One-hundred and thirty two years later, Barcelona’s fantastical Basilica Sagrada Família is approaching the last stage of its construction. The first stone was laid on March 19,1882. #

Chief architect Jordi Fauli gave a news conference on October 21 explaining the progress of the work on the structure, which was designed by Antoni Gaudí. Six more towers will be added to the basilica by 2026, bringing the grand total to 18, each of which is dedicated to a different religious figure. #

The cathedral’s completion is timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the architect’s death, although adding the final decorative elements could take another four to six years after the towers are erected. #

Gaudí famously believed that his client, God, was in no hurry, and over its long gestation period La Sagrada Família has acquired a bounty of fantastic descriptors, with citizens, tourists, and critics debating whether it’s a work of genius or garishness. #

Salvador Dalí called it a “tactile erogenous zone” and Walter Gropius deemed it “a marvel of technical perfection.” #

Various news outlets have called it “monstrously, outrageously kitsch”; a “teeming jumble”; “the crown jewel in Barcelona’s architectural landscape”; “sensual, spiritual, whimsical, exuberant”; “a cluster of gigantic stone termites’ nests” and “a gingerbread house baked by the wickedest witch of all.” #

It’s impossible to estimate how much construction of the Sagrada Família has cost over the years, but the annual costs of construction and maintenance run to around €25 million a year, paid for by the site’s three million annual visitors as well as private donors. #