Nestled along the Mediterranean coast, not far from Barcelona in Spain, is a suburban villa that is not like the others. Casa Gomis (also known as Casa La Ricarda), located within the municipality of El Prat de Llobregat, boasts a geometric design that makes the best of light and space, while integrating harmoniously with its surrounding nature. Masterminded by celebrated Catalan architect Antonio Bonet Castellana, it stands as a paragon of mid 20th-century modernist design in the region.

So exceptional is Casa Gomis, in fact, that Spain’s Ministry of Culture has just snapped up the property for more than €7.2 million ($7.4 million). Its plans are to conserve and maintain the house, and eventually transform it into a cultural center that will be open to the public.

“Our intention is for the theme of this new Casa Gomis Cultural Centre to revolve around the dialogue between art and nature,” noted Minister of Culture Ernest Urtasun in a statement, “as Casa Gomis is one of the great architectural examples we have in Catalonia of perfect symbiosis with the natural environment.”

The interior of Casa Gomis. Photo: Asier Rúa, courtesy of Iconic Houses.

Bonet designed the house in 1953, commissioned by Ricardo Gomis and Inés Bertrand on the occasion of their marriage. At this point, the architect had worked in the ateliers of Josep Lluís Sert and Le Corbusier, and was part of the group that conceived the iconic Butterfly Chair. His was a modernist approach—blending European Rationalism with abstract Mediterranean elements—that was brought to bear on a structure that was as much a family home as it was a social space.

The single-story Casa Gomis was completed in 1963, emerging with Bonet’s radical interpretation of the Catalan vault. The building’s curved arches—seemingly floating—are what first catch the eye. Under them, Bonet had devised sophisticated modules to denote discrete areas.

The interior of Casa Gomis, complete with a Butterfly Chair. Photo: Asier Rúa, courtesy of Iconic Houses.

A separate pavilion was reserved for the Gomises, with a conservatory linking it to the rest of the residence, which encompassed six bedrooms for the couple’s children, and roomy living and dining areas. The indoors blended with the outdoors, courtesy of copious floor-to-ceiling windows that look out upon a sprawling garden and pool.

The heart of the house, though, remains its living room, which was designed with social gatherings in mind. Its vaulted ceilings offer excellent acoustic qualities, which the Gomises took advantage of by installing a piano and hosting concerts in the room. Over the years, the likes of jazz pianist Tete Montoliu, composer Roberto Gerhard, and soprano Conchita Badia have performed at the casa.

The interior of Casa Gomis. Photo: Adria Goula, courtesy of Iconic Houses.

In the 1990s, the Gomis Bertrand heirs, who have resided in the home throughout the decades, embarked on a major restoration to preserve the structure. A careful re-roofing was undertaken, as was the recovery of vertical enclosures and interior frameworks.

Still, in 2013, Iconic Houses, a network that connects architecturally significant buildings, noted that Casa Gomis required further intervention to preserve key elements such as its iron pillars. It also faced encroachment from Barcelona Airport, the third runway of which is some 1,312 feet from the house, and its attendant pollution.

The interior of Casa Gomis. Photo: Asier Rúa, courtesy of Iconic Houses.

The Ministry of Culture’s acquisition of the house, then, offers it a much-needed lifeline, following Casa Gomis’s designation as a Cultural Asset of National Interest in 2021.

In a statement, Natascha Drabbe, director and founder of Iconic Houses, whose efforts were key in spurring the purchase, expressed hope that the move would “inspire governments and heritage organizations around the world to take similar bold and meaningful action.”

The interior of Casa Gomis. Photo: Asier Rúa, courtesy of Iconic Houses.

While Casa Gomis has been occasionally open to visitors—most recently for the Manifesta 15 biennial in 2024—Spain’s culture ministry intends to make it accessible to all, offering guided tours and other activities. Plans to include the house as part of the programming for the World Capital of Architecture, set to be hosted by Barcelona in 2026, should also help bolster its international profile.

“As part of Iconic Houses, Casa Gomis got associated at once with the best houses in the world designed by the most important architects of the 20th century,” said homeowner Marita Gomis Bertrand in a statement. “From a hidden gem, our family home in La Ricarda [has] turned into a masterpiece in the same league.”