Today in Barcelona is a dreary day. The temperature is balmy, but there’s on-and-off drizzle and the sun is overcast. This must’ve happened already during the six months–wow!–we’ve lived here, but today my body just wants to stay home curled up with a book. This is not ideal considering that we’re leaving for a 10-day vacation in less than a week, with our first overnight guests arriving in 4 days and 16 hours and our laundry cycle approximately six hours per load. Nonetheless I am going to post about a Gaudi property we visited last week, when the weather was much nicer.
Casa Vicens is Gaudi’s first major commission, a summer home in the then village of Gracia, built in 1883-5. It is packed with creativity, charm, color, and so many of the touches his future works include: ceramic tiles, natural themes, advanced (for the time) features, attention to light, ventilation, and comfort, and flowing lines. Having just taken the self-guided tour, I could have too much to say about it, so I’m going to show you pictures, since factual information of this sort is easily obtained these days, so long as you search with -ai.
The house faces sideways on the street and abuts a previous building, which allows it to have a more private front entrance and a larger garden. The sun porch is attached to the main living area and extends into the garden. The clever fountain in the middle gets its water from catchments in the eaves. The round portion moves in the wind, and when the water is flowing that creates rainbows on the roof of the sun porch inside. The slats used here and elsewhere are cleverly designed to allow inhabitants to see out even though no one outside can see in.
The main living area behind the sun porch is separated from it by sturdy metal doors that slide into the wall when not in use so the two spaces can connect, then provide security between the house and the open porch when needed, such as overnight. The furniture in the room is custom designed and includes panels for artwork, which was completed as part of the commission. We did not get good pictures of the ceiling or wallpaper in the living room so I’ve included a shot of the ceiling of the foyer. It’s not the same design, but it does give some idea of the decorative details.
Another room downstairs is a small smoking room for gentlemen only. The ceiling droops quite dramatically, the details are mesmerizing, and the colors intense. Four or five men could sit comfortably here, and they would have a view of the garden.
Upstairs there is a double bedroom for the master and mistress. This is a large room divided in half, and the halves are decorated with different colors and patterns on every surface, including the ceiling. In the pair of pictures below, the man’s side is on the left and the woman’s on the right, just as in most folk dance set formations.
Casa Vicens included indoor plumbing, quite unusual for this time. In the adjacent bathroom there is a bathtub, a sink, and a festive ceiling.
My favorite room on the second floor is known as the dome room. It is reserved for the ladies. The room is lined with window seats that simply beg one to lounge with a book, but if a friend or two joins, would also be great for a cozy chat. The domed ceiling is painted as though one could see into the actual tower above the room, which seems to be filled with birds.
The roof is classic Gaudi with a labyrinthine path among various protuberances, some of which may be chimneys. I believe the Dome Room tower is the one at the far right of the first shot. The second one shows a copycat tower on the roof of the extension, which I have not mentioned before. It has good views of the neighborhood, including a look at someone’s laundry across the street.
The extension was made in 1925 when the convent was abandoned. Gaudi was offered the commission, but turned it down as he was much busier by then. The architect chosen was a friend who did a very good job of making it match in most respects. The interior is much less decorative, but is put to very good use today as a small museum. It includes many beautiful models of buildings in various architectural styles that influenced Gaudi, designed by architects working from the 1840s to the 1980s. There is also a video about the construction of CV with photographs from that time that is presented alternately in three languages, as well as some displays of artifacts and writings.
If you can only see one Gaudi creation, it should probably be Sagrada Familia, for many reasons: it’s the most famous, the most obvious landmark, the tallest, the one Gaudi spent the most time on, and probably the one he found most meaningful because he was very religious, and is in fact entombed therein. The second choice would be Park Güell for me because it is a park, but I also can’t imagine not having seen Casa Batlló, which is a cross between a building and a fantasy undersea adventure. La Padrera is the most controversial and startling and has a stunning roof, though Palau Güell, similar to Casa Vicens though grand rather than cosy, is a contender in the roof stakes. These are just the ones I have visited. I hear there are 12 total in Barcelona!
Casa Vicens holds its own particular place in this regal company. A music box house with a carefully curated architectural museum attached, it can be easily toured in around two hours, especially if you go on a weekday afternoon, and offers an opportunity for both learning and imagining how wonderful it would be to live there, something I have not felt about any other of the Gaudi works I have seen so far, even though most of them are residences.
BTW, after I typed the sentence about the laundry, I actually started a load before writing the rest of this, and I bet it is ready to advance now.