RESTAURATION OF THE HISTORICAL GARDENS OF SANT PAU HOSPITAL IN BARCELONA

PROJECT: RESTAURATION HISTORICAL GARDENS OF SANT PAU HOSPITAL
SITE: BARCELONA
LOCATION: CARRER DE CAROLINA CATASÚS, 7
COMPETITION: 1ST PRIZE, 2011
DATA PROJECT: 2011-2013
CONSTRUCTION: 2013-2015
BUILT AREA: 29.700 M²
PROMOTOR:HOSPITAL DE LA SANTA CREU I SANT PAU FUNDATION
AUTHORS: DATAAE + GRND82 + ISABEL BENNASAR
TEAM: ROSER VIVES (AGRICULTURAL ENGINEER), EULALIA ARAN (BUDGET)
IMAGES: POL VILADOMS + ALVARO ALCAZAR

RECOVERY
OF THE CONCEPT “GARDEN CITY” OF THE 1901 “GREEN SUPERBLOCK PROJECT”
WITH A CONTEMPORARY UNDERSTANDING OF PUBLIC SPACE, WE PROPOSE A HIERARCHY OF ROAD SYSTEMS THAT SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES VEHICLE MOBILITY IN ORDER TO INCREASE PLANT LIFE. THUS THE AREA RECOVERS A SYMBIOTIC EQUILIBRIUM BETWEEN ARCHITECTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE CENTRAL PROMENADE, THE WHOLE AREA IS GIVEN ABSORBENT TERRAIN AND ABUNDANT VEGETATION – GREEN SPACE COMPATIBLE WITH OCCASIONAL VEHICLE TRAFFIC.

REINTERPRETATION
OF MODERNIST ORNAMENT FOR FORMAL DEFINITION OF URBAN ELEMENTS.
GROUND: A CARPETING SERVES AS THE NEUTRAL SUPPORT OF DIFFERENT BUILDING AND BRINGS CONTINUITY TO THE PROJECT AS A WHOLE, ADAPTING TO THE SYSTEMS OF EACH SPACE THROUGH A SYSTEM OF REPETITION AND ALTERNATION. ON THE CENTRAL PROMENADE, THIS STONE PAVEMENT SUPPORTS PEDESTRIAN FL OW AS WELL AS THE RESTRICTED ROAD CIRCULATION. IN THE GARDENS, IT DISAPPEARS TO GIVE PROMINENCE TO THE VEGETATION, REAPPEARING IN ACTIVITY PAVILIONS FOR OUTDOOR PROGRAMMING.
MATERIAL: ALL ELEMENTS IN CONTACT WITH THE GROUND (STONE PAVEMENT, WALLS, LIGHTS) ARE EXECUTED IN THIS SAME MONTJUÏC-STYLE STONE IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH CONTINUITY AT THE BASE OF ALL STRUCTURES. THIS CREATES A NEUTRAL SURFACE THAT ALLOWS EMPHASIS OF THE FORMAL SINGULARITY OF EACH OF THE CERAMIC STRUCTURES.
FENCES AND RAILINGS: IN REINTERPRETING MODERNIST FENCES AND RAILINGS, WE SOUGHT TO MAINTAIN THE SAME ARCHITECTURAL LANGUAGE WHILE USING NEW MATERIALS. INSTEAD OF WROUGHT-IRON, WE USED WOVEN STAINLESS STEEL THAT ACTS AS SUPPORTS FOR CLIMBING VINES WITH A VARIETY OF COLOURFUL FLOWERS. THIS SYSTEM IS THE SAME FOR THE NEW FENCES AND RAILINGS AND THE EXISTING RAILINGS THAT NEEDED TO BE UPDATED ACCORDING TO NEW REGULATIONS.
STREET FURNITURE: WE PROPOSED CHAIRS OF THE TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY PARISIAN STYLE, MADE OF PAINTED STEEL TO MAKE THEM LIGHTWEIGHT AND EASY TO MOVE. BECAUSE THE PREMISES ARE CLOSED AND CONTROLLED, WE PROPOSED THAT THE CHAIRS ARE POSITIONED MAINLY IN THE CENTER OF THE PROMENADE BUT NOT FIXED TO THE GROUND, SO THAT USERS CAN MOVE THEM AS THEY PLEASE.
LIGHTING: THE BUILDINGS ACT LIKE LIGHTS OR NOCTURNAL LANDMARKS, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THEIR INTERIOR LIGHTING IN ORDER TO MINIMIZE THE EXTERIOR LIGHT ELEMENTS AND TO AVOID THE INTRODUCTION OF NEW GEOMETRIES IN THE LANDSCAPE. THE ORIGINAL EXISTENT LIGHTS OF THE CENTRAL PROMENADE AND OF EVERY BUILDINGS ENTRANCE, ARE RESTORED IN ORDER TO ENLIGHTEN THE CENTRAL OPEN SPACES. TO ENLIGHTEN THE GARDENS, A SELECTION OF LOW-INTENSITY LIGHTING OF SOME SPECIFIC TREES, INTENSIFIED WITH SPECIFIC LUMINARIES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SEATING AREAS IS PROPOSED.

RESTORATION
OF THE LANDSCAPE, SIMPLIFICATION OF THE ROAD SYSTEM AND NEW USE OF THE GARDENS.
THE PAVEMENT IS THE ONLY EXTERIOR ELEMENT THAT, THROUGH ITS ORGANIZATION, SOLVES THE NEW USE OF THE HOSPITAL. EVERYTHING ELSE IS RESTORED PRESERVING, RECOVERING AND REBUILDING EVERY ORIGINAL ELEMENT, LIKE TREES, PLANTS, SKYLIGHTS, BENCHES, ETC. THESE ORIGINAL ELEMENTS ARE THOSE ELEMENTS THAT, ATTENDING TO THE NEW USE, DON’T NEED ADEQUATE THEMSELVES TO THE NEW CONDITION OF THE OPEN-AIR SPACE SYSTEM: TOURISM, NO TRAFFIC FLOW, THE CHANGE OF AN HOSPITAL ATMOSPHERE TO AN OFFICE ATMOSPHERE AND ITS EXTERIOR ACTIVITIES IN THE GARDENS.

REVEGETATION
MAINTAINING THE WINTER AND SUMMER GARDENS OF 1901.
THE PROPOSAL BASIS IS THE RECOVERY OF THE GREEN AREAS WHICH SURROUNDS THE BUILDINGS, WORKING ON BOTH NORTH AND SOUTH AREAS. ITS SURFACE IS EXTENDED TO THE EXTERIOR LIMITS ALLOWING THE SIGHT OF THE LATERAL PATHS. THE PROPOSAL EMPHASIZES THE SELECTION OF THE VEGETATION SPECIES, THEIR PLACEMENT IN RELATION WITH THE POINT OF VIEWS, THE COMPOSITION OF BACKGROUND AND LIMITS, AND THE GARDENS COMPOSITION. THOSE EXISTENT SPECIES WHICH ARE IN GOOD CONDITION REMAIN AND NEW SPECIES WITH CHARACTERISTICS THAT COULD HAVE MADE THEM ‘ORIGINALLY’ PLACED ARE SELECTED; CLASSICAL SPECIES ON ONE SIDE AND NEW TRENDS ON THE OTHER SIDE. AT THE SAME TIME THE DIVERSITY, THE MEDITERRANEAN CONDITION, THE SCIENTIFIC INTEREST AND, EVEN, THE PHARMACEUTICAL INTEREST OF SOME OF THE USED SPECIES ARE ENHANCED, BUT ALWAYS REMARKING THEIR ORNAMENTAL COMPONENT. THE CHOICE OF SPECIES TAKES INTO ACCOUNT THE CURRENT REQUIREMENTS REGARDING LOW WATER CONSUMPTION AND LOW MAINTENANCE, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE SPECIFIC CONDITIONS OF THE AREA.