00:01This is the moment Barcelona's Sagrada Familia became the tallest church in the world.
00:08Meticulous coordination, precision work, the final touches by hand.
00:18Nothing less were to do for raising the cross atop the central Jesus Tower.
00:23The Sagrada Familia now stands 172.5 meters tall.
00:29Architect Mauricio Cortes climbs one of the platforms several times a day, just as he has for 20 years.
00:36He still finds it hard to believe the world-famous cathedral is nearing completion.
00:46Now, as we're dismantling the scaffolding, I try to go up very early in the morning to see the tower,
00:53either first thing or last thing in the afternoon.
00:55The whole process is very exciting.
00:58You gradually discover what's happened in the last few weeks.
01:00It's also a historic and very beautiful moment.
01:04It took 144 years to form the cathedral's final skyline.
01:10One reason why everything has taken so long is the incredible complexity of Antoni Gaudi's vision,
01:16creating a Bible in stone, inspired by nature and full of symbolism.
01:22Throughout the process, we faced design challenges, engineering challenges, structural challenges,
01:28and then finally manufacturing assembly challenges.
01:34Within this entire process, I believe that finding the materials that we felt best represented Gaudi's original vision was the
01:42greatest challenge.
01:50That vision is also visible inside the cathedral.
01:54Tree-like columns form a stone forest.
01:57Different materials and carefully designed light draw around five million visitors every year.
02:03The colorful stained glass windows were made outside the city center in the workshop of the Bonnet family.
02:13Here, too, precision is essential.
02:21The glass is cut on this.
02:23If it fits, you can see it here.
02:26So, you put this here.
02:27If you don't see the glass, it doesn't fit.
02:33Luar Bonnet helped bring Gaudi's vision for light to life.
02:38So did his father and generations before him.
02:42This was my great uncle.
02:45He was the founder of the workshop along with my grandfather.
02:49Here, they were playing a football match with the Sagrada Familia in the background.
02:53Little did they know if their paths would cross.
02:57The cathedral became the family's main client.
03:00They made all of its iconic stained glass windows.
03:03The work has provided a stable livelihood for the family for decades.
03:08That time, enough for them to witness the building becoming a global icon.
03:15The first time we visited with my father, there were practically no doors.
03:20There was a gate, and a man there would unlock it for you without asking any questions.
03:25Just let you in.
03:27Now it's impossible.
03:29You can barely even touch the outside wall.
03:31It's like it no longer belongs to us, the people.
03:34It's so vast that it's slipping out of my grasp.
03:37Out of control.
03:42A bittersweet feeling.
03:44However, Spain's most visited monument is the highlight for most visitors of Barcelona.
03:51Not only because of the dramatic facades of the monument.
04:01It's been under construction for so many years that you can really see the passage of time through the place.
04:06And I think that's what makes it special.
04:09Many people saw it differently years ago than they do today.
04:13I think that also gives it a bit of mystical feel.
04:16I'm impressed with the architecture and with higher.
04:21It's really high.
04:23Every day, up to 16,000 people are drawn to the building as it nears completion.
04:28They leave a heavy mark on a neighborhood designed to please them.
04:32Locals are harder to find, but they are there, wondering for how much longer.
04:37There are plans to build a big staircase and park on one side of the Sagrada Familia.
04:42Entire blocks and houses could be demolished.
04:45Sesc Pla lives in one of them.
04:48All the houses we see here are affected, both on this block of houses and on the other.
04:54All these homes have people living in them.
04:56So this is a problem in a city where housing is now an issue.
05:02The architect likes the Sagrada Familia.
05:05He has lived close by for 11 years.
05:08But the plans, which have existed for 50 years without a solution, could become a reality now.
05:19Drawing a project on paper, on a plan, is one thing.
05:23But then it has to translate into reality, into a reality where there's a city,
05:28where there are houses, where there are neighbors.
05:31So you can't draw it as if it were a blank sheet of paper.
05:36No.
05:36You have to draw it with the awareness that there are people who live there,
05:40that they have homes, and you have to think about whether everyone agrees
05:44and is comfortable with what's drawn.
05:48Barcelona city council officials declined an interview,
05:52but said in a statement they are negotiating with the Sagrada Familia construction board,
05:56as well as some neighbors.
06:00It's a conversation Pla is not directly involved in.
06:06It's a perpetual uncertainty, fear about what might happen.
06:14I love my home.
06:16I don't know if everybody feels like this.
06:17But I feel like this is my identity, this is my place.
06:22And I don't want to lose it.
06:27Hundreds of neighbors and shop owners share this feeling.
06:31Many still hope for a solution.
06:34As the scaffolding of the Sagrada Familia slowly comes down,
06:38it enters a new chapter as the tallest church in the world.
06:44It's an unfinished masterpiece for those living in its shadow,
06:49a masterpiece that comes at a cost.
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