Antoni Gaudí’s Casa Vicens to open later this month in Barcelona

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in April 2017 and has been updated with the most recent information.

After a series of setbacks and a painstaking renovation process, Antoni Gaudí’s Casa Vicens in Barcelona will finally open its doors to the public later this month.

Helmed by local firms Daw Office and Martiñez Lapeña Torres Arquitectes, the extensive renovation process involved returning the ostentatious home to its original state, as well as converting it into a “house museum” and cultural space that could accommodate visitors, exhibition space, and a library gift shop.

The opulently tiled brick-and-stone building is the Catalonian architect’s first residence and a prime example of his orientalist period. It was built as a summer home between 1883 and 1885 for Manel Vicens, a wealthy industrialist, and boasts a graphic, geometric, and wholly unique scheme.

In 1925, the Jover family, who bought the house in 1899, commissioned architect Joan Baptista Serra de Martínez, a friend of Gaudí’s, to expand the free-standing property—with Gaudí’s blessing. The expansion turned the single-family dwelling into three separate homes, one on each floor, and almost doubled the square-footage. Further changes were made between 1935 and 1964.

In 2005, UNESCO declared Casa Vicens a World Heritage Site, bringing the count of Gaudí buildings bearing that designation to six. It opens to the public on November 16.

Via: ArchDaily, Wallpaper