An imposing facility was opened in 1889 in response to growing social demand for improved care for sick people. Its promoters were Dr Emilio Pi i Molist and the architect Josep Oriol i Bernadet. Using the best psychiatric hospitals in Western Europe as a model, they worked together on this ambitious project from 1855 to 1860. Its structure and the treatment received by patients, with therapies based on agricultural, manual and artistic activities, made it one of the most modern and advanced mental hospitals of its time.
Seven hundred metres long and 240 metres wide, it consisted of 12 symmetrical pavilions that could accommodate up to 700 patients. It had bedrooms, a dining room, kitchen, meeting rooms, workshops, a library, an infirmary, bathrooms, a theatre and a church. Its 16 interior gardens created a relaxing environment. Men were housed in the pavilions on the right and women in those on the left. Patients were also divided according to their social class, the illness they suffered from and their age. Two religious orders cared for the patients: the male order was the Hermanos Hospitalarios de la Santa Creu and the female order was the Germanes Hospitalàries de la Santa Creu.
Several pavilions were demolished in the 1960s to make way for the Barcinova and Calinova housing estates. The centre’s last patients left in 1987. The building is currently occupied by the Nou Barris District headquarters, as well as other municipal offices and publicly owned services, including a Guardia Urbana police station and the Biblioteca de Nou Barris library. The church remains closed.