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The present Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau (Catalan for Hospital of the Holy Cross and Saint Paul) in the Eixample, Barcelona, Catalonia, is a complex built between 1901 and 1930, designed by the Catalan architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. It is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is still a functional hospital as of today. There have been discussions to convert this building to a museum in the near future.

Born in Barcelona, Lluís Domènech i Montaner (21 December 1850 - 27 December 1923) showed from a young age his passion for architecture.
From his position as professor and director in the Escola d'Arquitectura de Barcelona (Barcelona School of Architecture), he developed a big influence to expand the Modernisme (Art Nouveau).
The role of Domènech i Montaner (1849-1923) was essential to define the "Modernisme arquitectonic" (architectonic Art Nouveau) in Catalonia. His buildings shown a mixture between rationalism and a fabulous ornamentation inspired in the hispano-arab architecture and in the curvilinear design typical of Art Nouveau.
In the Restaurant of the Park de la Ciutadella of Barcelona (1888) (at present Zoological Museum), he applied very advanced solutions (iron structure and ceramics) developed later in the Palau de la Música Catalana (1908) -that has a fantastic coverage of mosaic, ceramics and stained glass-, and the buildings projected since this time.
That features are also present in his biggest architectural ensembles: The Hospital de Sant Pau in Barcelona and the Institut Pere Mata in Reus.
An interesting characteristic of Domènech i Montaner's works was the evolution towards lightness that is evident in the Palau de la Música Catalana. That fact is opposite to the weighted structures of Gaudí.
Domènech i Montaner died in Barcelona in 1923.