The colònia, a manufacturing suburb composed of a factory and houses, was founded by Eusebi Güell in 1890, moving the factory he had in Sants. Gaudí designed the church in 1898, but the construction work did not start until 1908, and it was never finished. The exterior, on which a large trencadís was applied, contains all kinds of cladding from deteriorated materials or from debris, such as steel slag or pieces from other buildings in progress.