Sant Salvador Pavilion

Sant Savlador Pavilion

The Art Nouveau Site of Sant Pau is an architectural jewel of Catalan Modernism. I arrive here on a cool November morning. I have walked from my Barcelona accommodation near Las Ramblas not really knowing what to expect. I’m both awed and inspired by what I find.

Sant Pau

Built between 1902 and 1930, Sant Pau was home to the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau from 1916 to 2009.

Stairs in the Sant Salvador Pavilion

The project was conceived as a city within the city, an exceptional demonstration of the creative genius of Lluis Domènech i Montaner. Montaner is remembered as one of the great European architects. This Art Nouveau Site, which served Barcelona as an innovative, cutting edge hospital, is today a knowledge centre that hosts equally innovative institutions.

See also in this series:

Sant Salvador Pavilion

From the tunnels I soon arrive in the Sant Salvador pavilion. This was the first patient pavilion to be used when the hospital opened. Constructed in 1914, it was launched as a ward for patients in 1916 with a small medical team.

Walls and windows

The pavilion was designated for male patients and initially occupied by only six patients from Hospital de la Santa Creu. All of the initial patients were female though and the pavilion was dubbed the Sacred Heart.

Initially, all of the eight patient pavilions in the complex were dedicated to general medicine. For the design, priority was given to making sure the ground floors were bright and airy with views and access to the patios and gardens. The connectivity to nature was fundamental for the purposes of therapy and patient care.

History of the Institution

The display on the ground floor of the Sant Salvador provides some interesting insights into stories from the hospital’s history.

From the outset, the new Hospital de la Santa Creu complex enjoyed many privileges. One of these was the fact that should any patient die here without an heir or testament, their inheritance would be left to the hospital. Furthermore, the complex also had the right to keep all the income generated by tickets sold to the main theatre, which helped to finance the hospital.

One particularly interesting one relates to the Convalescence House which gave shelter to up to a hundred residents at a time during recovery periods. The Convalescence House itself was particularly noteworthy due to its design. It boasted a glass solarium and its chapel worked to divide the building into two wings, one for men and one for women. The House was separate from the Hospital, with its own funds, kitchen and pharmacy.

The Sant Pau Convalescence House was funded from the sale of the previous Convalescence House. This interesting story relates to how the original House was funded. A wealthy businessman named Ferran, owned a shipping company. In the year 1600, all his ships were lost in a storm and he was ruined. Falling ill, he was admitted to hospital. He spent a long time in recovery and was exceptionally grateful for the care he received while he was poor and sick.

Three years later, his boats returned and his fortunes along with them. He donated a sizeable sum for the building of the original Convalescence House which this one replaced.

Medicine jars

There are other stories and authentic items from the hospital’s history on display here. In particular, the pharmacy materials and an old Catalan version of dietary guidance with food rations.

Day Room and Patient Room

The central display on the main floor is a deconstructed dragon sculpture, symbolic of Art Nouveau and Montaner’s creative genius. The three part installation allows me to explore more about Montaner: his ideology, his architecture and his inner scholar.

Interactive display in the Sant Salvador Pavilion

After alighting the stairs from the displays on the ground floor to the main patient floor, I’m confronted with a number of open, airy rooms. These are located on the left-hand side of the staircase, to the rear of the pavilion and are the isolation rooms and doctor’s offices.

Ceiling decoration

From here, towards the front, the patient room was located. This room housed 28 beds, 14 one each side. On opening their eyes, patients could enjoy nature from the airy windows and the mosaic roof. Around 127,000 tiles line the walls and ceilings with another estimated 55,000 on the floor.

Tile detail

Today, I have to imagine the beds lined up as the dragon installation dominates the space.

At the front of the pavilion, off to the left and right of the front door, were sitting rooms for patient recovery and visitations. The intricate mosaic on the domed ceiling indicates just how much effort was put into patient wellbeing.

Second floor of the Sant Salvador Pavilion

Montaner the Architect

While Montaner is touted as a creative genius, there was a lot behind this. He was a graduate in exact, physical and natural sciences and also started a degree in engineering and graduated in architecture. He travelled extensively in France, Switzerland, Italy and Germany before beginning work. Eventually putting his knowledge into practice, he started his working as an architect and taught at university. Antoni Gaudi was one of his students.

Although Gaudi is, perhaps, the more famous, Montaner is remembered as the father of Catalan modernism. His architectural works include both large scale urban projects and small-scale commissions. Many of Barcelona’s most famous buildings, including Hospital Pere Mata de Reus, Editorial Montaner Simó (now Fundación Tapies), Fonda Espanya, Casa Lleó Morera and Casa Fuster have his mark on them.

The rehabilitation of the complex maintained this philosophy of efficiency, which is why a geothermal technology system has been installed, offering 60% savings on heating bills, which now works with closed water circuits that heat up underground.

As part of this project, he called on the experience of a number of collaborators, some of whom were experts in their field, including sculptors Eusebi Arnau, Pau Gargallo and Francesc Madurell, as well as illustrator Francesc Labarta and mosaicist Mario Maragliano.

Good To Know

The Sant Pau Pavilion is part of the Sant Pau Art Nouveau complex.

There are limits on capacity so be sure to book tickets and a guided tour early. I missed booking the guided tour and ended up with an audio guide. Failing a real guide, an audio guide is highly recommended.  There is a lot of signage and, as it’s a large site, it may prove difficult to take in if you’re relying on reading everything.  A guided tour would be even better.

Would I Return?

Yes. To Sant Pau, though not just for this pavilion.

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