View source for Panot

{{Short description|Type of outdoor tile}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
[[File:Paviment barceloni.jpg|thumb|Two designs of ''panot'' paving Barcelona; the ''flor de Barcelona'' in the lower corner is the most common and iconic.]]
'''''Panot''''' ({{translation|[[flagstone]]}}) is a type of outdoor [[cement tile]] and the associated [[Permeable paving|paving]] style, both found in [[Barcelona]]. ''Panot'' tiles are usually small and square, and feature graphic designs pertaining to the neighbourhoods of the city which they pave. The ''panot'' tiles designed by [[Antoni Gaudí]] are hexagonal.
==Etymology==
The name ''panot'' derives from the French ''[[:wikt:panneau|panneau]]'', specifically the purpose that refers to cement slabs.<ref name=CatalanEncyclopedia>{{cite web |title=panot {{!}} enciclopèdia.cat |url=https://www.enciclopedia.cat/ec-gec-0129353.xml |access-date=2021-01-18 |language=ca |archive-date=29 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429054234/http://www.enciclopedia.cat/EC-GEC-0129353.xml |url-status=live}}</ref>
==History==
Barcelona began paving its streets in the 17th century,<ref>{{Citation |last=AA. VV. |title=Art de Catalunya 3: Urbanisme, arquitectura civil i industrial |year=1998 |place=Barcelona |publisher=Edicions L'isard |language=Catalan |pages=197–198}}</ref> and by the end of the 18th century this was closely regulated.<ref>{{Citation |last=AA. VV. |title=Enciclopèdia de Barcelona 1. 22@ / Ciutat Meridiana |page=272 |year=2006 |place=Barcelona |publisher=Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana |language=Catalan |isbn=84-412-1395-X}}</ref> Streets – for both vehicular and pedestrian usage – were paved with [[cobblestones]]. Up to the modern day, several of Barcelona's vehicle roads are cobbled.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mohn |first=Tanya |title=Walking Through History: Barcelona's Gothic Quarter |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/tanyamohn/2011/08/29/walking-through-history-barcelonas-gothic-quarter/ |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=Forbes |archive-date=27 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527212027/https://www.forbes.com/sites/tanyamohn/2011/08/29/walking-through-history-barcelonas-gothic-quarter/ |url-status=live}}</ref> As the city experienced the [[Modernisme]] movement and rapid expansion, paving tiles with artistic as well as practical function began to be used, including mosaic pavement designed by Pere Falqués on the [[Passeig de Lluís Companys, Barcelona|Passeig de Lluís Companys]] for the [[1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Garrut |first=Josep Maria |title=L'Exposició Universal de Barcelona de 1888 |page=27 |year=1976 |place=Barcelona |publisher=Ajuntament de Barcelona, Delegació de Cultura |language=Catalan |isbn=84-500-1498-0}}</ref> Interior flooring had once used small [[terracotta]] tiles, but in the late 19th century also developed, with many buildings using [[ceramic]] tiles.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=The floors in La Pedrera |url=https://www.lapedrera.com/en/blog/floors-la-pedrera |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=www.lapedrera.com |archive-date=27 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527145551/https://www.lapedrera.com/en/blog/floors-la-pedrera |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Original Panot designs.png|thumb|The five original chosen designs<ref name=":3"/>]]
Until the early 20th century, paving the street outside of private properties was the responsibility of the owners, but the material was prescribed by the city: expensive [[Montjuïc]] stone. Residents could apply for construction permits if they wanted to use other materials; with some adhering and others not paving due to the cost, the streets of [[Eixample]] were uneven and messy. In 1891, paving company Escofet became the first to offer outdoor panot tiles as an alternative, and as early as 1895 had asked for the city to approve use of such tiles ''en masse''. In 1906 the city decided to take over the process and [[Procurement|tendered]] for 18 tile designs and production of {{Convert|10,000|m2|sqft|abbr=on}} of tiles (without specifying dimensions of individual tiles). To make the project affordable, the city opted to use cheap [[Cement tiles|hydraulic cement tiles]], which some residents had already done; at the time, [[Catalonia#Late modern history|Catalonia]] was a big cement producer, including for artistic purposes, with the industry seeking to expand. Following complaints from the industry that 18 was too many designs to produce, the city chose five designs. A few of these were labeled with street names, so may have already been in use in those locations.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2018-02-11 |title=La verdadera historia del 'panot' de Barcelona |url=https://www.lavanguardia.com/local/barcelona/20180212/44628283022/historia-panot-barcelona-flor-calcada-portuguesa.html |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=La Vanguardia |language=es |archive-date=28 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528001034/https://www.lavanguardia.com/local/barcelona/20180212/44628283022/historia-panot-barcelona-flor-calcada-portuguesa.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
The tender was won by Ramon Escober, who was awarded 42,000 [[Spanish peseta|pesetas]] and gave the production rights to Escofet.<ref name=":3" /> In 2010, around {{Convert|5,000,000|m2|sqft|abbr=on}} of Barcelona streets were panot tiled.<ref name=":3" />
==Designs==
===''Flor de Barcelona''===
For many years it was commonly believed that the ''Flor de Barcelona'' was a design by Catalan architect [[Josep Puig i Cadafalch]], the same as used in floor tiles for the [[Casa Amatller]], with visual differences in the two attributed to the wear experienced by the Casa Amatller tiles. Restoration of the building in 2013 and historical document research published in 2018 revealed that the ''Flor de Barcelona'' design was not recorded before the 1906 tender; it may have been in use by some individuals before then, but was not Puig i Cadalfach's, in which a deep relief four-leaf design is completely chiseled out of the stone (rather than a flower shallowly outlined). The nature of the Casa Amatller's tiles being inside allowed for such a design, which would accumulate rainwater if outside like the ''flor de Barcelona'' panot. The research suggested that the ''flor de Barcelona'' may be inspired by the Casa Amatller tiles, but with practical differences and no documentation, the design cannot be attributed to Puig i Cadalfach.<ref name=":3" />
The ''Flor de Barcelona'' panot is particularly widespread and has become a symbol of Barcelona, including as a popular tattoo design.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.laramblabarcelona.com/en/barcelonas-tiles/ |title=Why Barcelona's tiles have flowers? The history of Panot |website=La Rambla Barcelona |access-date=28 May 2023 |archive-date=15 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215034807/https://www.laramblabarcelona.com/en/barcelonas-tiles/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
{{Gallery
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| File:Flor de Barcelona.JPG
| ''Flor de Barcelona'' design
| alt1=
| File:PiC casa Amatller RI-51-0004199 4482 (cropped - tiles).jpg
| Casa Amatller tiles
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}}
===Panot Gaudí===
{{Commons category|Hexagonal tiles of Passeig de Gràcia|Panot Gaudí}}<!--commonscat for section-->
Catalan architect [[Antoni Gaudí]] used ceramic tiles in his building designs, as was the custom, until realising that cement tiles could be used for interiors and provided options for design in art and colour. Gaudí designed tiles for the [[Casa Batlló]]; due to the complexity of the design, producer Escofet could not deliver them on time and they were instead installed in the [[Casa Milà]];<ref name=":0" /> the original tiles were produced between 1905 and 1907.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Antoni Gaudí. Floor Tiles from the Casa Mila, Barcelona. 1905-1907 {{!}} MoMA |url=https://www.moma.org/collection/works/2636 |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=The Museum of Modern Art |language=en |archive-date=27 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527150838/https://www.moma.org/collection/works/2636 |url-status=live }}</ref> As Gaudí had created other flooring for the Casa Milà (namely an also-hexagonal [[parquet]] of oak and [[Poplar tree|poplar]]), the tiles were only laid in less important rooms.<ref name=":0" />
Gaudí's tiles ({{ill|panot Gaudí|ca|Panot Gaudí}}) evoke the underwater world. They are hexagonal and originally a shade of [[Nephrite|nephrite green]], with three design features on each that align with adjacent tiles to create a larger image.<ref name=":0" /> The designs on the original tiles are in shallow [[relief]], and may only be visible when the tiles are illuminated.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=The true story of Gaudí's "Panot" {{!}} ESCOFET |url=https://www.escofet.com/en/blog/true-story-gaudis-panot |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=www.escofet.com |archive-date=27 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527151920/https://www.escofet.com/en/blog/true-story-gaudis-panot |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 1997, Barcelona paid homage to the popular design by paving the pedestrian street of [[Passeig de Gràcia, Barcelona|Passeig de Gràcia]] (both the Casa Batlló and Casa Milà are on this street) with a more weather-resistant version.<ref name=":2" /> The [[Museum of Modern Art]] in New York contains a group of Gaudí tiles from the Casa Milà.<ref name=":1" />
{{Gallery
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| File:PANOT GAUDI EN EL MUSEO MOMA DE NEW YORK.jpg
| Original Casa Milà tiles on display at MoMA
| alt1=
| File:Andreu ledoux bcn-2009 131.jpg
| Gaudí panot tiles
| alt2=
| File:Above (Unsplash).jpg
| Passeig de Gràcia from above
| alt3=
| File:Gaudi PavimentHidraulic Batlló.jpg
| Three full designs can be seen when multiple tiles are laid in a certain pattern.
}}
===Others===
[[File:Panot B.JPG|thumb|"B for Barcelona" design]]
In 2008, a "B for Barcelona" design was introduced on one street, being limited in usage due to its unpopularity. A new panot was used in 2015, on [[Avinguda Diagonal]]. The [[banana leaf]] design was also initially unpopular, with people saying it was uncomfortable to walk on; it was replaced after six months, but with the same design, only replaced because of so many broken tiles.<ref name=":3" />
==See also==
* [[Encaustic tile]]
* [[Portuguese pavement]]
* [[Tile art]]
* [[Urban planning of Barcelona]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Architecture of Barcelona]]
[[Category:Cement]]
[[Category:Culture in Barcelona]]
[[Category:Tiling]]
[[Category:Modernisme architecture in Barcelona]]
[[Category:Pavement art]]