Which Gaudí building was his first major commission, for a tile manufacturer? Casa Vicens.
Casa Vicens was Antoni Gaudí’s first major architectural project. Manuel Vicens i Montaner, a Barcelona tile manufacturer and stockbroker, commissioned the house as a summer residence in the Gràcia neighbourhood. Gaudí designed it in the late 1870s, and it was built from 1883 to 1885.
The building reveals Gaudí experimenting with a personal architectural language. Its patterned ceramic tiles, brickwork, ironwork, and strong geometric forms reflect Oriental and Neo-Mudéjar influences, while also anticipating the Catalan Modernisme that would define his mature career.
The other options are associated with Gaudí but do not fit the clue. El Capricho was commissioned by Máximo Díaz de Quijano in Comillas, while Casa Batlló and Casa Milà were later Barcelona commissions. Casa Vicens is therefore both the correct building and an important early milestone in Gaudí’s professional development.