Los sanatorios antituberculosos en España: interrogantes sobre su arquitectura

Since the discovery of the tuberculosis bacillus in 1882, a scientific race has been unleashed to defeat a disease that became the leading cause of death in Spain in the first half of the 20th century. One of the measures to fight this disease was the implementation by the National Anti-Tuberculosis Board of an ambitious construction plan that managed to create a complete network of sanatoriums to accommodate and care for patients in the best possible conditions. Studies such as those done by Dr. Bassols or Valenzuela began to create the bases to establish and make known to both doctors and architects the most suitable places and conditions to build these sanatoriums. Where were these giants of Spanish healthcare finally built? What is the current situation of this architectural and cultural legacy of our history? Many of the pieces today inherited and scattered throughout the Spanish territory are in an alarming state of abandonment. This article aims to give justice to the entire design and construction operation of the PNA, bringing to light a truly spectacular work that covers the entire Spanish geography.