One of the more unusual features of Catalan modernisme architecture is the use of cartón piedra. Gaudí used the material to make lightweight moldings in order to decorate the ceilings of Casa Vicens with natural motifs. When Antoni Gaudí graduated from university, the school’s director said that he was either a genius or a madman. It’s uncertain which of the two appealed to Manel Vicens, the stockbroker who commissioned the recently qualified—and somewhat unpredictable—architect to build his summer home in 1883. The result was Casa Vicens, a flamboyant burst of color and style in the elegant village of Gracia (now a district of Barcelona) and the first of Gaudí’s many masterpieces whose collective eccentricity would become This story is from Kinfolk Issue Forty-Six Buy Now Related Stories Interiors Issue 46 Bush Modernism Rebuilding the legacy of desert architect Alistair Knox. Interiors Issue 46 Heritage Craft A colorful guesthouse decorated by the artists of Gorée Island. Interiors Issue 46 Rural Splendor A farmhouse turned studio bordering a rugged moor. Interiors Issue 46 California Cool A mid-century post-and-beam house that blends with the nature around it. Interiors Issue 46 Faded Grandeur Peeling back the layers of a scenographer's palatial suite. Interiors Issue 46 Medieval Modern A designer's peaceful home in a Florentine palazzo.
Interiors Issue 46 California Cool A mid-century post-and-beam house that blends with the nature around it.
