make working on the building feel as though it is “divided into different projects”, offering lessons in Gaud\u00ed’s career evolution.<\/p>\n

“I started with the cloisters around the Nativity facade, so it was a different experience from working on the spires 20 years later,” he said. “You always learn new things.”<\/p>\n

Completing the towers has been a herculean effort, requiring the adoption of new technologies as well as meticulous studies of drawings, models, written sources and photographs.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, Gaud\u00ed left behind enough of his designs to guide future generations, with the knowledge that he would never see the project completed himself.<\/p>\n

“It’s very interesting how to mix both worlds,” he reflected. “You have to do a lot of testing to make these two worlds match together.”<\/p>\n

Gaud\u00ed’s parametric designs are “mindblowing”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cort\u00e9s said a common misconception is that “modern technology forces you to go farther away from Gaud\u00ed’s original vision”. He believes it has produced the contrary effect, allowing the team to deliver the design as closely to Gaud\u00ed’s original vision as possible, and in some areas, even expand on it.<\/p>\n

“It was technology that helped us get closer to what we believe was the original intention in several ways, both in the design process, in the engineering and in the construction,” explained Cort\u00e9s.<\/p>\n

A specific example of this is the use of prefabricated stone, which has allowed the team to deliver the central towers in line with Gaud\u00ed’s vision of stone construction, rather than with masonry blocks.<\/p>\n

\"Tower
He believes modern technology has helped deliver Gaud\u00ed’s original vision<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The central towers were predominantly built with post-tensioned stone panels,<\/a> developed by engineering firm Arup<\/a> and mass-produced off-site.<\/p>\n

While rapidly speeding up the construction of the towers, this system also reduced the thickness of each required component from approximately 1,200 millimetres to 300 millimetres<\/a>. This minimised the weight of the towers and, therefore, the structure needed to stabilise them.<\/p>\n

In the 172.5-metre-tall Tower of Jesus Christ, this resulted in a completely hollow interior, which was previously thought impossible \u2013 providing completely new space for the team to innovate.<\/p>\n

“It was [originally] believed that the tower of Jesus needed intermediate slabs to stabilise such a big tower, and now modern technology has allowed us to build like a hollow spire with a staircase in the middle,” said Cort\u00e9s.<\/p>\n

“So this architectural content could be exploited, and it needed a symbolic interpretation,” he continued. “The architect director worked with the theologian committee and artistic committee to create an interior that is consistent with what is happening outside and all the symbology of the halls the Sagrada Familia.”<\/p>\n