“Architects and conservators say the Spanish government has caused irreparable damage to the Catalan architect’s Güell crypt. They describe the cleaning of the building as “brutal” and say that it was carried out with abrasive materials abandoned years ago by the conservation industry. They also say that a staircase which provided access to the roof has been removed and they say that the restorers have placed a large stone plinth commemorating their restoration inside the chapel. This distracts visitors and disrupts the circulation within the chapel intended by Gaudí. The restorers also cut down an old pine tree near the building, which Gaudí had deliberately left standing and which he had incorporated in his design for the chapel.”