(Work management abandoned midway through construction)

The building was built in 1904 by architect Domènech i Estapà and served as a good example of the possibilities of neoclassical eclecticism for addressing large public buildings. It was a straightforward construction, which generated a geometry and measurements adequate to all the rooms. Two concentric corridors and five courtyards provided access, light, and ventilation to every part of a very compact floor plan.

The building was never the direct reflection of a specific programme, but rather an organized container of spaces that could easily receive inevitable changes in use .

The necessary expansion was planned by adding four floors, designated for the new library and located around the central cloister. The fully glazed facades aimed to integrate the different levels and the courtyard itself into a single unit. There was no intervention in the perimeter bays nor was the composition of the exterior facades therefore altered. The upper expansion was treated with copper and glass to distinguish it from the old and was crowned by an enormous brise-soleil that protected, from above, the large glass surfaces  without diminishing  the desired transparency.

After winning the competition, we drew up the executive project with the advice of Francesc Bassó. The relationship with the doctors responsible for each department was extremely conflictive and, midway through construction, given the pervasive corruption, we were forced to abandon the project.