Architecture | Casa Vicens

25/06/2019

Water is running again in the fountain at Casa Vicens

· Water was a key element in the design of the first house by Antoni Gaudí. Originally, the architect conceived a waterfall in front of the main façade, a fountain in the entrance and a fountain on the covered porch. · The laborious efforts to restore the water system of the covered porch’s fountain regales … Read more

06/08/2018

Middle Eastern-Style Architecture in Gràcia

In the mid-19th century, the city of Barcelona was deeply interested in Middle Eastern culture. This taste for the Middle East coincided with a moment when the city was expanding and its new bourgeois class was gaining strength. This was reflected in the construction of new buildings with an eclectic style where the Arabic architecture … Read more

01/08/2018

Gaudí in Gràcia: collaborations with Aleix Clapés

Casa Vicens is the first house that Antoni Gaudí built in the city of Barcelona, specifically in the Vila de Gràcia. A few years after the Gràcia’s annexation into Barcelona, Antoni Gaudí carried out another project in Gràcia, a lesser-known work by the architect but one which is especially interesting from the point of view … Read more

09/07/2018

Photographing Gaudí’s first house

Photography Workshop in Casa Vicens, by Pol Viladoms (24/07/2018) “Vision is synthetic. Life is appreciated through vision.” Antoni Gaudí In this workshop, participants will get to know the basic principles of architectural photography, learn to value the different actors involved, what type of equipment is appropriate, which phone applications can help us, etc. In … Read more

04/06/2018

The restoration work on Casa Vicens named as a finalist for the 2018 FAD Awards

José Antonio Martínez Lapeña, Elías Torres and David García, members of the architectural team in charge of restoring Casa Vicens, have been named as finalists for 2018 FAD Awards, now in its 60th year, for their work on Gaudí’s first house. According to the jury, “the architects have proposed a comprehensive and very detailed restoration … Read more

10/05/2018

The mysteries of water in Gaudí’s work (II)

[Continuation of the post entitled “The mysteries of water in Gaudí’s work (I)”] Apart from the fountain, another element directly related to the water is the exposed brick waterfall, formed by a catenary arch that was located in the garden. Above the arch, there were two rows of thin brick pillars crowned by a capital … Read more

19/04/2018

The mysteries of water in Gaudí’s work (I)

In addition to the well-known inspiration and influence of plants[1] in Gaudí’s work, another element that we find at Casa Vicens and in some of his other projects is water. Without going into any further detail, the channeling and reuse of water that we find at Park Güell is a very good example of this. … Read more

25/03/2018

Nature made into architecture

“When I went to take the measurements of the site, it was totally covered with some yellow flowers, which I used as an ornamental theme for the ceramic. I also found an exuberant palmetto palm, whose leaves fill the grid of the gate of the house.» With these words, Joan Bergós, a disciple and great … Read more

13/02/2018

Gaudí and his concept of the house

‘The house is the small nation of the family. The family, like the nation, has history, foreign relations, changes of government, etc. The independent family has its own house; what it does not have is a house for rent. The house itself is the native country and the rental house is the land of emigration; … Read more

22/09/2017

Architecture

Introducing Casa Vicens project to the Cercle Guimard

Throughout its process of restoration, Casa Vicens has been in touch with other European organizations that focus on the conservation and promotion of architectural heritage. During this period, it has forged a particularly close relationship with the Cercle Guimard, a Paris-based organization devoted to the preservation and promotion of the work of Hector Guimard and … Read more