Gaudí’s Forgotten Temple, Revealed for the First Time, In the Place It Was Meant to Stand

On May 17th, 2025, in Tangier, we had the rare opportunity to publicly present one of Antoni Gaudí’s least known — and never built — architectural designs: the Misiones Franciscanas de Tánger.

For the first time, this vision was not just studied or theorized. It was visualized, experienced, and re-situated—exactly where it was meant to be built over 130 years ago.

A Vision Left in the Archives

In 1892, Gaudí was commissioned to design a Catholic mission in Tangier for the Franciscan order. The design was both ambitious and symbolic: a fusion of Gothic structure, organic geometry, and religious vision. But the project was never constructed.

For decades, it remained buried in drawings, models, and scattered documentation. Its architectural potential went largely unnoticed — until Japanese architect and scholar Tokutoshi Torii began reconstructing the original concept through extensive research in the late 20th century.

His work laid the foundation for what would become the most complete understanding of the Tangier temple Gaudí imagined — but the world never saw.

A New Interpretation Through AR and VR

Building on Torii’s foundational research, David Afonso created a digital reconstruction of the temple using a combination of historical documentation, parametric modeling, and visual interpretation aligned with Gaudí’s spatial logic and natural geometry principles.

This reconstruction was presented for the first time using augmented reality and virtual renderings, allowing participants to view the temple not in theory, but in full form, suspended in the very place it was once meant to stand — now the site of Tangier’s Cathédrale de l’Immaculée Conception.

The experience offered a completely new way of engaging with Gaudí’s architecture:

• Not in Barcelona, where his legacy is most visible.
• Not in museums or archives, where the project lives on paper.
• But on location, where his design was originally intended to rise.

This was the first public spatial visualization of the Tangier temple based on verified historical interpretation, using modern tools to bridge the gap between architectural history and immersive technology.

Why This Matters

Gaudí’s Tangier mission is more than an unbuilt project — it’s a key missing piece in understanding his architectural evolution and global thinking. It was one of the earliest moments where he explored ideas that would later define his mature work.

Presenting it at scale, on-site, and in public opens up new conversations:

• What else is hidden in architectural history?
• How can we use today’s tools to revisit unrealized ideas?
• And what do we gain by placing speculative architecture back into its original context?

This experience was not a re-creation. It was an interpretive return.
One grounded in research, technology, and historical fidelity — and made possible through cross-disciplinary collaboration.

If you're part of an institution, cultural platform, or research body interested in bringing Gaudí’s Tangier project — or other unbuilt legacies — to life through AR/VR and public installation, reach out.

This is only the beginning.