Gaudí House Museum

THE PARK GÜELL PROJECT

In the late 19^th century, Catalan industrialist Eusebi Güell i Bacigalupi (1846-1918) wanted to create a private residential development, which he called Park Güell. He commissioned Antoni Gaudí to lead the project and work began in 1900.

The development was located on a plot of rural land Eusebi Güell had acquired in 1899 on the hill above the city. It was called Can Muntaner de Dalt and located in the La Salut neighbourhood of Gràcia. In 1902, Güell bought the adjoining estate, Can Coll i Pujol.

Park Güell was not successful as a real estate venture, only two of the sixty homes were ever built. Work stopped in 1914 and the development was never finished.

THE MODEL HOME

During the construction of Park Güell, Eusebi Güell i Bacigalupi (1846-1918) allowed the developer, Josep Pardo i Casanovas, to build a model home to attract possible buyers. The building was designed by Francesc d’Assis Berenguer i Mestres, a friend and collaborator of Gaudí.

In October 1905, the project applied for work permits from the Barcelona City Council, although the house had probably already been built by that time. Antoni Gaudí signed the plans, as Berenguer was not a qualified architect.

The house, with views of Barcelona, had three floors, a basement and a pointed tower. The two chimneys and the tower roof are clad in trencadís ceramic mosaic and the outer walls are pink stucco. Berenguer also used the sgraffito technique on this building.

GAUDI'S HOME

In 1906, Antoni Gaudí moved into the model home at Park Güell with his father Francesc Gaudí i Serra and his niece Rosa Egea i Gaudí. His father died in 1906 and his niece, in January 1912. After that, the architect lived in the house alone. The Carmelite nuns who had cared for his father and niece while they were ill continued to help Gaudí with household chores.

Gaudí lived in this home for nearly twenty years while working on his most significant projects and, from 1914, exclusively on the construction of the Sagrada Família. It isn't clear whether the architect decorated the house, although it seems he did make some changes inside. While living at Park Güell, Gaudí's neighbours were the Güell and Trias families.

In 1925, the architect moved to the workshop at the Sagrada Família.

THE CHIAPPO RESIDENCE

After Gaudí died on 10 June 1926, his house in Park Güell was put up for sale. Italian trader Francesc Chiappo Arietti and his wife Josefina Sala Barucchi purchased it on 30 December 1926 and moved in.

As per Gaudí's last will and testament, the profits from the sale went towards continuing work on the Sagrada Família. Once the house was sold, however, no one kept track of the personal items and belongings Gaudí had left at his home in Park Güell.

The Chiappo family gave the home whole new personality. The second storey was fixed up for the housekeepers. The couple, who admired the architect, called this residence the Gaudí House.

FROM THE EARLY DAYS OF THE GAUDÍ HOUSE MUSEUM TO THE PRESENT

The Gaudí House Museum was inaugurated on 28 September 1963. The aim was to make it an international benchmark and dissemination space open to anyone interested in Gaudí. Initially, the idea was to use the home as a residence for students studying Gaudí and a place to display the furnishings and objects he had designed. In the end, however, they decided to use all of the space for exhibition and began collecting objects and documents linked to the life and work of the architect.

Today, the Foundation Junta Constructora del Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família continues to work on the museography in order to present the contents in a more attractive, educational way, as well as continuing research on Gaudí and his legacy.