Sostenibilità e riqualificazione. Nuove prospettive di sostenibilità per la riqualificazione del patrimonio storico con elevati valori testimoniali. Il caso studio del Padiglione di Sant Manuel dell’Hospital de Sant Pau a Barcellona

Abstract

Processes aimed at preserving buildings previous expressions have a strong sustainability connotation related to environmental, economic and social aspects, meaning also, for this last factor, the enhancement of cultural values. Activities connected with restoration, recovery and reuse of historic buildings become sustainable actions and, thus, may be evaluated with instruments and tools that are appropriated with this context. With this purpose, the restoration of the Sant Manuel pavilion of the Hospital de Sant Pau in Barcelona has been assessed with the LEED® 2009 New Construction and Major Renovation rating system, aiming at highlighting criticalities and potentialities of an instrument that is generally used for new buildings or for major renovations of recent ones. The building, commissioned to the modernist architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner and built between 1901 and 1922, was based on the hygienist ideas of the late 19th century hospital buildings, an approach that strongly believes that the purity of the air breathed by patients (achieved by assigning a large volume to each one and by a strong ventilation) can have a strong impact in decreased mortality and increased recovery rates. The result is an exceptional project in terms of extension and quality, declared by UNESCO as a Heritage of Mankind, that is now undergoing a restoration process. In the research activity, the restoration process on the case study has been evaluated through the application of all prerequisites and credits of the LEED® rating system, an internationally recognized tool for environmental sustainability assessment. The result is a gap analysis that reveals many points of strength, but also some weaknesses and some omissions, in particular related to the restoration process.