Santa Creu i Sant Pau Hospital: The Splendor of Catalonian Modernism

Art Nouveau, Jugendstil, Secession and Modernism are some of the names given to an early 20th century movement which took on a distinct characteristic identity in Catalonia. In Barcelona in particular, Modernisme Català (Catalonian Modernism) coincided with the prevailing bourgeois urban and architectural style. Although 100 years have passed since its emergence, Catalonian Modernism is still an architectural issue of ongoing interest and relevance for Barcelona and Catalonia.
 
It is no coincidence that at the last Venice Architecture Biennale, the Catalunya Pavilion, "Grafting Architecture" (Arquitectures Empeltades in Catalan), was inspired by the renovation of Bofarull House (1913-1933) by modernist architect Josep Maria Jujol i Gibert.
 
One of the most famous modernist works, Antoni Gaudí's Sagrada Familia, has also recently been the subject of interest, reviews and fresh analysis in the media following the publication of its expected completion date, 2026, 100 years after the architect's death.
 
The legacy of this period in the form of landmark buildings which have become renowned monuments is staggering, and many of them are now UNESCO World Heritage sites. Seven of them are the work of architect Antoni Gaudí, but others are by his great rival Lluis Domenech i Montaner, who designed two important public buildings, now also protected: the Palau de la Música Catalana and the Santa Creu i Sant Pau Hospital.

After four years of renovation work, the Santa Creu i Sant Pau Hospital and the rest of its modernist precinct was opened to public as a knowledge center and a new hub of historical, cultural and artistic interest for Barcelona's residents and visitors.
 
The hospital is a small city within a city, endowed with an urban fabric of its own set on two cross axes rotated 45° off the orthogonal grid of the Eixample, as conceived by Idelfonso Cerdá. Although it was smaller than the original project, the old hospital included 27 wards, 16 of which were modernist. Six of them have now been renovated and two are in the process.
 

The original work was supervised by Lluis Domenech i Montaner and his son, architect Pere Domènech i Roura, between 1902 and 1930. Europe's largest modernist complex, covering more than 350,000 m2, was used as a hospital for more than 80 years until 2009. The renovations, carried out by more than 30 teams of architects and dozens of specialists, were coordinated by architect Frederic Crespo.
 
This work had three main thrusts: to retrieve the original spaces as they had been conceived by Domenech i Montaner, to use some of the pavilions for new purposes such as offices or events, and to employ new sustainability and energy saving criteria.

Beyond the entrance building to the former Administration Pavilion, visitors are confronted with a galaxy of colors, materials, geometries and decorations that seem to have leapt straight out of a fairy tale. On the guided tour of the complex, visitors learn every detail of a revolutionary project for its time, which aimed to meet all the health and service requirements of the rapidly expanding city of Barcelona in the early 1900s: a set of separate individual pavilions for men and women with the different medical specialities connected by kilometer-long galleries.

At a time when it was not common to consider the psycho-physical well-being of patients and their relations with the surroundings, the architect designed two gardens for each pavilion, with carefully selected trees to ensure pleasant views for the patients, purify the air and improve the climate of the complex with better shade, humidity and air circulation. Including these green areas, each patient was allocated a space of 145 m2, a much higher ratio than any other European hospital at the time.

While the purpose of the outdoor environment was to allow users to breath fresh air and enjoy nature, the interiors were designed to provide natural lighting, pleasant, relaxing colors and functional efficiency.
 
The pavilions were built in red brick, the pitched roofs were covered with Arabic tiles, stone was used on account of both its architectural and decorative properties, and the sculptures included veritable works of art by Pau Gargallo and Eusebi Arnau.

Finally, glazed ceramic tiles were used on the exteriors for artistic purpose and also indoors on account of their hygienic advantages and ease of cleaning.
 
The iconography and symbolism used in the complex were carefully considered, despite its practical rather than representative purpose. At the height of an economic boom in an expanding city, the hospital received donations from important benefactors and families of patients who wanted to support the welfare of their fellow citizens and celebrate the splendor of their city. They included Catalonian banker Pau Gil, the most powerful driving force behind the hospital, as acknowledged on several plaques around the precinct.

Three pavilions, the great courtyard and the green areas can be viewed on the guided tour of the precinct. The other renovated pavilions form a knowledge center which houses the offices of several leading international organizations in the fields of health, sustainability and education.

The Santa Creu i Sant Pau Hospital Foundation, the owner of this modernist complex, was awarded the Catalonian Government's Restaura Prize in July 2015. This recognition, granted along with the others Premis Nacionals d'Artesania (National Artisanship Awards), highlights the quality of the restoration work, the authors' criteria and the large number of craftspeople who participated in the renovation process.