Casa Vicens
Casa Vicens, located in the Vila de Gracia, is Gaudi's first house, built in 1883. It opened recently - in 2017 - after a painstaking restoration, and it's a bit off the beaten path, so it's pleasantly less busy than his other buildings. It's an amazing aggregation of Moorish and Orientalist elements, quite different from his later very sculptural, organic work. The variety and density of the colors and ornament is stunning.
Once a country house on a larger plot of land, the compact volume seems at home in what is now a dense neighborhood of Barcelona. This does make it hard to get comprehensive photos of the exterior – an architectural model helps to describe the shape of the building.
The building's location on a cross street allows a full-height view of part of the house.
The crisp geometric details, and the red and green palette of the exterior are arresting.
Sgraffito plaster (some with raised relief), tiles both in solid colors and with painted details, woodwork and mirrors create a richly layered interiors. The sensibility of the interior, with its variety of techniques, use of color and density of fine detail reminds me a bit of Louis Sullivan's work. Mirrors are used inside to dramatic effect in the entry hall (below) and living room.
A covered porch is enclosed by wooden screens.
A detail of the ceiling in the covered porch.
The ornamented vaulting of the smoking room recalls the muquarnas of Islamic architecture.
The rooftop towers reappear in later works.
The house has beautiful ironwork fences and railings.
