The Passeig de Gràcia, a central axis of the modern Barcelona that emerged from the Eixample plan designed by the engineer Ildefons Cerdà, commences with great character thanks to these two, related, buildings which also benefit from the perspective afforded by the neighbouring Plaça de Catalunya, the city’s centre. As was also the case elsewhere, they are two independent apartment buildings designed for two members of the same family. Sagnier gave them a unified appearance but, unusually, a purely neo-Gothic one, something he usually employed in religious, not civil architecture. In both buildings the main floor was reserved for the owner’s private residence with a separate entrance by means of a grand staircase. The other floors were apartments for rent and these had a different entrance. The interior was further embellished with furniture imported from Germany and with contributions by artisans and artists, notable amongst which are the stained-glass windows by the Rigalt and Granell company and the painted wall hangings by Alexandre de Riquer.

It was, in fact, Riquer, one of Sagnier’s fellow members of the Catholic artist’s association, the Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc, who years later decorated one of the shops on the ground floor, specifically the one on the Ronda de Sant Pere, which was known as the Granja Catalana. We do not know if Sagnier was responsible for the design of this space. On the other hand, some contemporary sources attribute the Comas shirt shop to him. This establishment was located on the corner and in 1913 it won one of the annual prizes awarded by Barcelona city council in the commercial premises category.

Having been radically altered over the years, the double edifice was refurbished in 1984 by the architects Martorell-Bohigas-Mackay and Espinet-Ubach. Their aim was to recover the building’s original appearance and enhance its impact on the surrounding area while conserving some of the decorative elements, such as the grand staircase and the stained-glass windows.