My wife and I recently took a trip to Barcelona, Spain.

This is a city I have visited many times when I was working on cruise ships. As it turned out I have never really visited any of the main attractions one visits Barcelona to see.

Now the famous street Las Ramblas is stunning with it's bars, cafes and human statues but a building that truly took my breath away was Antony Gaudi's s basilica La Sagrada Familia. After over 100 years of construction is due to be finished within the next 20 years.

What Does An Ancient Church Have To Do With Pro Tools? 

Now why am I posting a picture of an unfinished church on Pro Tool Expert?  

I find it very difficult to switch off my "techie" brain and as my wife and I toured La Sagrada Familia I noticed something that just blew my mind. I think it is fair to say than in the original plans Gaudi did not plan for speakers and public address systems but these days churches all over the world have to consider audio reproduction systems. Most of the time these stick out like a sore thumb.  

Take a look at the picture below to see what the audio installation team have done to make the PA system in La Sagrada Familia blend into the background.

I have not been able to find out if the custom painting of the these speakers was done by Bose or by the installation team, irrespective of that from a distance you really can not see the speakers. This attention detail stops the viewer being distracted from the stunning flowing lines of the Basilica that Gaudi intended. 

If you ever get a chance to visit Barcelona make sure you take the Metro to pay a visit to La Sagrada Familia.  The architecture is amazing and the sound system is not bad either.