Sant Pau Research Institute gets 'unique' new HQ

The Santa Creu and Sant Pau Hospital Research Institute (IR Sant Pau) has a new building to house the more than 50 research groups that until now have had to occupy different areas of the hospital, often in prefab units.

The scientific director of IR Sant Pau, doctor Jaume Kulisevsky, says the new facility will allow the scientists who work there to "be more competitive," while fostering "a deeper culture of research."

The new building, which has cost 15.5 million euros, stands out due to the original nature of its architecture, which features a translucent ceramic lattice on its facade to protect it from solar radiation, and a walkway connecting the Institute and the hospital.

The 45,000 ceramic tiles that make up the facade are the same color as the rest of the hospital's historic buildings, to create an architectural  "narrative" with the Modernist structures surrounding it.