Built between 1883 and 1885 by a then 31 year-old Antoni Gaudí for Manuel Vicens i Montaner, Casa Vicens (a summer home for the Barcelona-based brick and tile factory owner) was the first of the iconic architect’s commissions to truly show off the enormity of his talents; Gaudí’s first house considered one of the first significant works of Catalunya’s Modernisme movement.
![Casa Vicens, Barcelona: Antoni Gaudi's First House](https://www.we-heart.com/upload-images/casavicensbarcelonasmall.jpg)
Located in the historic neighbourhood of Gràcia (then yet to be formally annexed by Barcelona as part of the city’s expansion), it remained a private residence for 130 years, opening its doors after two years of rehabilitation to the public this month; the latest of eight buildings in the Catalan capital listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In order to showcase and recover the Catalan architect’s original design in the purest possible form, a rehabilitation and restoration project was undertaken by studios Martínez Lapeña-Torres Arquitectes S.L.P. and Daw Office S.L.P — transforming the house and estate into a museum and cultural centre where visitors can learn by experience the origins of Gaudi’s architecture; stroll its grounds; and enjoy temporary and permanent exhibitions, all housed inside a building that defies perceived notions of the term ‘masterpiece’. A work of art, a moment in history, Gaudí’s first is one of his finest. Incredible.
![Casa Vicens Gaudi](https://www.we-heart.com/upload-images/casavicensbarcelona2.jpg)
![Casa Vicens Gaudi's First House](https://www.we-heart.com/upload-images/casavicensbarcelona3.jpg)
![Casa Vicens, Barcelona: Antoni Gaudi's First House](https://www.we-heart.com/upload-images/casavicensbarcelona4.jpg)
![Casa Vicens Gaudi](https://www.we-heart.com/upload-images/casavicensbarcelona5.jpg)
![Casa Vicens Gaudi's First House](https://www.we-heart.com/upload-images/casavicensbarcelona6.jpg)
![Casa Vicens Gaudi](https://www.we-heart.com/upload-images/casavicensbarcelona7.jpg)
![Casa Vicens Gaudi's First House](https://www.we-heart.com/upload-images/casavicensbarcelona8.jpg)
![Casa Vicens, Barcelona: Antoni Gaudi's First House](https://www.we-heart.com/upload-images/casavicensbarcelona9.jpg)
![Casa Vicens Gaudi](https://www.we-heart.com/upload-images/casavicensbarcelona10.jpg)
![Casa Vicens Gaudi's First House](https://www.we-heart.com/upload-images/casavicensbarcelona11.jpg)
![Casa Vicens Gaudi](https://www.we-heart.com/upload-images/casavicensbarcelona12.jpg)
![Casa Vicens Gaudi's First House](https://www.we-heart.com/upload-images/casavicensbarcelona13.jpg)
![Casa Vicens, Barcelona: Antoni Gaudi's First House](https://www.we-heart.com/upload-images/casavicensbarcelona14.jpg)
![Casa Vicens Gaudi](https://www.we-heart.com/upload-images/casavicensbarcelona15.jpg)
![Casa Vicens Gaudi's First House](https://www.we-heart.com/upload-images/casavicensbarcelona16.jpg)
Photography, Pol Viladoms