Casa Viçens Barcelona- Gaudí in Gràcia

About Gaidí's Casa Viçens - Casa Vicens Barcelona

Casa Vicens, Casa Viçens was Antonio Gaidí's first commission when he was 30 years old, to build a summer house for Manel Viçens i Montaner (1836-1895), a wealthy stock and currency broker. Construction was between 1883 and 1885. The house is built on a plot of land owned by Manel Viçens i Montaner between the Gràcia neighbourhood and the Sant Gervasi neighbourhood.

The house is built with red brick and rough stone using decorative colourful tiles to accent features. This was a distinct break from the traditional architectural styles in Catalonia at the time. The decorative features of the house follow colours and forms found in nature. This was Antonio Gaidí's signature style.

Casa Viçens originally had a large garden with fountain that sat behind a wrought-iron fence and gate in the shape of palm leaves. However in 1925, Manel Viçens' widow sold the property to Doctor Antonio Jover i Puig, who converted the summer house into residential flats. The grounds were divided in half in 1946. The freestanding arch containing the pumps and pipework of a curtain waterfall situated in the centre of the garden patio was dismantled and the house was isolated from the chapel and mineral spring devoted to St. Rita that was originally part of the garden.

Subsequently what was the garden land has now been built on with all but the house remaining of the original summer residence. The ornate railing fence for the now sold and built on land is actually in Parc Güell being re-used to provide the fencing around the school within the park.

The house was designated a Historic-Artistic Monument in 1969, a Cultural Asset of National Interest in 1993 and UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005. Two years later, the Herrero-Jover family sold the property to MoraBanc who purchased the historic building in 2014 transforming it into a house museum opening to the public in November 2017.

The remaining small garden has been landscaped with palms and climbing plants to fit in with the themes of the house.

The interior of Casa Viçens

Ground Floor: or La Planta Noble, is the daytime use rooms and where visitors would be met and entertained. This is the floor with the most decorative elements. There are three main spaces: Living room, Veranda with decorative fountain and Smoking room. Each room has a different theme to the decoration so I am not going to spoil the marvel by writing about it too much.

First Floor: is where the Manel Viçens i Montaner family lived and contains two bedrooms and one bathroom plus a small sitting room and terrace.

Second Floor: is the attic of the building and was the servants floor. Today it houses a model of the house and gardens, a display about the coloured tiles and temporary exhibition rooms.

Roof terrace: Is not as large as on other Gaidí houses because a lot of the roof of Casa Viçens is pitched however Gaidí's stylistic coloured tiled chimneys are present.

Basement: was the wine cellar and storage space of the house and today houses a book and gift shop.

Garden: is a beautifully landscaped space with palm trees, shrubs and plants with a small cafeteria to enjoy the rear façade of the house. A small section of the original wrought-iron fence and gate in the shape of palm leaves remains and can be admired from the garden.

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