LA CASA DE CONVALECENCIA
This iconic building of Catalan Modernism will be the venue for the XXX University Archives Conference. Let’s learn more about this architectural heritage site of Catalonia.
History of the Building
Casa Convalescència, one of the last works of Catalan Modernism, is part of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau complex, which was designed at the end of the 19th century to address the shortage of hospitals in Barcelona.
The city’s growth and advancements in medicine had rendered the old Santa Creu hospital, founded in 1401 and located in the Gothic Quarter, obsolete. Its construction was overseen by Pere Domènech i Roura, who worked alongside his father, Lluís Domènech i Montaner, and took over the direction of the project after his father’s death in 1923.
The building, intended to house convalescing individuals with a maximum capacity of 100 residents, was notable for its glassed-in sunrooms. It also featured a chapel that divided the building into two wings, one for men and one for women. Casa Convalescència operated autonomously from the hospital, with its own finances, kitchen, and pharmacy.
The project was funded with money obtained from the sale of the old Casa de la Convalescència on Carrer del Carme, which amounted to 1,750,000 pesetas at the time. In 1930, coinciding with King Alfonso XIII’s visit to inaugurate the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Casa Convalescència opened its doors.
You can find more information about the building at the following link:
