Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain

He also worked as a professor, an editor and a bookbinder, and was heavily involved in politics, becoming a prominent figure in the campaign for Catalan autonomy. 
He made a significant contribution to Barcelona’s modernist architecture, with two outstanding examples. 

Centrally located in Barcelona, the Palau de la Música Catalana is the only music hall in the world to be listed as World Heritage. Built between 1905 and 1908, its construction was mainly financed by the city’s businessmen and other wealthy residents.

The central iron frame removed the need for supporting structures, allowing for an extensive floor space, and the glass skin which covers the frame was designed to let in the maximum amount of light possible.

Many different art techniques are visible in this creation, including sculpture, tiling, metalwork and glasswork. The architect worked with some of the best and most well-known artists and artisans of the time; they were behind much of the Palau’s exuberant decoration.

The figures which can be seen on what used to be the main façade of the Palau were the work of the sculptor, Miguel Blay. A mixture of children, older people, country folk and the gentry transmitted the clear message that the Palau was for everyone to enjoy.

Built as the home of the Orfeo Catalá, a choral society which has been the main impulse behind the development of choral music in Cataluña, this prestigious venue is still very much in use today for concerts, operas and other musical and instrumental performances.

The turn of the 20th century saw Barcelona undergo major urban development with its main hospital, the 500-year old Hospital de la Santa Creu, becoming unable to cope with the city’s ever-growing population. Its replacement was the Hospital de Sant Pau.

The new, much-needed hospital was possible thanks to the wealthy Catalan banker, Pau Gil, who, in his will, left part of his fortune to pay for its construction, stipulating that the most advanced technical, medical and architectural innovations be incorporated into its design. 

Having visited over 100 hospitals on his travels around Europe in search of inspiration for his new project, he designed the spaces within the hospital with the objective of optimising the wellbeing and recovery of the patients while facilitating the work of the medical staff.

Each one housing a different speciality, the pavilions were built independently of each other to reduce the spread of disease. The connecting underground tunnels were used to transport patients from one pavilion to another.

Tiling was widely used in the decoration of the hospital. In line with the Modernist style, they also fulfilled a sanitary function, and rounded corners at the join between the floors and walls avoided the accumulation of dirt, meaning that hygiene levels were easily maintained. 

The hospital was built at a 45º angle in relation to the adjoining streets, firstly in rebellion against the grid-like layout of the surrounding neighbourhood of Eixample, which the architect disliked, and, secondly, to benefit from the breeze coming in from the sea.

Patients were not just separated according to their illness, but also according to their gender. The men’s pavilions were located to the right and were named after male saints, whereas the women’s were on the left, and were given names of female saints.

In use as a hospital for almost a century, it was the location for Spain’s first heart transplant in 1984. In 2009, the facilities finally became obsolete and unable to accommodate the services necessary in a modern day medical facility, and a new hospital was built next door. 

Suffering from ill health in his later life, Domènech i Montaner delegated a large part of his work to his son, who was responsible for the completion of the Hospital de Sant Pau, and to his son-in-law. He then spent his final days studying history and Catalan heraldry.

His final wish to be buried in the family plot in Canet de Mar was denied due to the belief of the authorities that the event would turn into a political demonstration. Instead, upon his death in 1923, at the age of 73, he was laid to rest in a cemetery in the city of Barcelona.