CASA VICENS

Description

Essentials about Casa Vicens in brief

The magnificent buildings of the Catalan master architect Antoni Gaudí are omnipresent in Barcelona. Casa Vicens is one of his lesser-known buildings. Nevertheless, it is well worth a visit, because the house represents Gaudí’s first major independent work and already shows his typical architectural signature in many details.

The façade of Casa Vicens

The house was built between 1883 and 1885 in the Gràcia district as a commission for Manuel Vicens i Montaner, a wealthy stockbroker. Casa Vicens already shows some basic elements of Gaudí’s style, such as the use of naturalistic ornamentation, ceramics and many colors. The building is inspired by the Mudéjar style, a mixture of Spanish and Arabic elements. This is evident, for example, in several small towers and in the delicate facade of the upper floors.

The interior of Casa Vicens

The interior captivates with its stalactite cave-like vaults, most strikingly in the smoking room. Decorations such as painted birds on the walls and door jambs or floral patterns on the ceilings are typical design features.

The building originally stood directly against the monastery wall of the neighboring convent. After the convent moved away, the owners at the time acquired part of the neighboring property and wanted to commission Gaudí to extend the building in 1925. However, the latter refused, and so Casa Vicens was extended by more than half in 1925 by architect Joan Serra de Martínez. Serra de Martínez adopted the style of the existing house and even had his plans approved by Gaudí.

Casa Vicens was privately owned for a long time and could therefore only be viewed from the outside. Since 2017, the house has been open to the public as a residential museum. Incidentally, in 2005 Casa Vicens was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List along with other works by Gaudí.