EMSS 2017 will be held in Barcellona, Spain.
The History
The Casa de Convalescència, one of the last great works of
Catalan Modernism, forms part of the complex of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau. The
complex was designed in the late 19th century to alleviate the shortage of hospital space in
Barcelona. The hospital of Santa Creu, dating from 1401 and situated in the old city centre
(Casc
Antic) had become obsolete due the city's growth and breakthroughs in medicine.
The construction of the Casa was supervised by Pere Domènech i Roura. Initially he worked with
his
father, Lluís Domènech i Montaner, and then took over as supervisor after the latter's death in
1923.
The building, which was used for convalescent patients, with a maximum capacity for 100
residents,
featured stunning glazed solariums and a chapel, which split the building into two wings, one
for
men and one for women. The Casa was independent of the Hospital, having its own kitchen and
pharmacy, as well as its own financial management.
The project was funded with the proceeds from the sale of the former Casa de Convalescència in
carrer del Carme, which brought in 1,750,000 pesetas.
In 1930, on the occasion of the visit by King Alphonse XIII to open the Hospital de la Santa
Creu i
Sant Pau, the Casa de Convalescència was opened.
The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona was granted use of the building in 1969 to develop
different
academic activities and to consolidate the university's presence in the city.
The renovation and refurbishing of the Casa, undertaken in 1998, and managed by the
Tusquets-Díaz &
Associats firm of architects, constituted an ambitious project to restore it to its original
form,
and was completed in October 1999, when it was officially reopened.
The whole hospital complex, including the Casa, was declared Historical Artistic Monument in
1978
and World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997.
UAB-Casa Convalescència is currently the headquarters of the Foundation of the Universitat
Autònoma
de Barcelona (FUAB).
The building
The Casa is a unique building rich in modernist elements. It has a
surface area of 6,245 m2 distributed over four floors and a basement. In structural terms it
maintains the Catalan modernist tradition of ceilings comprised of brick vaults and metal
girders that tense the flattened arches, made of bare-brickwork rowlock arches.
The monumental entrance leads into the vestibule, where the columns and capitals are made of
natural stone, the arches and walls of bare brickwork and the banisters, parapets and
balustrades are made of artificial stone. There are four murals with polychromed tiles that tell
the story of the families that donated funds to build the old Casa in carrer del Carme: the
coats of arms of the Gualba, Astor and Soler and Ferran families. The latter, expressed through
a motif of a six-nailed horseshoe, is repeated on the floor tiles of the building in memory of
the main benefactor of the first Casa de Convalescència.
On the ground floor, all the rooms are decorated with banisters of majolicas, and tiled soffits
are also conserved. These were manufactured in factories in Esplugues and Manises and depict the
legends of the virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity and other religious allusions.
The stairs that lead to the upper floors are made of marble or calcareous stone.
The former chapel, now the Aula Magna, has a markedly vertical proportion with a large dome in
the centre sustained by shells, bare-brick rowlock arches and polished stone columns. The
original high altar boasted an extraordinary altarpiece representing Saint George. It was made
of Baroque-like sculpted alabaster, with spiralling columns and a multitude of decorative
embossed work.
Gallery
How to get there
Access to Casa Convalescència
Underground
- Yellow line (L4) - GUINARDÓ – HOSPITAL DE SANT PAU station
- Blue line (L5) - SANT PAU – DOS DE MAIG station
By bus
- Lines: 15, 19, 20, 45, 47, 50, 51, 92 and 192.
For the GPS
- Introduce the following coordinates:
- Latitude: 41.413702 (41° 24' 49.33'' N)
- Longitude: 2.177482 (2° 10' 38.94'' E)
From the airport
- * Train + Underground. At the RENFE station, take the train to Sants-Estació. Once there take the Underground's blue line (L5) till SANT PAU – DOS DE MAIG station.
- * Bus + Underground. Outside the airport terminal, take the AEROBUS to Plaça Catalunya. Walk one corner till Plaça Urquinaona and take the Underground's yellow line (L4) to GUINARDÓ – HOSPITAL DE SANT PAU station.
For more information see Casa de Convalescència
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