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The Sant Pau Hospital Art Nouveau site.
Photo: David Cardelús
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SANT PAU ART NOUVEAU SITE
The Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau came into being in 1401 with the merging of the six hospitals in the city of Barcelona at that time. Santa Creu, the Hospital of the Holy Cross, as it was called in those days, was right in the centre of the city, in what is now the Raval district, in one of the most important examples of Catalan Civil Gothic architecture.
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Posted 28 January 2015
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By the late nineteenth century, due to the rapid growth of Barcelona's population and advances in medicine,the hospital became too small, and it was decided to construct a new building. Thanks to the bequest of the Catalan banker Pau Gil, the first stone of the new hospital, designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, was laid on 15 January 1902, though the new facilities would not be opened until 1930.
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Corridor at Administration Pavilion, Sant Pau Hospital.
Photo: David Cardelús
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This visit begins at the Administration Pavilion, in the exhibition space, where a video, an interactive touch table and other elements introduce you to the monumental and artistic heritage and its significance, the historical evolution of the institution and its contribution to medicine.
The network of underground tunnels that connects the different pavilions then takes you out to the gardens, from where you can enjoy the fascinating exteriors of buildings. The domes, roofs, façades, sculptures and stained glass windows are the key features to note here.
Walking on through this superb setting you come to the Sant Rafael Pavilion, whose lovingly restored interiors are once again as they were conceived at the start of the twentieth century. You can also visit the Main Hall of the Administration Pavilion, the Pau Gil Room and the Lluís Domènech i Montaner Room, one of the main spaces of the building. The recommended tour finishes in the Sant Jordi Pavilion, a completely refurbished space that hosts temporary exhibitions.
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The Francesc Cambó Room at Sant Pau Hospital.
Photo: David Cardelús
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Restoration
The restoration of the Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site began in the autumnof 2009, when all of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau's healthcare activities moved to the new building.
During eight decades of healthcare activity, the Art Nouveau pavilions had undergone many architectural modifications, affecting both the building structure and the ornamental elements. In light of this, in 2006 the Fundació Privada Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau commissioned the drafting of a master plan to assess the state of the pavilions and establish a schedule for their restoration. The conclusion of the study noted that the architectural complex was in a critical situation.
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Detail of the Dome at the top of the stairs at the main lobby of Administration Pavilion, Sant Pau Hospital.
Photo: David Cardelús
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Stairs at the main lobby of Administration Pavilion, Sant Pau Hospital.
Photo: David Cardelús
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A Heritage Committee was set up prior to the start of work, composed of representatives of the various institutions involved in the project, to ensure the necessary institutional coordination, to define the intervention criteria, to advise on the quality of the interventions and the awarding of contracts and to report to the Comissió Territorial del Patrimoni Cultural, among other functions.
The first phase of the rehabilitation process entails work on a built area of 29,517 m2, 31,052 m2 of outdoor space, 12 pavilions and one kilometre of underground tunnels. The total project budget is 100 million euros, financed by the European Regional Development Fund, the Generalitat deCatalunya, the Spanish Government, the IDAE energy diversification and saving institute, Barcelona City Council, Barcelona Provincial Council, the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and the Fundació Privada Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau.
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