The 19th century Antoni Gaudí-designed Casa Vicens in Barcelona, Spain, is to be turned into a museum celebrating the famous architect to open during the second half of 2016.

Gaudí, who lived from 1852 until 1926 is the best known practitioner of Catalan Modernism – a style centred in Barcelona expressed mainly through architecture – and famously designed the Sagrada Família church. Casa Vicens is the first house Gaudí created and will be used to present his unique architectural language and the development of the Art Nouveau-esque style in Barcelona.

Built in 1889, the UNESCO-listed World Heritage site’s owner Amura Capital – which is thought to have purchased the property for around €27m (US$30.1m, £19.6m) in 2014 – is currently working on the building’s restoration and the planning of the museum.

Architects Elias Torres, Jose Antonio Martinez Lapeña and David Garcia, who have all previously worked on UNESCO World Heritage sites, are conducting the architectural restoration, while Jordi Falgàs takes charge of the museological plan.

“Our main goal is the conservation of this precious legacy while we provide the best interpretive tools for visitors of all ages and origins to spend their time here as a learning experience. Moreover, we must stress the fact that one needs to visit Casa Vicens in order to understand the origins and development of Gaudí’s architecture,” said Mercedes Mora, executive manager of Casa Vicens, speaking to Iconic Houses.

“Some parts of the house and the original decoration were either demolished or unrecoverably altered, but thanks to the current restoration project, it can be said that during the visit we will be able to see the house designed by Gaudi, almost as original as the architect gave his client in 1888.”