It is listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site Originally slated to open last year, Antoni Gaudí?s Casa Vicens in Barcelona will finally open its doors as a museum in autumn after a few setbacks delayed the completion of the renovation. The opulently tiled Casa Vicens is the Catalan 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.
Graphic, geometric, and wholly unique, the brick-and-stone, freestanding building features four levels, including a basement for storage, a ground floor comprising the common areas and kitchen, the second for bedrooms, and the third floor for servants? quarters. 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 property?with Gaudí?s blessing. The single-family dwelling now comprised three separate homes, one on each floor, and almost doubled in square-footage. Further changes were made between 1935 and 1964. In 2005, UNESCO declared Casa Vicens a World Heritage Site. Take a look below.

© Casa Vicens, Barcelona 2017. Photo by: Pol Viladoms

© Casa Vicens, Barcelona 2017. Photo by: Pol Viladoms

© Casa Vicens, Barcelona 2017. Photo by: Pol Viladoms

© Casa Vicens, Barcelona 2017. Photo by: Pol Viladoms

© Casa Vicens, Ba...