The house of the Punxes stand out among the buildings that were created during the golden age of Barcelona, with Gothic inspiration and created in the modernist era of the early twentieth century, the work of architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch, this house was built at the request of Bartomeu Terradas Brutau for each of his three daughters, Angela, Josefa and Rosa, receiving the name Casa de los Punxes by the needles that crown the six towers that crown the building.
The architect’s intention was that structurally it would look like a single architectural ensemble, but also included features characteristic of each of the owners, a fact that indicated to which of the daughters the house belonged, as can be seen on the facade of the corner that belongs to number 420 of the Diagonal, there is an interesting sculptural panel in which an angel is represented, a figure that alludes to the sister Ángela Terradas. The preparatory drawing made by Monserdà is in the archives of the Royal Catalan Academy of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi in Barcelona. Other decorative details that refer us to this property are found in the anagrams that, distributed as if they were a border, repeat the letters ATB, in reference to Ángela Terradas Brutau.
Josefa’s property went from Diagonal to Rosselló street, in whose back front we can find another ceramic panel drawn by Monserdà himself, where St. George is represented killing the dragon and we can read: “Patron Saint of Catalonia give us back our freedom”.
Right in the frame of this panel, in a strategic situation for the meaning that the figure of ST. George could represent, we find a familiar face sculpted. The male figure, with round glasses, large receding hairline and full lips, represents the great author of the project, the architect Josep Puig I Cadafalch.
On the facades of Bruc street, we find two more ceramic panels. One depicts a vase full of roses, with the initials RTB, and the other, the figure of a girl surrounded by roses. This property belonged to the sister Rosa Terradas Brutau.