In December 1997,
during the yearly meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Naples, two highlights
of Barcelona's architecture - the Palau de la Música Catalana and the Hospital de la
Santa Creu i Sant Pau, both of them designed by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner
- were unanimously added on to the list of historical buildings officially considered part
of the Heritage of Mankind. Those two constructions, together with the Parc Güell and
Gaudi's Palau Güell, included in the aforementioned list since 1994, make of Barcelona
the epitome of a "Modernist" city, as it is the only city in the world which can
boast such examples of Modernist architecture distinguished with the Unesco's
"Heritage of Mankind" label.
With the passing of time, the Palau de la Música Catalana, now 90-year-old, has become
one of the most emblematic buildings in Barcelona, widely recognized as such by the city's
residents. However, this is not the case with the Hospital de Sant Pau, an ensemble of
buildings that form a complex architectural whole truly unique in the world whose
importance in artistic as well as cultural terms has never really been properly
acknowledged because of its intrinsic function. That is why we now wish to look back and
briefly reflect on the history of this Hospital which has introduced significant
innovations not only in the field of medicine, but also in the sphere of artistic creation
and architecture.
The history of the Hospital de Sant Pau is closely linked with the history of Barcelona,
as its origins date back to the fifteenth century when, in 1401, the "Consell de
Cent" Catalonian political assembly decided that it was necessary to unite all the
hospitals scattered throughout the city into one nucleus and ordered the building of the
Hospital or Casa de la Santa Creu in carrer Hospital, a construction which is considered
today one of the most interesting examples of Gothic architecture and which now houses the
Biblioteca de Catalunya (Library of Catalonia). From that time, when the construction of a
larger, more modern Hospital constituted an important advance in terms of medical
attention, scientific research and health services, until today, when the Hospital de Sant
Pau has achieved international recognition in the field of contemporary medicine, almost
six centuries have elapsed. (...) But it was in the late nineteenth ill and testament :
the Tarragona-born banker, who was residing in Paris at the time of his death, had
bequeathed half his patrimony - some four million pesetas - to be used to finance the
construction of a civil hospital in Barcelona, on the sole condition that it be named
after his patron saint, Sant Pau. The combination of both projects thus served as the
starting point for the building of the Hospital de Sant Pau i la Santa Creu. In 1898, they
bought a construction site located on the western side of the Guinardó district (...)
and, on January 25th, 1902, the cornerstone was officially put in position. The architect
appointed to direct the works was Lluís Domènech i Montaner, a prestigious professional
who designed a very innovative project not only in terms of sanitary facilities, but also
in terms of architectural and artistic features.
The project consisted in the construction of 49 independent pavilions, surrounded by
gardens and connected by a network of underground galleries which housed the operational
nucleus of the hospital.
"That organizational structure was truly one of the greatest innovations introduced
by Domènech" - Lourdes Figueras, director of the Domènech i Muntaner Museum in
Canet de Mar, explains - "On the one hand, it created an atmosphere of psychological
well-being for patients lodged in small, airy pavilions with a lot of natural light and
surrounded by greenery, and, on the other hand, it solved all the problems that the
distances between those scattered pavilions might have caused by constructing all the
centralizing elements in the underground galleries. Thus, from ouside, people do not see
the organizational structure of the hospital, given that the network of services and
communications is subterranean. It is really a unique example of engineering expertise if
we take into consideration the size of the area covered by the hospital grounds, equal to
that of nine city blocks in the Eixample district".
The pavilions have been built at a distance of 30 metres from each other and laid out
around a 50-metre-wide diagonal pathway on the axis of which the pavilion that houses the
operating theatres has been erected.
In order to update his knowledge of modern tendencies in the field of hospital building,
Domènech looked to Europe and America for information and, even though nobody can assure
that it bears direct relation to Domènech's project, the Bisperbers Hospital of
Copenhaguen, which also features subterranean facilities, is the institution whose
conception most closely resembles that of Sant Pau. The North American hospital of Peter
Bent Brigham (1913), designed by Godman and Desprallede, and the Cincinatti General
Hospital also show similar layouts, although with a surface connection system. "There
is no other hospital like ours in the whole world" - Doctor Alvar Net, a former
managing director of the Hospital de Sant Pau and one of the senior members of the staff,
currently the head of its Intensive Care Unit, points out - "Other institutions may
show structural similarities, but they are more strictly functional and they do not stand
comparison with Sant Pau in terms of aesthetic achievements. Visitors coming from other
places marvel at the shapes and layout of the buildings. Our hospital as a whole is truly
like a modernist "town", unique in the world". (...)
Where construction techniques are concerned, the system used by the architect, based on
arched arrangements of flat bricks, appeared from the start as an avant-garde, rather
experimental building scheme which contributed to endow this collection of pavilions with
matching harmonious shapes and great spatial richness. "Domènech i Muntaner, through
his architectural projection methods, established patterns and elements that would be
common denominators in Modernist architecture. When he designed the Hospital de Sant Pau,
he applied all the concepts that characterize his works." - the historian adds -
"One of the qualities which allow us to identify Domènech's designing style is the
high degree of continuity between the different levels of design, from the more strictly
structural components - such as staircases, pillars, skylights, etc ... - to other more
ornamental parts - such as mosaics, grilles, tapestries, stuccowork, stained-glass
windows, etc... -, so that all these element are integrated into a kaleidoscopic
environment within which it proves difficult to distinguish what is actually structural
from what is ornamental. Another distinctive trait shown in his projects is the graphic
meticulousness with which the architect plans and conceives the work to be carried out.
(...) Finally, Domènech always used symbolism as an important form of expression in his
works. His "talking architecture" conveys feelings of ideological optimism,
communicating his faith in progress and in a sense of national identity which the
architect advocated his whole life long".
In 1913, the City Council of Barcelona awarded the Hospital de Sant Pau a prize that
officially established it as the best architectural work carried out during the previous
year. It was the third construction designed by Domènech i Muntaner - after the Palau de
la Música and the Lleó i Morera house - that won such an award, so that the architect
was further honoured by the City's Gold Medal.
The recovery of crafts and applied arts, precisely at that point in time when they were
running the risk of suppression as a result of the industrialization process that was
taking place in Europe, was one of the most characteristic features of the Modernist
movement in general, and Domènech i Montaner also fostered that tendency which is
exemplified in the way he designed the Hospital de Sant Pau. The building materials he
used were bricks, stones, ceramics, mosaics, stained glass, wrought iron and, on rather
rare ocasions, marble. Where ornamental elements are concerned, he used the history of the
institution itself, the evolution of medical science and pharmacy, the milestones of
scientific development and the major events in the Hospital's commemorative calendar as a
basis for illustration. To realize those representational images of doctors, surgeons,
historical figures, coats of arms of noble families as well as symbols and emblems of the
city, the architect called in young artists - sculptors, ceramists, painters - and
craftsmen. (...) Pablo Gargallo's works show a combination of different sculptural
techniques such as embedded carving and bas-relief, among others; Eusebi Arnau is the
author of the invocatory images placed in every hospital pavilion and of some of those
which are found in the adminitration building. Other works, such as mosaics, ceramic
coverings and paintings were produced by Labarta, Madurell and Maragliano.
The construction works continued uninterruptedly until 1911, when they had to be stopped
for lack of funds, as the money bequeathed by Gil had been spent. Of the 48 buildings the
project comprised, only eight had been completed, including the administration building
and the operational centre. Confronted with such a difficult situation, the executors
opted to hand all the rights to the bequest over to the board of directors that managed
the Hospital de la Santa Creu, on condition that they carried on with the works and
completed the construction of the new hospital which, from then on, would be called
"Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau".
In 1913, when the management of the old Hospital de la Santa Creu took possession of the
land and of the few pavilions that had already been fully erected, they acquired the whole
of the construction site and, in 1914, work on the rest of the pavilions was finally
resumed. They were able to carry out the project thanks to donations from members of the
Catalonian upper middle class, cultured and sympathetic to innovations.
Domènech i Montaner died in 1923 and the completion of the works was entrusted to his
son, Pere Domènech, who followed out his father's original guidelines for several years.
Nevertheless, in 1928, Pere Domènech started directing his professional steps to other
more eclectic forms, following a line akin to a new cultural movement called
"Noucentisme" and opting for a novel approach that would lead him to develop a
more personal style of architecture. The church, the convent, the convalescent home and
the pharmacy were built within that period.
The ensemble of buildings was considered completed in 1930, and all the departments of the
old Hospital de la Santa Creu were transferred to their new quarters, even though only
half of Domènech i Montaner's original project had been carried out. That same year, the
Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau was officially inaugurated by king Alfonso XIII.
(...)
Nowadays, the Hospital is one of Barcelona's most important civic institutions and its
existence forms - and will always form - an intrinsic part of the city's history.
For the Hospital, the entry into a new millenium will mean taking a step further into the
future. The plan to erect a modern building that will eventually replace the existing
ensemble and house all the health services of the institution is soon to be put into
operation. An official agreement on the construction of the new hospital was signed in
1991. (...) The architects Bonell, Gil i Rius and Barberà-Canosa will be in charge of the
design and building works. (...)
