More than 130 years after legendary Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí’s first house, Casa Vicens, was built, it’s finally set to open to the public this fall as a new museum. Now, Gaudí architectural masterpieces that pepper Barcelona are no strangers to delays (we're looking at you, Sagrada Familia) but after three years of restorations, Casa Vicens is finally almost open for business.
Casa Vicens was designed by 31-year-old Gaudí to be a summer home for Spanish broker-dealer Manel Vicens i Montaner, according to the Casa Vicens website. In construction from 1883 to 1885, the home was later renovated by Gaudí’s friend Joan Baptista Serra de Martínez, who turned the one-family home into a three-family home. By 1993, Barcelona named Casa Vicens an historic monument, and in 2005, UNESCO declared the building a World Human Heritage Site, along with six other Gaudí creations including the famous Park Güell.
The house was bought in 2014 by MoraBanc, with plans to eventually restore it and open Gaudí's first home to visitors. And now, three years later, that vision will finally become a reality. Architecture studio Martínez Lapeña-Torres Arquitectes S.L.P. and architects José Antonio Martínez Lapeña, Elías Torres, and David García are the brains behind the restoration, led by Spanish joint venture group Calaf AMC5.
An opening date and pricing information has not yet been announced for the museum.
For now, explore Casa Vicens through photos, below.
