Gregori Civera and Jorge Ribalta: fever of matter

The Raval Anti -Tuberculosis Dispensary in Barcelona, designed by Josep Lluís Sert, Joan Subirana and Josep Torres Calvé between 1933 and 1937, is one of the iconic buildings of functionalist architecture from the Republican era. This construction stands out not only for its importance, but also for its role in the urban regeneration of the Raval, a neighborhood that, in the thirties, was identified as an unhealthy and very abused area, with a heavy burden of social and public health problems. In the context of the progressive health policies of the Republic, the Dispensary represented a direct response to the fight against tuberculosis, an endemic disease that seriously affected Barcelona at the beginning of the 20th century. Thus, the building became a fundamental piece in the process of sanitation of the city, following the principles of rationalist hygienism, which defended the connection between health and architecture.

Over time, tuberculosis lost its incidence and the Dispensary was converted into an outpatient clinic and later integrated into the Catalan healthcare network. However, at all times, the building maintained its significance as a symbol of modernity and social progress. From the 1980s, the Dispensary was the subject of several reforms, including a prominent intervention in 1982, in which Sert himself participated, and later, between 1990 and 1993, a rehabilitation led by Mario Corea. The latter adapted the building to the new functions of a Primary Care Center, known as CAP Raval Nord. The process of regeneration of the Raval would continue through the urban development plan From the Liceu to the Seminari, which launched the reform operations prior to the 1992 Olympic Games.

Febre de la matèria. Apropaments al Dispensari Antituberculós del Raval. Galeria Àngels Barcelona

Now, more than 80 years after its construction, the building remains a symbol of Barcelona's transformation. The new exhibition at the Àngels Barcelona gallery, which brings together the works of two renowned photographers, Gregori Civera and Jorge Ribalta , offers a contemporary look at the building and its multiple historical layers. With two perspectives that provide a reflection on the urban and architectural evolution of the city, as well as on the connections between the history of modern architecture and public health issues.

Gregori Civera , who began photographing the Anti-Tuberculosis Dispensary in 2024, produces a series of images with a great interest in the changes that the building has undergone, especially regarding its future. For his part, Jorge Ribalta , who had already photographed the building during maintenance works in 2016, offers a critical vision of the urban transformation of Barcelona after the 2004 Forum. Ribalta, known for his reflection on modernity and its consequences on urban space, places the Dispensary as a central element in the history of the city and its evolution in the context of modern architecture and its relationship with sanitation policies.

Despite the different approaches, they agree on a fundamental point, the interest in the materiality and public life of the building, far from idealized representations of architecture. The works of Civera and Ribalta allow us to observe the Anti-Tuberculosis Dispensary from a new and critical perspective, proposing a reflection on architecture as a witness to history and the society that has created and transformed it over time.

Febre de la matèria. Apropaments al Dispensari Antituberculós del Raval. Galeria Àngels Barcelona