Barcelona’s ‘other’ great architect: five of his finest buildings

Catalonia’s design gems don’t begin and end with Gaudí. The works of Lluís Domènech i Montaner deserve a closer look on the centenary of his death

Barcelona is justly renowned for its architecture but there’s a lot more to it than Gaudí and the still unfinished Sagrada Familia. This year Catalonia is celebrating the centenary of the death of Lluís Domènech i Montaner (1849-1923), one of Gaudí’s contemporaries and a leading light in the Catalan modernisme movement,

Over the course of the year there will be talks, videos and conferences celebrating the work of this prolific architect, as well as a route taking in some of his 26 buildings, 11 of which are in Barcelona. Domènech, who was prominent in the Catalan cultural revival known as the renaixença, combined modern techniques such as steel-framing with nostalgic and often romantic concepts of Spanish and Catalan culture. Ornamental ironwork, ceramics and stained glass characterise his lavishly decorated buildings.