BARCELONA—Following months of meticulous restoration efforts, renowned Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí‘s Casa Vicens opened its doors to the public for the first time this past fall, DesignBoom writes.
Moorish and brilliantly colorful, ‘Casa Vicens’ was built by Gaudí in Barcelona between 1883 and 1885 as a summer home for real-estate broker Manel Vicens I Montaner.
In 1925, though, the building underwent some disparate changes from Gaudí’s vision, namely repainting and removal of a staircase and water features, among others.
But it was the building’s emblematic ceramic tile and mosaic elements which were in desperate need of restoration. Thanks to a Spanish bank which bought the UNESCO World Heritage Site three years ago, they were able to bring on local design studio DAW to restore those elements and transform the site into a museum.
DAW used photographs and other historical documents in their research and development for the project.
In the smoking room, restorers have removed layers of paint to reveal Gaudí’s original blue-green color scheme. The three-dimensional papier-mâché reliefs on the ceilings and walls have been repaired and restored to their original, while tiles have been laid on the roof, remaining true to the old technique of ‘trencadís’ — breaking up ceramic tiles into pieces and putting the fragments up with mortar.
The museum hopes to receive 150,000 to 300,000 visitors gradually each year over the next ten years.
Get a load of these videos of the ceramic repair process.
Photography: Pol Viladoms
Love or loathe this ceramic and architectural restoration? Let us know in the comments.
I visited the house with a group of the Catalan Association of Ceramists (ACC) one month ago, guided by Manel Diestre, the responsible of restoration of ceramics of Casa Vicens. It is really stunning.
Thanks for the article.
A breathtaking riot of what ceramics can do