“The mission of the Santa Creu i Sant Pau Hospital is to be a hospital of reference, open to society and its own health environment, centred on the people,” according to the hospital’s mission statement. With 623 beds, the hospital admits about 32,000 patients annually, treats 150,000 emergencies and 300,000 outpatients, according to figures in La Vanguardia. The hospital certainly seems to be fulfilling its goal. Nor has its singular and beautiful design been overlooked—in 1997, it was awarded World Heritage Status by UNESCO.
Unlike his contemporary, Antoni Gaudí, who worked mainly on private projects, Lluís Domènech i Muntaner was more involved with buildings for public use, such as the Palau de la Música, the Hospital of Pere Mata in Reus and the Hospital of Santa Creu i Sant Pau. The hospital’s roots stretch back to 1401 and the old city, when six hospitals were joined to make the Hospital de la Santa Creu. As the city expanded into the Eixample in the late 1800s, a project began to take shape that would bring the hospital up-to-date. It was formally initiated in 1902, but not officially finished until 1930.
Domènech i Muntaner’s architectural design followed a strict logic. Erected on one of Ildefons Cerdà’s grid-like blocks that formed the new Eixample area, the architect made a slight alteration to the complex by rotating the whole building 90 degrees, so that viewed from above it resembles a diamond shape instead of a square. This was done so that the building would face towards the sun and away from the general direction of the wind, important for promoting natural light and eradicating the smell of drains within the building. Natural light was, in fact, an essential part of the architect’s design and many of the exterior walls were constructed from glass so that, in theory, no electric lights would be needed in the administration buildings.
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