Casa Batlló x Etnia Barcelona is a numbered limited edition of sunglasses inspired by Casa Batlló, the house Antoni Gaudí transformed on Passeig de Gràcia between 1904 and 1906. The roof shaped like the back of a dragon, the broken tile façade and the light of the house became a sculptural oval frame in thick Italian acetate, with polarized HD lenses and eight colours drawn from the building.
Below you will find the story of the house, the details hidden in the frame and every colour of the collection. You can also discover the Casa Batlló x Etnia Barcelona collaboration or go straight to the Casa Batlló sunglasses.
Casa Batlló, the house Gaudí brought to life on Passeig de Gràcia
Casa Batlló stands at number 43 of Passeig de Gràcia, Barcelona's grand boulevard. The original building dates from 1877 and was designed by the architect Emili Sala Cortés. In 1903 the textile industrialist Josep Batlló bought it, and in 1904 he asked Antoni Gaudí to rebuild it. Gaudí kept the structure and reinvented almost everything else: the façade, the main floor, the light well and the roof. The works were completed in 1906.
The result looks less like a building than a living creature. The façade is covered in trencadís, a mosaic of broken ceramic and coloured glass that changes with the light. The balconies look like masks and the columns of the main floor look like bones, which is why people in Barcelona have long called it the House of Bones. Inside, the light well is lined with blue tiles that grow paler as they go down, so the daylight reaches every floor evenly.
On top, the roof curves like the back of a dragon, covered in glazed ceramic scales. A tower crowned with a cross rises beside it, and the most popular reading of the façade sees it as the lance of Saint George, the patron saint of Catalonia, defeating the dragon. Casa Batlló shares its block with Casa Amatller and Casa Lleó i Morera, and in 2005 it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list as part of the works of Antoni Gaudí.
From the dragon's back to Italian acetate
Etnia Barcelona was born in Barcelona in 2001, and art has always shaped the way we design. For this collaboration we started from the building itself. The frame has a sculptural oval shape with organic curves and a flowing bridge, with no straight lines, as in Gaudí's architecture.
- Thick Italian acetate, made from cotton and wood.
- Temples with a quilted pattern of scales that echoes the ceramic tiles of the roof.
- Sculpted gold-tone details at the hinges.
- Polarized HD lenses in pure mineral glass, with 100% UV protection, anti-scratch and anti-glare treatment.
- A numbered limited edition: the inside of each temple carries the words Limited Edition and the frame's own number out of 1,000.
- Size L: caliber 52 mm, bridge 22 mm.
Eight colours taken from the house
The frame was designed in eight colours inspired by the palette of the roof that crowns the building and by the materials of its façade. Availability varies by colour, so check the product page for the colours you can order today.
Blue
The blue of the glazed scales on the roof and of the tiles that line the light well, where Gaudí placed the deepest blue at the top and paler tones below so the daylight would reach every floor evenly.
Shop the Casa Batlló x Antoni Gaudí 1904 sunglasses in Blue.
Turquoise
The blue-green shimmer of the dragon's scales as the light moves across the roof during the day.
Green
The greens that run through the ceramic of the roof and the broken tile mosaic of the façade.
Bordeaux
The warmer, deeper tones that colour one side of the roof, turned into a rich wine red acetate.
Beige
The Montjuïc sandstone of the lower floors, carved by Gaudí into soft, organic shapes.
White
The pale, bone-like columns and balconies that gave the building its nickname, the House of Bones.
Havana
A warm tortoiseshell that brings the wood and the warm light of the interiors into the collection.
Black
The most graphic version of the frame, where the scale pattern on the temples and the gold details stand out the most.
Packaging that takes you to Passeig de Gràcia
The packaging is part of the edition. A drawer box decorated with the façade of Casa Batlló in gold, a blue case with the same quilted scale pattern as the temples, a blue cleaning cloth with the Casa Batlló and Etnia Barcelona logos, and a card that completes the set.
Where to buy the Casa Batlló sunglasses
You can order the Casa Batlló x Antoni Gaudí 1904 sunglasses online at etniabarcelona.com, with free shipping worldwide. To see the whole story of the collaboration, visit our Casa Batlló page or browse the Casa Batlló collection.
Frequently asked questions
Who designed Casa Batlló?
Antoni Gaudí remodelled it between 1904 and 1906 for the industrialist Josep Batlló. The original 1877 building was by the architect Emili Sala Cortés.
What inspired the Casa Batlló sunglasses?
The roof shaped like the back of a dragon, the colours of its ceramic tiles and the façade of the house on Passeig de Gràcia.
Are the Casa Batlló sunglasses a limited edition?
Yes. Each frame is numbered: the inside of the temple shows its own number out of 1,000.
What are the Casa Batlló sunglasses made of?
Thick Italian acetate frames with polarized HD lenses in pure mineral glass and 100% UV protection.
What size are they?
Size L, with a 52 mm caliber and a 22 mm bridge.
Where can I buy them?
Online at etniabarcelona.com, with free shipping worldwide.