It was not until 3 July 1838 that the project of the building corresponding to numbers 10 of Plaça de la Mercè and 16 ofPasseig de Colom was presented to the City Council. This project, work of master builder Josep Vilar, is a building with a ground floor, a mezzanine floor, a main floor and a further two storeys. Inside, as was common at the time, the structure of the layout of the building was based on two staircases: the noble staircase, which is centred on the building’s axis but slightly towards the south corner, and the neighbours’ staircase, giving access to the remaining storeys and to which access can be gained from the far north door of the Plaça de la Mercè. Construction of the building dates from 1841.

Once finished, and after the City Council had ordered the demolition of the old Mercedarian order buildings, Miquel Elías asked to build once again on the plot which currently corresponds to numbers 12 of Plaça de la Mercè and 15 of Passeig de Colom. Despite the short time between the two sets of works, Josep Vilar was not the author of the project due to certain differences that arose during the execution of the works on the previous building between the owners and the architect, which swayed the commissioning in the direction of master builder Josep Nolla. The façades of the building, constructed in 1852, strictly adhere to the style of the neighbouring building. In 1879 it was affected by the Baixeras Plan.

Later, for over half a century, these buildings were the headquarters of the company Bosch y Cía, known for its Anís del Mono distilleries. In 1981 the block in front was demolished and Plaça de la Mercè was created. The space currently occupied by this square, in addition to comprising the old land, is the result of the demolition of buildings numbers 4, 6 and 8 of Ample street and of the adjacent buildings on Mercè street.

Renovation

Renovation of the Mercè, 12 building dates back to 1993, and of Mercè 10, back to 1994-1995. Today it houses the Rectorate, the Board of Trustees and several of the University’s central administration services.

The architects of the works were Jaume Llobet and Josep Benedito. The plot measures 1,268 m2, and has an occupied surface area of 1,268 m2 and a constructed surface area of 5,378 m2.