Who commissioned Gaudí to build Casa Vicens?

Manuel Vicens i Montaner commissioned Gaudí to build Casa Vicens. The house was designed as a summer residence in Barcelona’s Gràcia area and became Gaudí’s first major architectural project.

Vicens inherited the property from his mother, Rosa Montaner i Matas, in 1877. Gaudí prepared the project around 1880, and construction took place from 1883 to 1885. The original estate included a substantial garden, though later development reduced the property to the house and a much smaller surrounding area.

Casa Vicens belongs to Gaudí’s early Orientalist period. Its design combines exposed brick, elaborate ceramic tiles, ironwork and motifs influenced by Mudéjar, Persian, Byzantine and other Eastern traditions. The building’s strong geometric decoration foreshadowed techniques Gaudí would develop in later Modernisme works.

A common mix-up is confusing Vicens with Eusebi Güell, who commissioned several other important Gaudí projects, including the Güell Pavilions, Palau Güell and Park Güell. Casa Vicens opened as a house-museum in 2017 after a major restoration.