A day where I woke up at 3pm turned out to become one of the most inspiring days ever. I’ve had a really hard time sleeping in Barcelona and usually turn in around 5am each morning…yes, morning. My flexible work schedule and friends back home (timezone difference) are the reasons I think I’m staying up late.

I decided to spend the day in Gracia (which is my favorite neighborhood) to grab some food and walk around. Little did I realize I was so close to Sagrada Familia, arguably Antoni Gaudi’s most famous work. I quickly finished my tapas and worked my way over there.

I didn’t even need my GPS to know where I was…just followed the giant spires over the horizon. When I got there I was blown away. I’ve seen my share of Gothic and Baroque buildings, but never seen a Spanish Modernist church before. It looked like if minimalism and Baroque had a baby!

It took two hours for me to completely experience the structure and I even went up to the top. Here’s the thing I realized…

I want to build cathedrals.

Yes, I realize that Sagrada Familia is actually a basilica, but “I want to build basilicas” is a bit more ambiguous! Just roll with it, k?

This is the analogy I’m telling my colleagues at Xhatch. We need to build web apps as cathedrals. I am now convinced that Gaudi is one of the greatest User Experience Designers ever. Every element has been considered in how it’s made and what the user is supposed to feel in that instance. This is how applications should work too.

The other aspect is the quality and craftsmanship a cathedral takes. Now when I work on code for an app, I’m going to refine and refine, similar to those marble stairs I saw.

Every little detail has been considered.

I have never been so inspired in such a long time, and I will dedicate my life to build cathedrals, whether it is in the form of a web app or some other aspect of my life.

Thank you, Antoni Gaudi.