Museological plan: Preservation and recovery of Gaudí’s work
The main goal of the museology proposal for Casa Vicens is to recover and showcase the original house as designed by Antoni Gaudí between 1883 and 1885, given that the building and estate have undergone numerous transformations since they were first built.
Over the house’s more than 130 years of history, the building has become an immediate reflection of the transformations and changes in the family life of its residents as well as the urban changes in the city. One of the most significant changes took place in 1925, when the summer home was enlarged by the Jover family, the owners of the house since 1899, to make it their first residence. The reform project was designed by Joan Baptista Serra de Martínez (1888-1962), an architect who was a friend of Gaudí, and it had Gaudí’s approval. At that time, Casa Vicens went from being a single-family dwelling to housing three homes, one per floor. The necessary construction of a new staircase to reach all three floors meant the removal of Gaudí’s original staircase. The widening of Carrer de Les Carolines, which took place at the same time as the enlargement of the house, also led to a significant change in the entrance to the house.
With this enlargement, the estate almost doubled in size. Since the garden was also simultaneously expanded to reach the edge of what is today carrer Príncep d’Astúries, the Casa Vincens estate had reached its peak size. Between 1935 and 1964, the house underwent several further changes until reaching the state in which we find it today.
With the goal of maintaining the utmost historical and scientific rigour, the design team has examined different document sources from the period in order to be as faithful to the original project as possible.
Tours of the house will be complemented by a permanent exhibition which will revolve around the following three topics: the history of Casa Vicens, Casa Vicens as an essential expression of Gaudí’s oeuvre, and the house within its social, cultural and artistic context. Casa Vicens will also have a series of temporary exhibitions and cultural and educational activities for all audiences.
