Since it was built, the Sant Pau monumental site has been a space associated with the neighbourhoods around it: Sagrada Família, Baix Guinardó, Guinardó and Camp de l’Arpa. To strengthen the bonds created over the decades with the surrounding area, the Foundation promotes various initiatives to consolidate the Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site as a vehicle for information and a point of interrelation with the city:
The private foundation is aware of Sant Pau’s social and educational value as a masterpiece of Catalan Art Nouveau architecture heritage. It therefore guarantees free access (self-guided visits) to organisations in the third sector and schools that work with minors and young people at risk of social exclusion.
This line of work is basically organised by a collaboration agreement with the Federation of Childhood and Adolescent Care Organisations (FEDAIA), which works with over 100,000 children and 35,000 families. The agreement also provides access for families who foster minors participating in some of the Federation’s programmes. Furthermore, in the framework of the Free Offer Programme of the Barcelona Municipal Education Institute, the Art Nouveau Site provides 330 places a year in guided visits to schools whose students are in vulnerable situations.
The social programme also includes various collaborations that the Art Nouveau Site has with organisations whose principal beneficiaries are vulnerable individuals and collectives, or that work towards social cohesion and human rights.
The interventions include loaning spaces for activities and providing access to the heritage site for various collectives that require specific attention.
Sant Pau is an affiliate member of the World Tourism Organisation and promotes a quality, inclusive, non-mass tourist model that is committed to its surroundings and compatible with different uses of the heritage complex.
This commitment has been acknowledged by the Biosphere Certificate, awarded by the Responsible Tourism Institute (RTI), which certifies the exercise of responsible, environmentally sustainable, socially inclusive and accessible activity. Consult the Responsible tourism policy.
Since the start of work on the rehabilitation of the architecture complex, Fundació Privada Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau has shown its strong commitment to being an environmentally responsible space. The efforts made during rehabilitation work mean that the old Art Nouveau buildings are, today, energetically and functionally sustainable.
Among other measures, the Art Nouveau Site has the largest geothermal installation in southern Europe, a clean technology that makes for high savings in the heating and cooling of the spaces. This intervention, together with the quality of rehabilitation work and other initiatives to promote savings in energy and water consumption, have made the Sant Pau monumental complex the only UNESCO World Heritage Site with LEED Neighbourhood Development certification, as well as other awards from this US institution. The Art Nouveau Site has its own Environmental and Energetic Policy, and works to become an environmentally responsible space. With the goal of continual improvement and responsible management, the Foundation is sharing a collection of good practices with staff, site visitors, office occupants, as well as external collaborators. You can send your proposals, requests and recommendations at sostenibilitat@fundaciosantpau.cat.
The Art Nouveau Site, as part of the Fundació Privada Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, is a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact, the world’s biggest corporate social responsibility initiative
The aim is to promote the implementation of the 10 universal principles in business activity in the fields of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption in the activities and strategies carried out. The Progress Report periodically communicates actions carried out to implement the provisions of the Global Compact.