The healing architecture of Santa Terezinha Sanatorium

Abstract

This paper is the result of one stage of a research project on historical issues related to the environment of healthcare buildings in Salvador, Brazil, funded by CNPq, with the participation of undergraduate and postgraduate scholars. Its objective is to study, through an analysis of the environmental conditions at the Sanatorium Santa Terezinha, inaugurated in 1942, in Salvador, BA, the plans made by modernist architects for the use of solar incidence and cross ventilation as an aid in healing tuberculosis, in order to demonstrate that architecture can be part of the healing process. The methodology of the investigation was to trace the history of the hospital, based on a review of the literature on the characteristics of this type of building, followed by a visit, a survey of the building and an analysis of its climate conditions using computer programs. That allowed the researchers to see evidence of the intentionality of the architects as they provide conditions of controlled incidence of sun and wind in order to enhance patients’ comfort and recovery, according to the medical paradigm of the time. In the present day, environmental concerns and the humanisation of hospitals’ architectural space are back on the agenda. The climate planning seen in this study will hopefully contribute as an example of the use of architecture as a factor to support the restoration of health.

Keywords:
Hospital architecture; Sanatoria; Modernism; Climate confort