Gaudí's unrealized New York skyscraper visualized by artist

A visionary skyscraper conceived by the renowned architect Antoni Gaudí for New York City in 1908, known as the "Hotel Attraction," has been brought to life through modern visualizations by Belgian artist Thierry Lechanteur. Gaudí, celebrated for iconic structures like the Sagrada Família and Park Güell in Barcelona, never saw his New York project realized, as his designs were exclusively built in Spain.

The "Hotel Attraction" was commissioned by two anonymous American businessmen. Gaudí's ambitious design proposed a monumental tower constructed from iron, cement, stone, and brick. It was to feature a cluster of nine ovoid towers, with the tallest reaching an impressive 360 meters. Characterized by Gaudí's signature organic forms, the building was intended to incorporate glass domes and mosaics. If completed, it would have surpassed all existing buildings in the United States at the time.

The skyscraper was planned to house a hotel, restaurants, a theater, an auditorium, galleries, and exhibition space. However, the project was never realized. Several theories attempt to explain its abandonment, including the concept being too ambitious or unrealistic for the era. Other possibilities suggest Gaudí abandoned the project in 1909 due to illness or because its exclusive clientele conflicted with his left-leaning political views.

Lechanteur's work, created using advanced software and artificial intelligence, meticulously reconstructs Gaudí's vision based on available drawings and materials. The artist's renderings aim to capture the intricate details Gaudí might have conceived. The "Hotel Attraction" project resurfaced in public consciousness after Gaudí's death, with its documentation published in 1956 and later considered in a 2003 architectural competition for the new World Trade Center complex.