There's a neat upside down model [0] somewhere in the exhibitions of the Sagrada that shows how Gaudi figured out the shape of the strange organic columns to pe

There's a neat upside down model [0] somewhere in the exhibitions of the Sagrada that shows how Gaudi figured out the shape of the strange organic columns to perfectly distribute the weight: he made an upside down model where the columns are represented by strings, and the weight of the cathedral by, well, weights. When upside down, the compression pressure in the columns becomes the tension in the strings. It's quite a brilliant way to 'compute' the statics of the cathedral with a physical model like that. [0]: https://www.flickr.com/photos/stuartmadeley/10340979205 https://www.flickr.com/photos/stuartmadeley/10340979205