Gaudí's beautiful Casa Vicens in Barcelona to be restored as a museum
by Tom Anstey | 08 Sep 2015
Antoni Gaudí's Casa Vicens in Barcelona, Spain, is to be turned into a museum celebrating his work. It will open during the second half of 2016.
The house was built in 1889 and is a UNESCO-listed World Heritage site.
Gaudí, who lived from 1852 until 1926 is the best known practitioner of Catalan Modernism – a style centred in Barcelona and expressed mainly through architecture. Casa Vicens is the first house he created and will be used to present and explore his unique architectural language and the development of the Art Nouveau-esque style in Barcelona.
The building's owner, Amura Capital, is thought to have purchased the property for around €27m (US$30.1m, £19.6m) in 2014 and is currently undertaking restoration work and planning the museum.
Architects Elias Torres, Jose Antonio Martinez Lapeña and David Garcia, who have all previously worked on UNESCO World Heritage sites, are conducting the architectural restoration, while Jordi Falgàs is in charge of the museum plan.
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"It's essential to visit Casa Vicens in order to understand the origins and development of Gaudí’s architecture,” said Mercedes Mora, executive manager of Casa Vicens, speaking to Iconic Houses magazine.
“Our goals are firstly the conservation of this precious legacy and secondly providing the best interpretive tools for visitors of all ages and origins, to enable them to spend time here as a learning experience.
“Some parts of the house and the original decoration were either demolished or unrecoverably altered, but thanks to the current restoration work being carried out, we'll be able to see the house almost as it was when Gaudi gave it to his client.”
Architects Elias Torres, Jose Antonio Martinez Lapeña and David Garciaare working on the restoration Credit: Flickr.com/IMGPhotography
Gaudí, who lived from 1852 until 1926 is the best known practitioner of Catalan Modernism
Antoni Gaudí's Casa Vicens in Barcelona, Spain, is to be turned into a museum celebrating his work. It will open during the second half of 2016. The house was built in 1889 and is a UNESCO-listed World Heritage site. Gaudí, who lived from 1852 until 1926 is the best known practitioner of Catalan Modernism – a style centred in Barcelona and expressed mainly through architecture. Casa Vicens is the first
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